Interior Architecture BA(Hons)

Course in brief

This inspiring degree course focuses on the design of interior spaces, predominantly within existing buildings. It invites students to explore the way spaces can be reformed or re-imagined for new or different forms of inhabitation.

The interaction between people and space is fundamental to the practice of interior architecture, requiring practitioners to have an awareness and understanding of human behaviour and social pattern. As part of this approach, you will be encouraged to take part in live community projects and learn how to design to satisfy the needs of clients and to engage with cultural and societal aspirations.

Design projects form the backbone of this course and are supported by analytical studies, design practice, communication and the development of design skills including drawing, model making, ICT, organisation and management. History and theory sessions develop your understanding of the wider context of interior architecture. The study of design technology provides you with the skills and knowledge to engage professionally with other design disciplines, such as architecture, fashion, textiles and furniture design.

Practical sessions allow you to explore and critically appraise precedents, publications and creative events. Live industry projects will introduce you to the professional, legal and public context of design while field trips and student exchange programmes enrich your studies. Invaluable experience gained through designing and building a pavilion for exhibiting your final year degree work will help to launch your career in creative and inventive practice.

Together with your fellow students you could take part in staging your own series of events through the Brighton Interior Architecture and Architecture Society (BIAAS) student society.

Take a look at our architecture and interior architecture blog and our 2015 yearbook, which documents student work from across our architecture courses.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Moulsecoomb

UCAS code W250

Full-time 3 years

Book your open day place

Meet our students, see our accommodation and find out more about your course.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course and should be used as a general guide. We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that you could receive a lower conditional offer than the typical offer, informed by our assessment of your complementary non-academic achievements and experiences.

We are looking for highly motivated and creative students. We will primarily be interested in your portfolio and will select via a personal interview. If your predicted grades fall below these requirements but you can demonstrate a high-quality portfolio, you are still encouraged to apply. We will consider you on an individual basis.

A Foundation Diploma is not a requirement for entry – it is just one of a range of qualifications (for example, BTEC or Access Diploma etc.) that is accepted for admission to this course.

A-levels
for those applying with A-levels only, grades BBB are expected, supported by a strong portfolio.

BTEC
DDM

International Baccalaureate
30 points

Access to HE Diploma
pass with 60 credits overall. Art and design courses preferred. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 24 credits at merit or above.

GCSE (minimum grade C)
at least three subjects including English language and mathematics or a science.

Foundation degree/HND
may enable you to start the course in Year 3. Related subjects or practical or professional experience required.

Apolytirion
19 overall (including a 15 in mathematics)

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 6.0 overall, with 6.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

Portfolio advice

Your application will be considered largely on the content of your portfolio and how you are able to talk about it.

What makes a good portfolio?
Producing a portfolio may be regarded as a design exercise. You will need to plan it as a whole as there are many ways to tell the same story. A good portfolio consists of carefully orchestrated images, lettering and text to convey the information to people who are not familiar with your work. Tutors will look for a broad range of skills, with particular emphasis on drawing ability and a capacity to generate ideas. The work that applicants present in a portfolio usually consists of examples of paintings, drawings, photography, perhaps some sculpture or models.

Please note that we do not necessarily expect to see architectural drawings, but we are looking for a variety of work that shows your ability to experiment and use different media and techniques. We do like students to have good drawing and compositional skills and we also like to see sketchbooks and notebooks to see how your ideas have developed in response to creative problems. In terms of character, we will be looking for students who are self-motivated and inquisitive.

Online portfolios
Online portfolios may be requested via the admissions portal for students unable to attend an interview. Applicants will be advised of where to send their portfolio.

Creating an online portfolio is easy and a useful way to showcase your work. Don’t forget to include the title of the work and the date it was presented. It can also be useful to include a description of each image to explain the thought processes behind your work.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For academic preparation courses.

Course in detail

Why study with us?

You’ll study in Brighton, a coastal city renowned for its culture of creativity. Through community engagement, you’ll have the chance to use your acquired expertise to enhance and transform local projects.

Through community engagement, you'll have the chance to use your acquired expertise to work on live projects such as set designs, exhibition installations and competitions. In 2014 these projects included TEDx Brighton, EcoBuild in London and a garden project with the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership.

You’ll participate in a vibrant studio culture, sharing ideas, creativity and techniques and replicating the working environment of the professional design world.

You’ll learn how to formally present your work to external consultants, tutors and your peers.

Each year there is an optional field trip that expands your architectural and spatial design knowledge base.

We employ a range of assessment methods, including public reviews, peer reviews, portfolio submissions, reports and essay submissions to give you the critical feedback you need to excel.

Each year six students help to run the Brighton Architecture and Interiors Student Society, which organises lectures, events and exhibitions.

Throughout the course, you will be building a portfolio to help you stand out from the crowd.

Take a look at our 2015 Interior architecture year book.

All Interior Architecture BA(Hons) students participate in the Context Workshop Week - a five-day project-based learning activity. The aim is to introduce specific skills, techniques and processes that will inform your design practice and thinking.

Year 1

In Year 1, you will be introduced to the discipline of interior architecture within a wide historical and cultural context, establishing your skills, specialist knowledge and practices.

Modules

Design: Small, Medium, Large
Contexts: Skills, Techniques and Processes
Design: Multiple Programmes
History and Theory in Spatial Design: An Introduction
Contexts: Technologies, Precedents and Applications

Students assembling their bench design for a public garden in Brighton, as part of a collaborative project with the council and the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership.

Year 2

In Year 2 you will broaden and deepen your awareness of the field. This is a year for creative experimentation and the exploration of new territories.

Modules

Design: Concepts, Site and Technology
Design: Processes and Resolution
Contexts and Practices
History and Theory in Spatial Design

Optional modules

Home: Making and Unmaking
Thinking Through Drawing
Transforming The Existing

Students working on the set at TEDx Brighton.

Final year

In Year 3 you will have opportunities to apply your skills and spatial design awareness. The intention throughout this year is to consolidate your knowledge, enable you to develop an independent creative voice, and prepare you for entry into professional practice or enable you to engage in further research. Each year, graduating students exhibit their work in the College of Arts and Humanities degree show.

Modules

Design: Site, Context and Design Development
Design: Processes and Resolution
Contexts and Practices 2
History and Theory in Spatial Design: Dissertation
Technologies

Student view

Amelia Lewis

"I am currently interning at Quintessentially Events in London as part of their creative team. On a day-to-day basis I get involved with helping to form creative concepts for future events that range from private parties to large corporate events for luxury brands. This involves attending brainstorming sessions, sketching ideas, creating mood boards, carrying out research and making visuals on Photoshop and InDesign. I also get to attend various site visits and work at the events themselves.

"Reflecting on my time at Brighton and the course, I am so grateful for the various skills we learned and the opportunities we were given. I now realise how transferrable and vital everything we learned truly is to any industry! The conceptual nature of the course has broadened my way of thinking and helped significantly with the way I approach a design task. The majority of my colleagues studied event management at university, but have commented on how much they value and respect my design-based CV and background.”

Staff profiles

Glen Longden-Thurgood Course leader

Glen has contributed to the development of Interior Architecture at Brighton. His work is focused on optical and imaging devices, both celluloid and digital. He is developing cameras that adapt to and allow alternative readings of existing places, allowing representations of time, space and motion.

Meet the rest of the Interior Architecture staff

Student work

Students carve out their own personal design process, develop a high degree of initiative and learn to work effectively to complete project goals throughout the course, culminating in the Interior Architecture Degree Show. You can see the portfolios and supporting documents that our graduates submitted in 2013 and 2014.

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Careers and employability

This course aims to develop complex abilities and skills that will enable you to negotiate many different pathways. After graduation, you will have a range of design careers open to you. Most of our former students work specifically in the fields of interior architecture and spatial design, employed as designers or assistant architects. Some go on to complete MA studies in architecture.

Graduates may also pursue a range of other opportunities in the design field, including exhibition design, retail design, set design, graphics, and event or gallery management. A number of them follow postgraduate research in specialist areas, for example the health professions, education and the fine arts. Several former students have, in recent years, set up their own design businesses.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,000 GBP

International (full-time) 13,800 GBP

Perkins+Will Thesis Prize for Architecture

The £250 Perkins+Will Thesis Prize for Architecture is open to final-year students of the Interior Architecture BA(Hons) and the Interior Design MA. It rewards work that exhibits strong design principles and that shows concern for sustainability, social responsibility, diversity, wellness and innovation.

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2016–17. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee. Further details regarding tuition fees are available from the university’s student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, field trips or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Brighton has been called the happiest place in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. With five miles of pebble beach, more than 300 pubs and a packed festival calendar, Brighton is the ideal place to spend your student years.

Arts and culture: The Royal Pavilion is the most famous landmark in Brighton, opening its doors to around 400,000 tourists every year. Right next door is the Brighton Dome, the south coast’s premier multi-arts venue, and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, which holds a diverse collection of decorative arts, textiles and archaeological artefacts.

Festivals: The Brighton Festival is now the largest arts festival in England and a major milestone in the international cultural calendar. Meanwhile, The Great Escape has been established as the UK’s leading event for new music, with over 300 bands playing 30 venues across the city over three days.

Nightlife: Aside from the many nightclubs that line the city’s seafront, student favourites include The Haunt, Concorde 2 and Patterns, which attract leading bands and DJs from around the world. If you don’t feel like dancing, you can take your pick from the many hundreds of pubs and bars that dot the city centre.

Shopping: The quirky North Laine district houses Brighton’s finest collection of boutique shops and independent cafes, while the narrow, winding streets of the South Lanes house collections of jewellery and antiques. Churchill Square is the city’s main shopping centre and serves all of your high street needs.

Sports: Brighton’s seaside location offers the perfect opportunity to try paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing. Further into the city, The Level has a skate park for skateboarders and BMX riders to practise their skills.

Campus where this course is taught

Moulsecoomb campus

Just two miles north of Brighton city centre and the seafront, Moulsecoomb is the largest of our five campuses with more than 8,000 students. A wide variety of subjects are taught here, from engineering and product design to business and law.

Students benefit from many professional-standard facilities, including a flight simulator, design and digital media suites, and specialist research laboratories. The campus library, Aldrich, offers long opening hours and a diverse collection of books and journals for students from all subject areas.

Sports enthusiasts will enjoy our basketball and badminton courts, fitness suite and climbing wall. The campus is also a few minutes walk from the South Downs National Park, providing a great place to relax during the summer months.

Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Our Grand Parade campus is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance. We have around 300 rooms available in Phoenix Brewery, which are all ensuite and self-catered.

Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus. All accommodation in Moulsecoomb Place is catered, offering breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat.

Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence. The site is four miles from Brighton centre but within walking distance of Falmer train station. You can also catch a free bus service to Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb and Falmer campuses, which is operated by local bus service The Big Lemon.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field. Great Wilkins offers 150+ self-catered single rooms and one-bed couples flats, while Paddock Field offers 450+ catered and self-catered single rooms only. All rooms in Falmer are en-suite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers all utilities and includes £5,000 of contents insurance for your personal belongings.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

If you have any questions about accommodation in Brighton, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field

Moulsecoomb Place

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map

Unistats

Unistats and key information sets

Unistats is an organisation that collects specific data about university courses in the UK which enables you to compare information that is important in your decision-making when choosing a university. All universities publish Unistats data on their online course pages.

Wherever we can we have provided extra information here to help put the data into context so that it is as useful as possible when you are making decisions.

Programme specification

Programme specifications are the official university documents that describe each course in detail. They reflect the course as it is being taught to students who started their course in this academic year. They are updated every summer, and give a very detailed breakdown of what your course might look like.

Programme specification