what's the best college for interior design?

Hi Samuel,

Like Stephanie Anderson mentioned, you must find a CIDA-accredited school for your interior design programme. AutoCad, Revit, Google Sketchup, 3Ds max and Vector Works are now the most popolur software program required by Architecture/Interior Design firms. Just make sure they offer internship program and with ASID/IIDA student chapters as these are the only way for you to go into the industry. When you think of Interior Design degree, you should consider the outcome of the program. Think about what type of firm you want to work with, residential or commercial, etc. Lastly, go to IIDA and ASID website and search for student competition winners. These winning students are your best sources to know about their school.

Here are some of the best school for Interior Design:

Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY
California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA
Academy of Arts University San Francisco, CA
Ohio State University Columbus, OH
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL
Rhode Island School of Design Providence,Rhode Island

Good Luck!!

Samuel,
You want to make sure you are attending a CIDA-accredited school. If you want to be a registered interior designer (RID) or take the NCIDQ exam, that is imperative. When you are looking at an interior design program, you also want to make sure they are current with technology. Technology in this industry changes quite a bit, so ensuring you are learning the basic (AutoCAD) to the advanced (Revit, 3DS Max, ets) will set you apart when applying for jobs after graduation.

Some of the absolute best undergrad interior design programs are as follows:
1) Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah GA (SCAD)
2) Road Island School of Design, Providence, RI (RISD)
3) New York School of Interior Design
4) Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY

Now, those are the best, but don't feel like you have to go to those. Look at schools that are in-state, check out their curriculum and accreditation. You don't want to be bogged down by massive student loans when you graduate. So make sure you apply for scholarships when the time comes. Ok, I'm sure this is much more than you wanted to know. Take care!

Interior Design or Interior Architecture as some schools and professionals refer to, is a truly exciting career and competitive career. Interior design is defining itself since the last decade with the help of technology. There are the well known schools that have the prestige like Rhode Island School of Design, Art Institute, Chicago or Harvard School of Design and all the schools mentioned above. But the changes in the industry have brought also changes in the way colleges and schools teach interior design so there are other less known schools that offer good CIDA accredited programs. I will recommend you to do your research among CIDA accredited schools and also think about what area of Design is more inspiring to you Residential, Commercial Hospitality, Health Care etc. As important as the degree that you get is the experience that you will get from your school years, so do not take out of the equation when selecting a school factors like how appealing is to you the location and philosophy of the school. Get in contact with alumni and program directors before you commit the sense you get directly from people can't replace the numbers of the rankings.
Best of the luck with your school selection!

It depends on how long you want to go to school, whether you will go full or part time and whether you will work while attending school. There are many community colleges that offer a 2-year Associates degree in Interior Design. You can attend these part time or full time. You can earn a certificate in areas like Green Design, Perspective & Rendering or Kitchen & Bath design in less than 2 years and then possibly work part time and continue school toward an associates or bachelor's degree.

Here it is, Samuel,

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  Pratt Institute
  Brooklyn, NY

  
  


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  California College of the Arts
  San Francisco, CA

  
  


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  Ohio State University
  Columbus, OH

  
  


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  School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  Chicago, IL

  
  

In this link you have access to the page of each Institute of Art:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/interior-design-rankings

Good luck and much success on the studies!

There are many good colleges for Interior Design depending on what state you live in. What area do you live in?