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Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Interior Architecture

The field of interior architecture is focused on designing living spaces for people with light, colors, objects ... From private homes to furniture and product design, or designing for exhibitions, shops, showrooms and events: the profession of interior architecture is creative and varied. In this bachelor’s degree program, you will learn what you need to achieve your professional goals.

Your heart beats for...

... Designing, Building, Creativity, Social coexistence, Organization, Partical part, Foreign language English

A Degree Program with a Future

Type of Study

Our 8-semester Bachelor’s degree program entitles you to entry in an Interior architecture list, and therefore to work as an interior architect without restrictions – this includes working as an employee or working as a self-employed person managing your own office.

Admission
  • General university entrance qualification (Abitur)
  • Specialized university entrance qualification
  • Advanced technical college certificate (Fachhochschulreife)
  • Vocational qualification

German language level: C1

An eight-week basic internship is required for admission to the winter semester. The basic internship must be completed before the start of the degree program and proof of this must be provided when enrolling. This can be completed in the building trade and must be proven by a corresponding confirmation from the practical training center. The basic internship is intended to provide an introduction to the general and constructive contexts of interior design and can be completed, for example, in the fields of carpentry, joinery, wood mechanics, concrete block and terrazzo production, metal construction, interior design, display design, stage technology, media design, upholstery, painting, lighting technology, restoration and the like.

In addition, an eight-week specialized internship must be completed by the beginning of the 5th semester at the latest. During the internship, students should practise activities that are specific to the profession of interior designer, for example in planning offices for architecture and interior design, design offices of interior design companies and furniture stores, planning departments of government, district or city administrations as well as railroad and postal administrations, planning offices for furniture and product design or institutions for stage and event design.

Structure and Contents of the Degree Program

1. Semester

  • Pictorial design principles 
  • Color and space
  • Area, space, and sculpture
  • CAD Architecture and interior architecture
  • Basic drafting 1

2. Semester

  • Advanced representation techniques
  • Advance design fundamentals
  • Art and architectural history
  • Ergonomics and human factors
  • Basic drafting 2

3. Semester

  • Furniture design principles
  • Structural design
  • Structural design and building materials
  • Project: Designing sustainable spaces and objects
  • Elective subjects

4. Semester

  • Lighting design fundamentals 1
  • Building physics and building services
  • Interior renovation design and materials
  • Project: Designing temporary spaces
  • Elective subjects

5. Semester

  • Internship semester

6. Semester

  • Fundamentals of human sciences
  • Architectural and design history
  • Basic costs and law
  • Design project

7. Semester

  • Lighting design fundamentals 2
  • Marketing – communication
  • Architectural theory and communication
  • Advanced studies project

8. Semester

  • Bachelor’s thesis and colloquium

Focus areas/advance courses

  • Projects, elective subjects and cumulative modules
Acquired Knowledge and Skills
  • Interior architecture drafts
  • artistic-design basic training
  • cultural and humanities fundamentals
  • technical and design expertise
  • digital design and illustration tools
  • marketing, costs and law
  • communication and presentations
Job Profiles
  • Interior architecture firms: Interior design for living, working, recreation, leisure and sport, education and schooling
  • Furniture development and design for private and public usage
  • Drafting and designing temporary spaces: for brand presentation, exhibitions, trade fairs, showrooms, events
  • Planning, organization and management: Building tasks and design processes
  • Designing virtual worlds: CAD, web design, multimedia design
Cooperation With Companies

We regularly cooperate on projects with numerous companies in the construction and design sectors.

Research in the Department
  • Institut für Designstrategien (IDS - Institute for Design Strategies): The IDS conducts research on fundamental interactions between people and spaces. It develops strategies to help achieve a climate-resilient built environment, and takes advantage of the opportunities offered by digitization for innovative approaches and complex analyses. 
    Research focal areas: Regenerative design, human centered design and data driven design
  • Institut für Energieforschung (iFE - Institute for Energy Research): Interdisciplinary research institution with members from the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Detmold School of Design, Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, and Business Administration and Economics. The iFE develops technologies and solutions for efficient, networked, and innovative energy systems in the fields of districts, mobility, and industry. 

Our fields of research

As Graduate You Contribute to...

... the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations

  • directly to good health and well-being
  • directly to clean water and sanitation
  • directly to sustainable cities and communities
  • directly to life on land

Studying at Creative Campus Detmold

Our Creative Campus in Detmold

Planning and building in one place. This concept can be found on our Creative Campus. Through both topics, a very special teaching and research location has been created. The internationally renowned Detmold School of Design is located here, as well as the Civil Engineering Department and the Center for Sustainable, Digital Construction, which is currently under construction. Architectural ideas thus cross paths with new thinking in civil engineering, such as sustainable 3D printing. The campus is complemented by media production, which together with the Detmold Academy of Music and the University of Paderborn have created a completely new stage for the transfer between creative science and business in the KreativInstitut.OWL. The campus is also adjacent to the city center, which can thus be reached by foot.

Campus Life

Profile

Degree Course:
Interior Architecture
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Study model:
Full-time
Admission:
Restricted acceptance
Standard period of study:
8 semester
Start:
Winter semester
Course language:
German
Location:
Creative Campus Detmold
Tuition Fees:
None
Preparatory courses:
English, Mathematics, Physics

Application periods:

Germany and EU Countries
Winter Semester: 02.05. – 15.07.
Currently no application possible

Non-EU Countries
Winter Semester: 15.04. – 15.06.
Currently no application possible