Key information
Develop your creative design process and bring forward-thinking, functional, and sustainable interior environments to life.
- Programme code
- W250
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Delivery type
- Full Time
- Degree qualification
- BA (Hons)
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 4 years
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Start date
- September
Our Interior Architecture & Design programme offers a creative blend of design skills to equip you for industry. You'll apply conceptual methods to imaginatively adapt or re-use interior environments. Key areas that you will study include sustainability, human-centred design, hand and digital making skills, materials, drawing, furniture and detailing, technology and digital communication.
You’ll learn about innovative new technology that can bring your interior design ideas to life. You’ll work on real projects for industry. Our students have worked with brands such as Adidas, Herman Miller and Accor Hotel Group. This exposure to live clients and stakeholders is something we’re proud of.
You'll have the opportunity to work with many external partners, organisations, and businesses. You’ll be encouraged to challenge yourself, make connections, and develop skills that will be useful after graduation while also building your identity as a designer.
Many of our graduates go on to work in creative roles in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and beyond, for companies such as AECOM, Area, and IKEA . You could follow in their footsteps.
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our chartered architects, interior and environmental designers, and research-active academics in the fields of sustainable building design and architectural conservation. You’ll benefit from their extensive real-world experience in architecture and interior design.
Teaching and Assessment
Taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, and workshops, you’ll get to know and build relationships with the teaching staff, academics, and technicians. You’ll be assessed by coursework and your final year project and will receive support and feedback throughout the programme.
Go Global
There are currently no Go Global opportunities for this particular programme. However, other Go Global opportunities may be available. Please contact studywithus@hw.ac.uk for more information.
Course content
September Intake
Our first year begins with courses that cover the fundamental skills needed for most types of design, including the design process, before then focusing on the specific skills an interior designer needs to build - including materiality and an awareness of sustainability as a holistic concept integral to interior design. During this time most students collaborate beyond their chosen programme, in order to understand where interior design fits in around other design disciplines
Mandatory September
- Rethinking Design 2: Develop and Deliver
- Rethinking Design 1: Discover and Define
Mandatory January
- Design Studio Vernacular Design
- Introduction to Materials
- Visual communication for 3d design
Programme Video
Interior Architecture & Design at Heriot-Watt
Heriot-Watt students and academics explore why the world needs Interior Architecture and Design. Watch our video to understand how smart interiors, robotics, virtual and augmented realities are becoming central to creative environments. Experience what studying Virtual and Creative Environments at Heriot-Watt can offer you.
Fees and funding
| Status | Fee |
|---|---|
| Scotland | Paid by SAAS |
| England / Wales / N Ireland / Rep of Ireland | £9,250 |
| International | £18,704 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Scholarships and bursaries
Bursaries for students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales
In addition to government loans and grants towards the costs of fees and living costs, we are offering generous financial support to attract and support eligible undergraduate students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales:
- Heriot-Watt University Bursary (up to £3,100 per year)
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
Standard entry requirements
- Highers ABBB
- A-Levels BCC
- Int. Baccalaureate 29 points
- BTEC DMM (in a relevant area
- Please check that you meet our University-wide National 5/GCSE (or equivalent) English and Maths requirements.
- Please see below for Portfolio submission details
Minimum entry requirements*
- Highers BBBC (including English)
- A-Levels BCC
* Minimum: under our Fair Access Policy, we will relax our standard entry requirements for some Scottish students depending on their circumstances. Our minimum requirements will apply if you:
- live in an area within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation lowest 20% (SIMD20), or
- are care experienced.
We can also make exceptions for some Scottish students with grades above minimum but below standard. Read more about our Minimum and standard entry requirements
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Student life
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