• Postgraduate

Interior Environment Design MA

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Overview

Overview

Are you passionate about interior design? Studying for an MA Interior Environment Design will give you the creative and professional skills you need to join the design professionals of the future.

On this dynamic course, you will analyse a diverse range of interiors to identify design opportunities and solutions that support and enrich people's lives.

You will study how interior design impacts broader spatial designs in both constructed and virtual environments and work on consultancy projects with industry partners.

As you progress through the course, your developing understanding of interior design will be reflected in your projects, portfolio and final project/dissertation.

Course work from a UWL MA Interior Environment Design student

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:

Study options:
We support flexible study by offering some of our courses part-time or via distance learning. To give you real world experience before you graduate, we also offer some courses with a placement or internship. All available options are listed here. Your choices may affect some details of your course, such as the duration and cost per year. Please re-check the details on this page if you change your selection.

Start date:

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study Interior Environment Design with us?

Why study Interior Environment Design with us?

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What our students say…

I love how passionate our tutors are about helping us to achieve to the best of our abilities.

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This course involves consultancy projects
This course involves problem-based practical workshops
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Course detail & modules

Course detail & modules

Interior design is an exciting field that bridges the boundaries between architecture, art and design. Our MA Interior Environment Design will encourage you to consider how commercial, social and political factors are influencing form and function to create new prototypes for hybrid interiors and reworking existing spaces with new ideas.

This course will investigate how these factors work together to create temporary and permanent environments in both constructed and virtual spaces.

The course is taught through a mixture of collaborative project work alongside traditional research. The course includes problem-based practical workshops and the development of live-consultancy projects with industry partners.

The briefs for live projects are prepared jointly by UWL staff and industry consultants to satisfy both academic and professional learning outcomes while the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum is designed to provide a microcosm of the professional design world.

You will have opportunities to collaborate with fellow students from other pathways and MA courses within our school in these projects to gain invaluable industry experience, build up your analytical thinking, problem-solving and practical skills, and make meaningful industry connections.

Compulsory modules

  • Phenomena, Emergent Technologies and Communication

    This module begins your understanding of the areas that you may propose for individual research and study through a group project generating primary research on the environment.

    You will learn and develop appropriate advanced and experimental research and communication techniques associated with your area of interest which will allow you to engage with the current agendas that might be relevant to your final research design project.

    You will engage with current CAD and software developments and rapid prototyping and modelling techniques in developing an experimental project which serve to enhance your communication skills, awareness of emerging technologies, and patterns pf phenomena which may provide creative solutions to design problems. You will make use of the collaborative potential for invention derived from group work.

    This module provides you with the opportunity to develop a range of academic skills pertinent to an advanced ability including, but not limited to, the following:

    • to become familiar with a range of learning resources and technologies

    • to be aware of various models of research in the area and appropriate responses to these texts.

    • to develop and plan an appropriate strategy of study for completion of the course

    • to experience and understand the nature and importance of collaborative intents in design, communication, phenomena, and technologies.

  • Urban Agendas

    The module aims to consider societal and contextual issues in the critical present where the design of inhabitations, both permanent and temporary, is a seminal consideration in the reality of constructed and reconstructed space.

    You will be provided with an opportunity to study the application of innovative methodologies and social, cultural, and economic agendas through the application of primary research in place making.

    You will be encouraged to develop advanced experimental skills and to consider the interior as a space for action and intervention both into the existing architectural landscape and urban fabric. The module is also an introduction to the final project.

  • Sustainability, Materials and Processes, and Details

    The module aims to enquire into innovative and advanced experimental technologies, and sustainability, as they apply to constructed form in a time of climate change emergency. The project draws upon the developmental work of the Urban Agendas module.

    Research enquiry and speculative application will include processes and systems which make use of rapid prototyping robotics, cybernetics, new and hybrid materials, and modern construction methods in order to deliver models for inhabitations.

    You will deliver a technical strategy for your urban agenda project and use this to facilitate an understanding of construction, components, fixtures and fittings, within a circular economy frame of reference.

    Key areas for exploration include:

    • Sustainable environmental design
    • complex and transformative structures
    • surface skin and embedded technologies
    • construction and deconstruction.

  • Environment Design Theories, Ethics and Society, Professional Practice

    This module aims to develop a critical understanding of the theories which underpin the design of interior environments. You will develop, through appropriate case studies, the ability to:

    • Provide a critical and theoretical defence of a position through structured argument

    • Deal with complex issues, both systematically and creatively, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

    • Show initiative and innovation in the approach to and resolution of complex situations, issues and professional self-direction in planning research strategies and applications.

  • Design Project

    The aim of this module is to develop and complete a design project. The project is to be concluded and presented as a portfolio of curated material, evidencing research and design development, in a variety of media.

  • Project/Dissertation

    The aim of this module is to develop and complete your final design proposition so as to complete a final Masters Comprehensive Design Project or Dissertation.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

To study this course you need either an Honours degree awarded at 2.2 (or equivalent) or a recognised professional qualification or relevant professional experience. 

Your application must be supported by:

1. A CV which includes your education and employment history.

2. A personal statement which outlines your motivation for studying this course in no more than 500 words.

3. A portfolio which demonstrates your problem solving skills and creative thinking.

We look for students who show enthusiasm and a passion for the subject through previous study or professional experience.

If you have any questions about the relevance of your qualifications or experience please contact the course leader shown in the teaching staff.

6.5 IELTS or above

You need to meet our English language requirement of 6.5 overall score for IELTS, with a minimum of 5.5 for each of the 4 individual components (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening). Visit our English language requirements page for information on other English language tests we accept.

You also need academic qualifications at the same level as UK applicants. In some countries where teaching is in English, we may accept local qualifications. Check for local equivalents.

We offer pre-sessional English language courses if you do not meet these requirements. Find out more about our English Language courses.

 

Your application must be supported by:

1. A CV which includes your education and employment history.

2. A personal statement which outlines your motivation for studying this course in no more than 500 words.

3. A portfolio which demonstrates your problem solving skills and creative thinking.

We look for students who show enthusiasm and a passion for the subject through previous study or professional experience.

If you have any questions about the relevance of your qualifications or experience please contact the course leader shown in the teaching staff.

Fees & funding

Fees & funding

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Additional costs

There are additional costs for this course that are not included in the tuition fees. See the links below to get a better idea of what to expect:

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront. Government regulation does affect your fees, so what you pay may go up in future. For example, government regulation around future inflation may increase your course fees.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Funding your studies

A range of loans, bursaries and scholarships are available to help you fund your studies.

If you are studying a Masters course you may be eligible to apply for a Postgraduate Loan, this may help contribute towards your course fees and living costs.

Additional funding is available to some types of students, such as disabled students. 

Within the university, we offer a range of scholarships and bursaries. View full details including conditions and eligibility.

Help with funding
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Additional costs

There are additional costs for this course that are not included in the tuition fees. See the links below to get a better idea of what to expect:

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront. Government regulation does affect your fees, so what you pay may go up in future. For example, government regulation around future inflation may increase your course fees.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

International students - funding your studies

We offer scholarships for international students including International Ambassador Scholarships. 

Further information about funding and financial support for international students is available from the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

 

Financial support for international students
Teaching staff

Teaching staff

Person placeholder image.

Doina Carter

Doina Carter is an architect and senior lecturer in architecture and interior design. Her pedagogy is informed by experience in practice - making theory relevant to practice underpins her approach to teaching and research. Research interests include architectural theory, image production for design and documentation and pedagogic (action) research, participatory and experiential learning, live project and communities of practice. With published work, in leadership roles and involvement in compliance and quality assurance processes, she has been actively taking part in the debate on architectural and design education.

Background

Doina worked in practice mostly in commercial offices (Foster + Partners, EPR architects), on projects of different typologies and scales: offices, housing, masterplans, commercial and mixed developments, from the competition and feasibility stages to completion. She was a visiting and part-time tutor for the University of Sheffield and Middlesex University and started working in academia full time in 2006, after joining the University of Lincoln. Her roles included: School Director of Teaching and Learning for the Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment (LSABE), MArch Programme Leader, LSABE Senior Tutor.

Architecture and Interior Design studio tutor

  • BArch [University of Lincoln, Sheffield], MArch [University of Lincoln], BA Interior Design [Middlesex University]
  • Hong Kong Design Institute [UoL year 3 link tutor]
  • MArch International [UoL]


Lecturer:

  • humanities [BArch], urban design [BArch + MArch], technical studies [BArch + MArch]

International tutor:

  • University of Universities [UoU]

Doina Carter is an architect and senior lecturer in architecture and interior design. Her pedagogy is informed by experience in practice - making theory relevant to practice underpins her approach to teaching and research. Research interests include architectural theory, image production for design and documentation and pedagogic (action) research, participatory and experiential learning, live project and communities of practice. With published work, in leadership roles and involvement in compliance and quality assurance processes, she has been actively taking part in the debate on architectural and design education.

Background

Doina worked in practice mostly in commercial offices (Foster + Partners, EPR architects), on projects of different typologies and scales: offices, housing, masterplans, commercial and mixed developments, from the competition and feasibility stages to completion. She was a visiting and part-time tutor for the University of Sheffield and Middlesex University and started working in academia full time in 2006, after joining the University of Lincoln. Her roles included: School Director of Teaching and Learning for the Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment (LSABE), MArch Programme Leader, LSABE Senior Tutor.

Architecture and Interior Design studio tutor

  • BArch [University of Lincoln, Sheffield], MArch [University of Lincoln], BA Interior Design [Middlesex University]
  • Hong Kong Design Institute [UoL year 3 link tutor]
  • MArch International [UoL]


Lecturer:

  • humanities [BArch], urban design [BArch + MArch], technical studies [BArch + MArch]

International tutor:

  • University of Universities [UoU]
Study & career progression

Study & career progression

Interior design virtual

On graduating from this course you could go on to work across a range of specialist-designed environments working with architects, engineers and designers, either within the traditional structure of a practice or as a freelance consultant. 

Potential career paths with an Interior Environmental Design degree include: 

  • Interior and spatial designer
  • Exhibition designer
  • Production designer, theatre/TV/film
  • Visual merchandiser

Alternatively, you may go on to develop your own business either in the UK or internationally.

The course provides a basis for continued study and research in various design-related fields.

How to apply

How to apply

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Important notes for applicants

Disclaimer

*Modern universities - defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.

**The National Student Survey 2023 and 2024 - Average of answers to all questions by registered student population. Excludes specialist institutions.

Testimonials - our students or former students provided all of our testimonials - often a student from the course but sometimes another student. For example, the testimonial often comes from another UWL student when the course is new.

Optional modules - where optional modules are offered they will run subject to staff availability and viable student numbers opting to take the module.

Videos - all videos on our course pages were accurate at the time of filming. In some cases a new Course Leader has joined the University since the video was filmed.

Availability of placements - if you choose a course with placement/internship route we would like to advise you that if a placement/internship opportunity does not arise when you are expected to undertake the placement then the University will automatically transfer you to the non-internship route, this is to ensure you are still successful in being awarded a degree.