The qualifications you need to be an interior designer in the UK are, legally, none at all. Interior design is not a protected profession, so nobody can stop you calling yourself an interior designer tomorrow.
That sounds liberating and it is a little misleading, because while no qualification is required, something has to do the job a qualification usually does. It has to persuade a stranger that you know what you are doing, and it has to teach you the things you cannot pick up from looking at nice rooms. Here is what that means in practice.
The legal position, and why it is not the whole story
Unlike architecture, the title interior designer is not regulated. There is no register you must join and no examination you must pass. Anyone can trade under the name.
What that changes is where the burden falls. In a regulated profession, the qualification proves competence for you. Here, you have to prove it yourself, every time, to every client. That is what a qualification and a portfolio do together, and it is why most working designers have both.
What clients and employers actually look for
A portfolio, first and always. Six to ten pieces showing the brief, your thinking and the result. This is the thing that gets you hired.
A qualification you can name, second. It gets your portfolio read rather than filtered out, and it reassures a private client who has no way of judging your work otherwise.
Evidence you can be trusted with a room and a budget. Testimonials, before and after photographs, and being able to talk about what went wrong on a job as well as what went right.
The vocabulary of the trade. Being able to talk to a builder, a supplier and a client in their own terms, without hesitating.
Routes in, with or without a degree
A degree is one route, not a requirement. A three-year BA in Interior Design or Interior Architecture is the conventional preparation for joining a design practice, and it is what most large studios recognise.
A professional diploma is the route most career changers take. It costs a fraction of a degree, it is studied around a job, and it produces the portfolio that does the persuading.
No qualification at all is possible, and some very good designers have taken this route. It is slower and harder, because you are learning space planning and lighting by trial and error on other people's homes, and you have nothing to show a cautious client at the start.
Our guide to interior design courses compares the routes in detail, and our breakdown of course costs sets out what each one costs.
Not sure which route fits you? Get the free course guide and see what the diploma covers before you decide.
Starting with no experience
Almost everyone starts here, and the honest answer is that experience is something you build rather than something you wait to be given.
Design the spaces you already have access to. Your own home, a friend's flat, a room a family member will let you rework. Document each one properly, with the brief you were solving, your scheme and the result.
Take a small paid job earlier than feels comfortable. A single room consultation for a neighbour teaches you more about client management than months of study.
On the Professional Interior Design Course, the portfolio is built as you go, through 12 tutorials with assignments and tutor-reviewed design briefs, each marked with individual feedback from a professional interior designer. You will receive your Diploma of Professional Interior Design from The British College of Interior Design, approved by the International Approval and Registration Centre (IARC).
Common questions
Do you need a degree to be an interior designer?
No. A degree is one route among several. It is the conventional preparation for practice work, and it is not a requirement for working with private clients.
Do you need a licence or registration?
No. Interior design is not regulated in the UK. What you do need before taking paying clients is insurance, both professional indemnity and public liability.
Is interior design the same as interior decoration?
Not quite, and the difference matters when you are choosing what to train in. Our guide to interior design versus interior decoration explains it.
Where can I check what the job involves?
The National Careers Service interior designer profile sets out the day-to-day work and typical entry routes.
Where to go next
For the full picture of the route in, read how to become an interior designer in the UK. To compare ways of training, see our guide to interior design courses.
Love styling a room? You could turn it into a career.
If decorating is the part of your day you enjoy most, you can learn to do it properly. The Professional Interior Design Course teaches the craft, from reading a space to colour, lighting and styling, through 12 tutorials with course assignments and design briefs, and personal feedback from a professional interior designer on every one. Study at your own pace with no fixed schedules and take up to one year to complete. You will finish with your Diploma and Interior Designer ID Pass and a portfolio ready to show clients. Flexible payment plans are available, plus a no-risk 7-day money-back guarantee.
ENROL NOW or Get the free course guide
