How to Discover an Interior Design College's Real Reputation
Finding an interior design college where earning your degree will give you a substantial career advantage isn’t as simple as it might immediately appear. There are several steps that you should take before committing to an interior design college.
Doing a little bit of research before you pick a school can nip surprises in the bud and save you a lot of regret and anxiety later. While you’re deciding which institutions to apply or, or which one to attend, take these actions to find the interior design school that will give you the best leg up when you enter the job market after graduation.
Seek Out Alumni From the Interior Design College
Any top-notch interior design college should have a glittering roster of alumni who have established impressive careers in the industry. Before you commit to attending an interior design college, try to find out where its graduates have landed.
A simple Google search for “school name” and “alumni” will likely give you at least a handful of examples of the career status of current graduates of the interior design school you’re considering.
- If you see a lot of results, especially the college’s name mentioned in biographies at design firms, that’s a great sign.
- If that kind of search doesn’t return any results, or doesn’t return many, chances are pretty good that former students aren’t making much of a splash in the design world.
Check out trade journals and industry publications such as Interior Design Magazine or The Designer Magazine. Do you see your prospective college’s name mentioned in those glossy pages? If graduates from an interior design college are getting coverage, it’s a positive indication that the institution in question provides high-quality training.
How is the Interior Design College Ranked?
Another great way to gauge the reputation of an interior design college is to gather any information you can about its rankings according to objective, third-party sources. The most famous of these ranking lists, which is considered the most exhaustive and reliable, is the U.S. News & World Report College Ranking.
Before you choose your interior design program, try searching the name of the college at the U.S. News & World Report website or in their annual print publication.
- If the college is ranked there, you'll find information ranging from a written summary of the programs and famous alumni, to hard numbers and statistics on topics like admission, tuition, and graduation rate.
- If the college isn’t ranked there, you should proceed with caution. This can be a red flag suggesting that the school you’re considering isn’t worth your time and money.