How to Find Out if an Interior Design School Has Accreditation
Interior design schools must meet rigorous requirements in order to earn accreditation. Before you turn over your hard-earned tuition dollars, it’s to your advantage to learn whether the school you are attending or considering enrolling in is properly accredited, and by what organization.
Council for Interior Design Accreditation
The CIDA is the premiere organization that accredits education programs offering interior design training. Accreditation requirements include methodology and curricula that conform to industry standards. If an interior design college does not meet CIDA requirements, consider it a warning sign that the program you’re training in or evaluating may be a diploma mill or another type of illegitimate program.
- You can find an accredited school through the CIDA website, which lists officially sanctioned programs by state.
- Most schools will cite their CIDA standing in their informational literature or on their interior design program website. You can check these claims against the list of schools at the CIDA website to be sure the claim is legitimate.
What Kinds of Interior Design Schools are Accredited?
The CIDA evaluates the quality of a program and whether it meets professional standards for training in the interior design field, but it does not discriminate based on geography, physical structure, or length of study. These are the types of accredited schools:
- Campus-based interior design programs
- Distance-based and online interior design programs
- Two-year programs, such as those granting associate degrees
- Four-year programs, such as those granting Bachelor of Arts degrees
What Can an Interior Design Program Offer Beyond CIDA Compliance?
There are other metrics you can use to gauge whether the interior design college you’re looking at stands up to scrutiny. These facts are often available on an interior design program’s website, but if you can’t tell through an online search, contact an admissions representative or faculty member to get the information you need.
- Find out if your program is a member of the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers). If you can obtain a student membership in this professional association, you will be eligible upon graduation for allied membership in the ASID.
- Learn whether the interior design program prepares you to sit for the certification exam held by the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification) upon completion of your training. Passing the NCIDQ exam is not entirely dissimilar to passing the bar exam as a lawyer; it can be a major factor in your employment future after graduation.