Introduction
Push your interior design practice and spatial thinking beyond existing boundaries, towards speculative, analytical, and entrepreneurial approaches that extend from the room to the city. Make a positive contribution to society, health, and planet through ethical and systemic innovation in the built environment.
Already have an ARU degree? You may be eligible for our Alumni Scholarship for students starting postgraduate courses.
In a world that will soon be 70% urbanised, and where humans spend 90% of their time indoors, future interior design professionals have never played such a central role in improving the quality of life through innovative and thoughtful spaces, services, and experiences that are connected, shared, and intelligent.
By studying MA Interior Design Innovation at ARU, you will develop the theoretical, practical, and leadership skills, and understanding and knowledge critical to creating dynamic and future forms of living, working, learning, and relaxing.
You’ll gain a broad understanding of future and smart cities from the perspective of interior design, and tackle mental, physical, emotional, and social health and wellbeing issues in a global context by rethinking existing spaces, environments, and experiences. These spaces could include retail; exhibitions; entertainment; leisure; housing; hospitality; urban and human interactions; transport and mobility.
This degree is available as an MA or PG Dip.
Course options
Key facts
Entry Requirements
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Fees and Paying for University
Facilities and showcase
Industry-standard facilities
As well as our dedicated interior design studio, you’ll have use of facilities including:
- 3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal and clay
- specialist printmaking workshop including etching, screen-printing and lithography
- dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite
- Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery
- photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans
- life drawing studio.
Futures Lab and workshop equipment
Our new digital workshop includes a variety of computer aided manufacturing machines, helping you learn up to date manufacturing and design processes as well as supporting many traditional techniques. These technologies include:
- 3D printers and scanners - FDM printers; material-specific extruders; SLA Formlabs printers; SLS Formlabs Fuse1; structured light 3D scanners
- 2D printing and cutting machines - laser cutters; Roland BN20 vinyl printer & cutter; Gerber substrate cutter; Mimaki TX300P sublimation printer.
Take a closer look
Our Creative Showcase shines a spotlight on what makes ARU creative and cultural – our spaces, places and people. Find out more about our community, the difference we make, the stories we tell, and the things that inspire us. You can also explore the work of our graduating students in our digital graduate showcase.
Lecturers
Careers
Our Interior Design Innovation will help you achieve a career within the public, private, and third sector in roles such as:
- Spatial and architectural designer
- Healthcare and wellbeing designer
- Branded environments and retail future designer
- Social regeneration designer
- Hospitality designer
- Virtual and physical experience designer
- Urban interventionist
- Design management
- Materials designer
- Circularity and systems strategist
- Immersive environments designer
- Product and furniture designer
- Sustainability strategist
- Space planner and strategist
All of our modules integrate professional practice, and you’ll be introduced to different aspects of the design industry by the teaching team and external guests. This will help you develop an appreciation and awareness of the changing role of designers, and the increasing responsibilities within possible career paths.
Your awareness of current practices and responsibilities will develop at an early stage of your studies, particularly in the Design Ethics and Design Practices modules.
You’ll also use the Personal Development Planning (PDP) tool to record, map and review your employability skills and experience across the course, and engage with employability and career development supported by academic and technical staff as well as the ARU Employability Service and ARU Enterprise and Innovation.
These in-house centres provide daily drop-in sessions; careers advice and guidance; workshops covering job search, making applications, and designing CVs; interview preparation; Job Fairs, employability events and presentations from employers; and job opportunities, internships, and work placements.
Graduation doesn’t have to be the end of your time with us. You could choose to continue your academic career with a PhD programme at ARU. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and save £400 on your fees.
Want to talk to someone?
Do you have a question that we haven't answered so far? Talk to our application experts. You can also ask our Student Ambassadors about life at ARU.
We're here Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm (please note we close at 3.30pm on the first and third Thursday of the month for staff training), and Friday 9am-4.30pm.
Life in Cambridge
Our friendly, bustling campus is a stone’s throw from the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.
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Benefits of postgraduate study
Improve your employability, progress in your career, and take on an intellectual challenge with our flexible postgraduate degrees.
Postgraduate study at ARU