Regent’s University London Interior Design Programme Guide 2026

Why Choose Regent’s University London for Interior Design

The Regent’s University London Interior Design programme offers a distinctive creative education set within one of London’s most iconic locations. Nestled inside Regent’s Park, the campus provides students with an inspiring environment where green spaces meet the energy of a global capital city. For aspiring interior designers seeking a degree that blends rigorous academic theory with intensive practical training, this programme consistently ranks among London’s most compelling choices.

Regent’s University London earned recognition as 3rd in London for student satisfaction and 4th for learning community in the National Student Survey 2022. These rankings reflect the institution’s commitment to personalised education, small class sizes, and one-to-one contact with tutors. Unlike larger university programmes where students can feel lost in lecture halls of hundreds, Regent’s fosters close relationships between faculty and students that allow individual creative voices to develop and flourish.

The university’s highly cosmopolitan community draws students from around the world, creating a culturally rich studio environment where diverse design perspectives converge. This international atmosphere mirrors the global nature of the interior design profession, where practitioners regularly work across borders and cultural contexts. Students graduate not only with technical proficiency but with a worldview that prepares them for an increasingly interconnected design industry. If you are exploring other creative programmes in the UK, our guide to UCL Architecture programmes provides useful comparisons for design-focused applicants.

Programme Structure and Curriculum Overview

The BA (Hons) Interior Design at Regent’s University London is a three-year full-time programme comprising 360 credits across three levels. Each academic year delivers 120 credits through a carefully balanced curriculum built around three interconnected building blocks: Subject Core, Special Electives, and Industry & Entrepreneurship. This tripartite structure ensures that students develop deep design expertise while gaining the broad-based thinking and business acumen essential for professional success.

Year One (Level 4) establishes foundational design skills and critical thinking. Students engage with 80 credits of Subject Core modules covering fundamental interior design principles, spatial analysis, material exploration, and visual communication. An additional 20 credits in Industry & Entrepreneurship introduces real-world design contexts from the very first term, while 20 credits of Language or Perspectives modules broaden intellectual horizons. This opening year is deliberately intensive, building the technical vocabulary and conceptual frameworks upon which later years expand.

Year Two (Level 5) deepens specialisation while expanding creative breadth. Subject Core modules continue at 40 credits, but Special Electives now occupy 40 credits, offering students the freedom to explore topics including brand identity, disruptive technologies, big data in design, and cybercrime’s impact on built environments. These electives are deliberately cross-disciplinary, challenging students to think beyond traditional interior design boundaries. A 20-credit Industry & Entrepreneurship module strengthens professional connections through collaborative projects and industry engagement.

Year Three (Level 6) centres on the Major Project, split across two terms for 40 credits total. This capstone work allows students to pursue a creative ambition, academic research question, or even launch a new business venture. Alongside the Major Project, 40 credits of Subject Core refine advanced design capabilities, while 40 credits of Special Electives and Language modules complete the programme. The year culminates in an annual Design Showcase where students exhibit work to industry contacts, potential employers, and the wider design community.

For students who need additional preparation before entering the degree, the BA (Hons) Interior Design with Foundation adds a preliminary year. This four-year pathway requires five GCSEs at grades A–C and introduces key topics, fundamental skills, and creative experimentation. Students on the foundation route explore their strengths and aspirations before progressing to the full three-year degree programme, making it an excellent option for career changers or those from non-traditional educational backgrounds.

Studio Facilities and Creative Resources at Regent’s Park Campus

The Regent’s Park campus provides purpose-built facilities that equip students with both analogue and digital making skills. Professional design studios serve as the primary creative workspace where students develop concepts, experiment with materials, and collaborate on projects. These studios replicate the working conditions of professional design practices, helping students transition smoothly from academic to professional environments upon graduation.

The digital fabrication lab houses specialist equipment including laser cutters and 3D printers, enabling students to prototype designs rapidly and with precision. A dedicated wood and model-making workshop supports traditional craftsmanship, ensuring students develop tactile material understanding that digital tools alone cannot provide. This dual emphasis on digital and physical making reflects current industry practice, where interior designers must fluently navigate both realms.

Dedicated Mac and PC labs provide access to industry-standard software, while an AutoCAD lab with plotter supports technical drawing and production of large-format design documents. Adobe Creative Cloud is available across campus computing resources. Photography and TV studios allow students to document their work professionally, a skill increasingly vital in an era where design communication through social media and digital portfolios plays a central role in career development. Students studying design in London have access to an extraordinary ecosystem of resources — our UAL Interior Design guide explores another London institution’s approach to creative facilities.

Beyond the campus, London itself functions as an extended classroom. Students visit museums, galleries, and exhibitions regularly, attend events such as the Dezeen Design Festival, and participate in industry talks that connect classroom learning to current professional discourse. This integration of campus facilities with London’s broader cultural infrastructure creates an educational experience that few other locations can match.

Live Client Briefs and Industry Partnerships

One of the defining features of the Regent’s University London Interior Design programme is its emphasis on live client briefs from the first year. Students work with real organisations to propose inventive and thought-provoking design solutions for existing London sites. These projects require students to consider not just aesthetics and functionality but also history, architecture, social impact, and environmental sustainability — the complex web of factors that professional interior designers navigate daily.

Previous collaboration partners span public institutions, local councils, and established architectural practices. Students have worked with Camden Council and Islington Council on community-focused design proposals, with Almacantar on commercial property developments, with The Zoological Society London on visitor experience design, and with MICA Architects on architectural interior projects. Marylebone Parish and The Margate School have also provided briefs that connect students to local communities and cultural organisations.

As alumna Courtney Welham reflected: “Working with the local community has been really beneficial — enabling us to experience the client side of interior design. We examined and measured the spaces, designed new proposals, pitched to the community and received feedback. It was such a worthwhile experience.” This testimonial captures the programme’s pedagogical philosophy: learning by doing, with genuine stakeholders and real consequences.

Mercy Sossion, another alumna, echoed this sentiment: “Collaborations provided a great opportunity for us to apply our skills practically and create unique proposals for real clients, as well as fostering relationships with the local community.” Sossion went on to win an apprenticeship with United in Design, an initiative tackling the lack of diversity in the interior design industry. Her trajectory illustrates how the programme’s industry partnerships can open doors to meaningful career opportunities that extend well beyond traditional design roles.

Building Your Professional Interior Design Portfolio

Throughout the three-year programme, students develop a comprehensive professional portfolio that serves as their calling card for career opportunities. This portfolio is not an afterthought assembled in the final term; rather, it grows organically across all three years as students accumulate hand drawings, digital visualisations, 3D-printed prototypes, physical models, and professionally photographed documentation of their work.

The programme teaches a deliberately wide range of visual communication skills to ensure portfolio versatility. Students learn hand illustration techniques that convey spatial ideas with immediacy and personality. Digital visualisations using industry-standard software demonstrate technical competence. Model making in the wood workshop reveals material sensibility and three-dimensional thinking. 3D printing showcases comfort with emerging fabrication technologies. And professional photography skills, developed in the campus studio, ensure that all this work is presented at the highest possible standard.

Beyond technical execution, the portfolio encapsulates each student’s unique creative voice. The programme places strong emphasis on developing an individual design perspective informed by personal interests, cultural background, and intellectual curiosity. By the time students reach their final Major Project, their portfolio tells a coherent story of creative development — from foundational explorations to sophisticated, self-directed design proposals that are, as the programme describes, “totally unique to you.”

Assessment methods reinforce this portfolio-building approach. Students are evaluated through studio work, practical design projects, presentations, and peer evaluations, alongside written assignments including self-reflective essays, analyses, and research reports. This varied assessment strategy ensures that graduates can not only design effectively but also articulate, defend, and contextualise their creative decisions — skills that distinguish successful designers from mere technicians.

Faculty Expertise and Teaching Philosophy

The Interior Design programme is led by Laoura Englezou, Course Leader, under the broader direction of Dennis Maloney, Director of Content for Fashion & Design. The teaching team comprises academics who, in the university’s own words, “live and breathe design.” Faculty members are active practitioners — designers, illustrators, photographers, and architects — who continue working in the industry alongside their teaching responsibilities.

This dual professional-academic identity means that classroom instruction is shaped by current industry practices rather than purely theoretical frameworks. As the design industry’s agendas shift rapidly in response to technological change, sustainability imperatives, and evolving client expectations, having practitioners at the helm ensures the curriculum remains relevant and forward-looking. Students benefit from tutors who bring fresh project experiences, professional networks, and market insights directly into the studio.

Student Mia Tsujimura captured the impact of this teaching approach: “At Regent’s you’re taught by the most inspiring and creative tutors who are truly passionate about what they do. They motivate you to challenge yourself every day and know how to bring out your unique creativity to make it shine.” Small class sizes facilitate this personalised mentorship, enabling tutors to provide detailed feedback on individual projects and nurture each student’s distinctive design voice. For those also considering business-oriented design programmes, our King’s College London guide offers insight into programmes that blend creativity with commercial strategy.

The university also provides robust student support through services led by Pamela Taylor, Head of Student Support. Whether students need help with personal, academic, or financial matters, dedicated support staff connect them to appropriate expertise. Disability support services ensure all students can participate as equal members of the campus community, and students are encouraged to disclose any conditions affecting their studies upon application so that accommodations can be arranged promptly.

Entry Requirements and Application Process

The BA (Hons) Interior Design requires two A-levels at grades A–C or an international equivalent. English language proficiency must meet IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or an equivalent qualification. Foreign language study and study abroad options are available but not mandatory, reflecting the programme’s international flexibility.

The BA (Hons) Interior Design with Foundation has a lower academic entry threshold, requiring five GCSEs at grades A–C or equivalent, with IELTS 5.5 overall and 5.5 in each component. This foundation pathway does not include foreign language or study abroad options but provides a structured bridge to degree-level study for applicants who need additional preparation.

Regent’s University London operates a rolling application process with no application fee. Students can apply at any time, though early application is recommended as some courses fill quickly. Applications can be submitted directly through the Regent’s website or via UCAS using institution code R18. Conditional offers are issued if education is incomplete or an interview has not yet been attended; unconditional offers follow once all conditions are met.

The application process is designed to be accessible and straightforward. There are no hidden fees, no complex portfolio submission portals, and no restrictive deadlines that penalise late applicants. This open approach aligns with the university’s broader commitment to inclusive education and widening participation in the creative industries.

Career Paths and Graduate Outcomes

Graduates of the Regent’s University London Interior Design programme enter a diverse range of professional sectors. The programme prepares students for careers in commercial design, residential design, and retail design — the three primary domains of interior design practice. Specific roles available to graduates include interior designer, architect, product designer, furniture designer, landscape designer, and set designer, reflecting the breadth of skills developed across the curriculum.

Alumni have secured positions at prestigious firms that demonstrate the programme’s industry credibility. Squire & Partners, one of London’s most respected architectural practices, has employed Regent’s graduates, as have FutureBrand (a global brand consultancy), MoreySmith (workplace design specialists), Dalziel & Pow (retail design leaders), AIS Workplace, and Household. These placements span the full spectrum of interior design practice, from high-end architectural work to brand-driven retail environments.

The programme’s emphasis on entrepreneurship also equips graduates to launch independent design practices. The Industry & Entrepreneurship building block, woven throughout all three years, ensures students understand business fundamentals including client management, project costing, and commercial strategy. The Major Project in Year Three can itself take the form of a new business venture, providing a supported environment for students who want to strike out on their own immediately upon graduation.

For international students, the UK’s Graduate visa route offers up to two years of post-study work, providing time to build professional experience and industry connections in one of the world’s leading design markets. This pathway has proven particularly valuable for Regent’s graduates given the university’s location in central London and its extensive industry network. The British Institute of Interior Design provides additional professional development resources for graduates entering the field.

For those interested in continuing their education, Regent’s offers a range of postgraduate programmes including MA Content Creation, MA User Experience Design, MA Luxury Brand Management, and MA Entrepreneurship — all of which complement an undergraduate interior design foundation and open additional career trajectories in adjacent creative and business fields.

Tuition Fees, Scholarships, and International Student Support

Regent’s University London charges £20,500 per year for both the BA (Hons) Interior Design and the BA (Hons) Interior Design with Foundation programmes. Critically, this fee applies equally to all students regardless of nationality — an increasingly rare policy among UK institutions where international students typically face significantly higher tuition costs. This equal fee structure makes Regent’s one of the most competitively priced options in London for international interior design students.

Financial support is available through multiple channels. Student loans are accessible for eligible applicants, while the university offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support students with demonstrated financial need or academic merit. Full details of available financial support can be found through the university’s funding page.

International students benefit from a particularly robust support infrastructure. The university’s partnership with International SOS, the world leader in medical and security advice services, provides 24/7 general medical and travel safety advice, five counselling sessions per incident per year, and support available from anywhere in the world in the student’s own language. This level of international support reflects Regent’s deep commitment to its cosmopolitan student body and ensures that students from any country can study with confidence.

On-campus accommodation in halls of residence set within the leafy campus grounds offers convenience and community. The accommodation team provides personalised recommendations based on budget and individual needs. Students can reach the accommodation office at accommodation@regents.ac.uk for guidance on housing options. The campus location itself — accessible via Baker Street Underground station with approximately a ten-minute walk — places students within easy reach of London’s major design districts, cultural institutions, and professional opportunities.

As German student Tessa Lange shared: “It’s hard to put into words the extensive amount of experience and knowledge I’ve gained at Regent’s. The campus, the small class sizes and the one-to-one contact with teachers, along with the international student and academic body, has proven that I could not have chosen a better place to study.” Her words encapsulate what many international students discover: that Regent’s University London offers not just a degree but a transformative educational experience positioned at the intersection of academic rigour, creative ambition, and global perspective.