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Bachelor of Design and Visual Arts (Interior Design) image

Learn how to design spaces for cultural and/or commercial consumption, such as museum displays set designs, retail and restaurant spaces, and community-based design projects. Work on a range of studio projects, discover various design computer software programmes, and explore the works of top interior designers and practitioners.


[BDVA]

7, 360

Full-time for three years

Starts February and July

50 places

Applications will be considered in the date order they are received.

CA2367

Mt Albert campus

NZ$ 5158

International fees
Programme summary
Career opportunities
Courses and timetables
Admission requirements
Portfolio requirements

Programme summary

Want to shape and influence the spaces around you? Learn to design spaces for cultural and/or commercial consumption, such as museum displays, set designs, retail and restaurant spaces, and community-based design projects. Work on a series of challenging interior design studio projects, discover new and emergent technologies within the discipline, and gain insight from guest lecturers.

Interiors both shelter and shape the imagination. Designed to serve as repositories for people and objects, interior designs significantly affect the way we live and work. With a Bachelor of Design and Visual Arts (Interior Design) under your belt, you’ll be qualified to work as an interior designer, performance designer, exhibition designer, or lighting designer.

As an interior design student you’ll be actively engaged in design studio, completing a range of exciting and challenging projects. You will develop a sound understanding of a broad range of architectural representation techniques, critically engaging with digital and analogue drawing and modelling practices. You’ll find out about new and emergent technologies that will enable you to work within a design practice. Within design studio, and specialist theory and technology papers, you’ll explore a diverse range of contemporary work produced by top interior designers and practitioners. Even better, you’ll be taught by interior design staff and guest lecturers who have demonstrated excellent performance in their field of specialisation, winning national and international awards for their creative outputs and publishing in highly respected journals on interior design and architecture. They will share their research practices with you, exposing you to a range of critical and contemporary discussions relevant to interior design.

Real-world learning
There’s a strong focus on studio projects. You’ll design spaces for cultural and/or commercial consumption. These may include exhibition designs, performance designs, residential designs, installation designs, and larger-scale projects. In your first year, you are introduced to a range of dynamic studio projects designed to challenge and extend your conceptual thinking skills and technical knowledge. In the second year, you’ll be involved in larger-scale design projects. In your final year, you’ll complete a semester-long, self-directed project, giving you the chance to enhance and extend your individual research interests in interior design practice.

Industry recognition
This programme is highly respected by leading interior design practitioners and large interior design offices within New Zealand.

Exit award: If you complete two years of this qualification and don't want to continue on to the third year, you may be entitled to receive the Diploma in Interior Design Studies. You can then come back any time to finish the third year of the bachelors degree.

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Career opportunities

  • Interior designer
  • Lighting designer
  • Retail designer
  • Set designer

 

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Courses and timetables

To view the list of courses and timetables for this programme for 2010, please click here.

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must meet the general, discretionary or special admission requirements. Applicants must also meet the English language requirements. Applicants must submit a portfolio of work and may also be interviewed.

General admission

Applicants must:

  • Be at least 16 years of age when the programme begins (or provide a completed Early Release Exemption form, which you can obtain from your local Ministry of Education office); and
  • Have a minimum of 42 NCEA credits at level 3 or higher on the National Qualifications Framework, including a minimum of:
    • 14 credits in each of two subjects from an approved subject list; and
    • 14 credits taken from no more than two additional domains on the National Qualifications Framework or approved subjects; and
  • Have a minimum of eight credits at level 2 or higher in English or Te Reo Maori, of which four credits must be in Reading and four in Writing (see note), or equivalent; and
  • Have at least three C passes in New Zealand University Bursaries examinations, or equivalent; or
  • Have gained the Unitec Certificate in Design and Visual Arts, or equivalent; or
  • Have gained the Unitec Certificate in Foundation Studies: Whitinga (Level 3) with a relevant endorsement, where appropriate, or equivalent.

Discretionary admission (for applicants aged under 20)

Applicants who do not meet the general admission requirements and who are less than 20 years of age when the programme begins may be considered for discretionary admission if they can demonstrate aptitude for study at the required level. This could include, for example:

  • Having a minimum of 72 credits at NCEA level 2 in their best four subjects, including English, or equivalent; or
  • Having a minimum of 42 credits at level 3 or higher on the NQF, including, but not limited to, the following subjects:
    • Art History
    • Design (Practical Art)
    • Graphics
    • Painting (Practical Art)
    • Photography (Practical Art)
    • Printmaking (Practical Art)
    • Sculpture (Practical Art)
    • Technology; or equivalent.
  • Having a maximum of 10 in their best four New Zealand Sixth Form Certificate subjects, or equivalent; or
  • Having at least three C passes in New Zealand University Bursaries examinations, or equivalent.

Special admission (for applicants aged 20 and over)

Applicants who do not meet the general admission requirements and who are at least 20 years of age when the programme begins may be considered for special admission if they can provide evidence of aptitude or appropriate work or other experience.

English language

Applicants must:

  • Have a minimum of eight NCEA credits in English at level 2, of which four must be in Reading and four in Writing, or equivalent; or
  • Have a minimum of seven NCEA credits at level 3 in an English-rich subject, or equivalent; or
  • Have successfully completed studies at level 5 or higher in an English medium; or
  • Have a grade of 5 or better in New Zealand Sixth Form Certificate English, or equivalent; or
  • Have New Zealand University Bursaries in an English-rich subject with a minimum mark of 40 percent, or equivalent; or
  • Have an overall IELTS band score (Academic) of no less than 6.0 (with no band score lower than 5.0), or a TOEFL score of no less than 550, or equivalent; or
  • Have an appropriate Unitec English language qualification, such as the Diploma in English (Academic), or equivalent.

Note: New Zealand secondary school graduates who have English as an additional language (EAL) using NCEA to meet Unitec programmes general admission criteria may substitute the eight credits in English at NCEA level 2 (four in Reading and four in Writing) with an IELTS score (or equivalent). This IELTS score is the same as that required by the programme in which they wish to enrol. These students are still required to achieve a minimum of 42 NCEA credits at level 3 or higher and the Mathematics or Pangarau requirements.

 

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Portfolio requirements

All applicants must submit with their application a portfolio of work that demonstrates their ability within their chosen major or within a variety of art, design or related media.

The portfolio should comprise 15-20 reproductions of their recent best work and may be submitted as colour photographs, digital files on CD or DVD (.jpegs must not be larger than one meg) or colour laser prints (no larger than A4).

Applicants may be invited to an interview at the next stage of the selection process.

Need a little more help with your portfolio?

Follow our portfolio hints and tips on what to include, what not to include and how to lay it all out.

 



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