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Home designer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a home designer. Home designers usually study interior design, business, or drafting and design. 61% of home designers hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 492 real home designer resumes to see exactly what home designer education sections show.
The most common colleges for home designers are the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
There are also many online home designer courses to help get the education required to be a home designer.
What education do you need to become a home designer?
What degree do you need to be a home designer?
- Bachelor's, 61%
- Associate, 25%
- Master's, 5%
- High School Diploma, 4%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a home designer?
- Interior Design, 23%
- Business, 11%
- Drafting And Design, 11%
- Architecture, 9%
- Other Majors, 46%
Most common colleges for home designers
| Home designer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Fashion Institute of Technology | 12.00% |
| Wayne State University | 6.00% |
| Brigham Young University | 6.00% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 6.00% |
| University of Wisconsin - Stout | 6.00% |
Best majors for home designers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interior Design | 22.6% |
| 2 | Business | 11.1% |
| 3 | Drafting And Design | 11.1% |
| 4 | Architecture | 9.3% |
| 5 | Fine Arts | 6.6% |
Best colleges for home designers
The best colleges for home designers are Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Yale University.
A home designer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for home designers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become home designers.
1. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
2. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
3. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
4. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
6. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
8. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
9. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
In-state tuition
$53,430
Enrollment
5,963
10. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$12,424
Enrollment
15,201
20 best online courses for home designers
Advertising disclosure
1. Everything Small Home Design
Small Home Living at its Best...
2. How to Use Lighting Design to Transform your Home
Learn How to Use Lighting in your Interior Design Like a Pro...
3. Interior Design for your Modern Home: A Room by Room Guide
Learn how to take charge of your home interior design and confidently make the right design decisions...
4. Graphic Design Masterclass: Learn Graphic Design in Projects
Graphic design principles, typography, & color mastery using Illustrator, In Design, and Photoshop. For beginners & more!...
5. Graphic Design Mastery: The FULL Branding & Design Process
Follows the FULL Graphic Design Process for A Company: Logo, Ad, Social Media, T-Shirt, Package, Website Design & More!...
6. Graphic Design Masterclass - Learn GREAT Design
The Ultimate Graphic Design Course Which Covers Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design,Design Theory, Branding and Logo Design...
7. Graphic Design Theory - Color & Contrast
Use Color And Contrast Masterfully In Your Design Projects...
8. Master Graphic Design & Software with Practical Projects
Conquer Popular Graphic Design Projects: Logo, Package, Magazine, Book Cover Design, Branding, Digital Graphics & More!...
9. Design your Room Using Sketchup
Learn the principles of interior design and how to use Sketch Up to make a 3D model of a bedroom's layout and décor...
10. Master Digital Product Design: UX Research & UI Design
A complete design education for product designers: Research the user experience, then design a great user interface...
11. Graphic Design Foundations in Canva: Theory and Projects
Learn design theory and practice GREAT graphic design through practical real world projects in Canva...
12. How to Design a Room in 10 Easy Steps
Interior Design Made Simple...
13. Digital Design Masterclass For Graphic Designers
Icon Set Design, E-book cover, Digitizing Sketches, Social Media Design, Wordpress Web Design, Adobe Xd, GIFS and more!...
14. 47 Graphic Design Projects for Photoshop Beginners
Photoshop graphic design for beginners! Includes 47 Photoshop projects for your graphic design portfolio...
15. The Branding Masterclass The Entire Brand Design Process
Sketching, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Brand Voice, Color & Typographic Systems, Portfolio and Client Presentations...
16. Graphic Design Masterclass Intermediate: The NEXT Level
Up Your Graphic Design Skills: Logo Design, Photo Manipulation, Package Design, Infographics, Portfolio Building, Grids!...
17. Adobe Photoshop Graphic Design
Design 4 Beautiful eye catching Graphic Design Projects from Scratch with Adobe Photoshop Graphic Design Basics...
18. Web Design in Affinity Designer Masterclass
How to design modern websites in Affinity Designer - A web design and Affinity Designer feast...
19. World of Graphic Design & Infographics
All about basics of Graphical designing and Infographics...
20. Graphic Design Bootcamp: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
Bestselling Beginner Course! Use Photoshop, Illustrator, & In Design for logo design, web design, poster design, and more...
Top 10 most affordable universities for home designers
The most affordable schools for home designers are Brigham Young University, fashion institute of technology, and florida international university.
If the best universities for home designers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for home designers.
1. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
2. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$5,740
Cost of attendance
17,864
3. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
4. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
5. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,353
Cost of attendance
21,302
6. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
7. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Cost of attendance
25,275
8. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
9. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
10. California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,310
Cost of attendance
19,807
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for home designers
The hardest universities for home designers to get into are Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Yale University.
Some great schools for home designers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for home designers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
3. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
5. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
6. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
Admissions rate
39%
SAT average
1,367
7. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
47%
SAT average
1,390
8. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
Admissions rate
49%
SAT average
1,347
9. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,465
10. Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
51%
SAT average
1,395
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for home designers
The easiest schools for home designers to get into are University of the Incarnate Word, la roche college, and notre dame de namur university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a home designer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for home designers.
1. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
2. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
3. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
4. Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
67%
SAT average
987
5. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
6. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
7. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
8. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
9. Lamar University
Beaumont, TX • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,043
10. Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX • Private
Admissions rate
79%
SAT average
1,075
Average home designer salary by education level
| Home designer education level | Home designer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $76,789 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $69,735 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $58,771 |
Home designer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025