Educators at the area’s top interior design programs credit St. Louis’s robust architecture and design community for making it an ideal training ground for future interior designers. Each program takes advantage of the fertile field by employing practicing professionals as instructors, and exposing students to experiences outside of the classroom.
Here’s an overview of three programs that aim to prepare students for careers in residential or commercial design.
Get a weekly dose of home and style inspiration
Subscribe to the St. Louis Design+Home newsletter to explore the latest stories from the local interior design, fashion, and retail scene.
School
St. Louis Community College at Meramec
Degree
Associate Degree requiring 60 credit hours of general education courses and major-specific courses
Speciality Classes
Lighting design; The history of cultural environments; STLCC’s program also features a focus on fine arts courses, such as drawing.
Length of Program
“The program’s goal is to prepare students to be work-ready by the end of its two-year program, which is particularly appealing to students who may already have degrees and work experience,” says Erin LeClerc, program coordinator.
Who Enrolls?
“We have a huge group of students who are career changers,” says LeClerc. “It’s just a great transition into the world of interior design. You get the skill set, but you have the cost savings and time savings of a two-year program.” The community college holds transfer agreements with several universities, including Maryville University, that allow students to transition seamlessly into a bachelor’s degree program, so the program also welcomes traditional college students. Whether graduates go directly to design firms or move on to bachelor’s programs, they leave STLCC with a professional portfolio, says LeClerc. “At the end of their program, we have students put together a portfolio, a resume, and a website and we have designers come in to give them feedback.”
Cost
Students who live in St. Louis, St. Louis County, and portions of Jefferson and Franklin Counties pay $122 per credit hour, while other Missouri residents pay $171 per credit hour. Fees are also built into STLCC’s tuition rates. Click here for more information on tuition and fees.
Scholarship opportunities
One well-known scholarship opportunity for high school students looking to enroll in community college is the A+ Scholarship Program administered by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. The STLCC site also offers scholarship options for students from a variety of backgrounds.
Program Highlights
STLCC features a service learning component that has included collaborations with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Our Little Haven. “They are in-class projects but we’re going out into the community and giving back. We’re forming a strong connection between the community college and the communities that we serve while getting that real-world experience built into the program,” LeClerc says.
How do I know if it’s right for me?
STLCC maintains a robust recruitment and outreach department. It also operates a 36-foot mobile classroom that brings information about its programs to interested students. Prospective students can also go online to request information or a campus visit.
Important dates/deadlines
STLCC has open application enrollment. Barring extenuating circumstances, those applying as degree-seeking students must provide official high school transcripts from an accredited high school or passing GED or HiSET test scores.
School
Maryville University
Degree
Maryville offers a bachelor of fine arts in interior design that requires 128 credit hours of general education courses and major-related courses, including interior design history and architectural graphics and technology. The program, which is accredited by the National Council for Interior Design and the National Association of Schools of Art & Design, also requires students to complete at least one internship, many of which lead to employment offers, says Darlene Davison, interior design program director at Maryville. “And most do more than one internship, so that’s something that sets us apart,” she says.
Specialty Classes
Designing for sustainability and health; furniture design; Maryville’s courses also include a senior show experience that ends with graduating students presenting projects in front of hundreds of guests, Davison says.
Length of Program
Maryville’s BFA in interior design is structured as a four-year program.
Who enrolls?
Maryville enrolled the largest undergraduate class in its history in fall 2022, with a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,711 students. Its student body includes recent high school graduates, nontraditional adult students, transfer students, and international students from 52 countries. “Last year, one of our graduates was a Syrian refugee,” says Davison. “She designed a Syrian refugee center as her final capstone project.”
Cost
Maryville’s full-time undergraduate tuition for 12 to 18 credit hours is currently $12,383 per semester. Its part-time tuition rate for 1 to 11 credits is $781 per credit hour. Fees are $1,200 per semester for full-time students and $450 per semester for part-time students. Maryville’s website details a number of automatic scholarships based on high school GPA or admissions test scores as well as competitive scholarships and scholarships based on participation in a club or sport. Overall, 93 percent of the university’s full-time students receive some form of financial aid.
Program Highlights
“A strength of our program is that we’re small enough that we know our students, and firms depend on us to make a good fit between a student and a firm,” says Davidson. “Each firm has a different culture and different requirements for what a student might do. So we want to make sure it’s a good experience for the student and the employer.”
How do I know if it’s right for me?
Campus visits and tours are available Monday through Saturday. Interested students can also reach out to department faculty or attend events, including Design & Visual Art Day.
Important dates/deadlines
Maryville operates a rolling admission for the interior design program. Applicants should have a high school diploma and a minimum high school GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, a minimum GED score of 660 with no section below a 145, or a Missouri HiSet score of 75 minimum score with no section below a 15. For more specifics on high school course requirements and transfer student requirements, visit this site.
School
Stevens, The Institute of Business & Arts
Degree
Stevens offers an associate degree program and a bachelor degree program in interior design at its Washington Avenue campus.
Speciality Courses
Classes are organized into 10-week terms and include offerings such as kitchen and bath design and healthcare facility design.
Length of Program
Eighteen months for an associate degree; 36-month bachelor degree program
Who enrolls?
Janelle Schrumpf, the department head of the interior design program, says the school’s term structure and accelerated programs appeal to a wide variety of students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 41 percent of SIBA’s total undergraduate enrollment in fall 2021 was 24 and under while 59 percent was 25 and older.
Cost
SIBA’s tuition rate is $285 per quarter credit hour. The school requires a $25 application fee and a $250 textbook/resource fee, per quarter. The SIBA Scholarship Fund is a nonprofit that offers funds to deserving students. The school’s website also features a list of other scholarship opportunities, including the St. Louis Graduates Scholarship and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Leslie Scholarship.
Highlights of the Program
With an average class size of nine students, SIBA aims to offer individualized learning experiences that expose students to a variety of design disciplines, says Schrumpf. “Every student I’ve ever talked to has an individualized way of wanting to learn. They also have different goals,” she says. “What’s wonderful about our program is that some students might want more business focus. Some students want more renovation design. Some students want more commercial design and some want more residential design. It’s very important for me to find out what their goals are and what they’re interested in–and then guide them to give them those opportunities.”
How do I know if it’s right for me?
Schrumpf invites prospective students to sit in on a class. SIBA also offers a 30-day trial period to all its first-time students. If a student decides the school isn’t a good fit, Stevens doesn’t charge tuition and the school will refund that term’s textbook fee.
Important dates/deadlines
SIBA’s upcoming application deadline is March 10 and classes for the next term start March 20. For admission into the interior design bachelor degree program, students must have graduated from a state-recognized high school with a minimum G.P.A. of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or achieved a score of least 75 percent correct on the GED, HiSET, or other state-approved high school equivalency examination. For additional admissions details, prospective students can visit SIBA’s catalog site.
