Are you creative and artistic? Do you always have new ideas about how to improve your surroundings? Do you enjoy working with others to solve problems and overcome challenges? Then consider a career in interior design. DCCCD’s Interior Design program, offered at El Centro College, can give you the skills you’ll need to succeed in this field.
What exactly is interior design? Simply put, it’s the trade of planning the layout and furnishings of an architectural interior.
More than just decorators, designers draw from a number of disciplines — including architecture, product design and environmental psychology — to plan both the functionality and look of almost every type of building.
Designers need to understand interior construction, equipment, materials, furniture and building codes and may concentrate on residential or commercial design.
El Centro’s location in downtown Dallas puts students at the edge of a booming design district with incredible opportunities for hands-on learning, student internships and immediate employment after graduation.
We offer a two-year associate degree, with a 27-hour advanced technical certificate for a comprehensive three-year training program that will prepare you to enter the fast-paced and challenging career of interior design.
Our program has been consecutively accredited since 1970 by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), the accrediting body for interior design in higher education in the U.S. and Canada. Students follow a rigorous, sequential progression of coursework that increases with difficulty through the six-semester program.
Your training in interior design will prepare you to work as a design assistant with the potential to realize full professional status and independent practice. Licensure as an interior designer with the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners requires a combination of both education and practical experience and passing the National Council for Interior Design Qualifying Exam (NCIDQ).
Check out Interior Design course listings in our catalog.
Interior Design Degree and Certificate Options
El Centro’s Interior Design program includes a two-year associate degree, as well as an additional 27-hour advanced technical certificate, for a comprehensive three-year educational track leading to a challenging and fast-paced career:
Other Degree and Certificate Options
The Dallas County Community College District offers nearly 350 career and technical degrees and certificates, plus 36 academic degrees. For more information, see a chart of our degree plans by location.