Diploma of Interior Design - MSF50218
Quick facts
Student type:
Quick facts
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Entry score
Not applicable
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Duration
Full-time 2 years -
Location
Melbourne City -
Fees
Next intake
February Entry score
Not applicable
Duration
Not applicable Location
Not applicable Fees
Not applicable
Next intake
Not applicable
Overview
Great interior designers understand what makes a space work for a particular purpose. Whether you’re working on a home, office, hotel, commercial environment, or something unique, this course is designed to give you the creative skills you need to build a career in the field of interior design.
In this dynamic, practical, industry-relevant course, you'll learn 2D and 3D design skills and the decorative aspect of design. You’ll delve into the exploration of colour, materials and finishes, interior construction techniques, soft furnishings, and fabrics and furniture. With research and practical tasks across historical and contemporary styles and trends, you’ll develop high-level documentation and technical skills in order to respond to professional briefs for both residential and commercial clients.
You'll develop a deeper understanding of commercial and residential interiors, spatial layout, furnishings and decorative treatments, and the documentation process.
As an interior designer, you will:
develop well-planned and functional spaces
decorate residential and commercial environments
draw sketches and produce samples of your design ideas
source paint colours, lighting, furniture and flooring
provide advice on soft and hard finishes, artwork, and accessories for an interior scheme.
provide on-site design and construction advice.
Through this course, your knowledge and skills will expand to allow you to create and communicate your design concepts, evaluate briefs and apply basic business skills to domestic and commercial projects.
Details
In this course, you will be taught in a studio format that is reflective of commercial design studios. Your teachers will interact and work with you as if you are a junior designer.
You’ll learn through lectures, workshops, studios, online learning, and classroom and industry presentations, real-world briefs, and on-site visits. You’ll acquire a broad range of hands-on skills (rendering, architectural drafting, CAD, Rivet, model making, Photoshop, client presentation), and develop knowledge of the history and theory of colour and design.
During your studies, you’ll work on live projects with members of industry, modelling the consultancy practice of interior designers and decorators for client presentations.
Ongoing assessment throughout the semester includes concept design development, digital and verbal presentations, group projects, research and practical tasks.
RMIT offers a variety of learning and teaching approaches including lectures, seminars, studios, workshops, presentations, group discussions and syndicate work. These are primarily in English.
You will have access to online resources through the myRMIT student portal.
Students of this course have the opportunity to participate in an industry mentorship program run with the support of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA). In the first semester of second year, you can apply to be a part of a 10-week placement with an industry mentor that will support you in professional practice, give you real-world experience, and help provide industry contacts.
You also have the opportunity to collaborate with industry throughout your studies. You’ll work with major Australian companies such as Dulux, Boyac, Jardan and BQ Designs on simulated and real-life projects delivered on-site and in a studio environment. You’ll complete projects that respond to a design brief, receive mentoring and feedback throughout concept development, and present to a panel of relevant Industry representatives.
International student visa holders can only study full-time.
2 years full-time
This is a 2-year, full-time course.
In your first year of the diploma you will study residential briefs that will develop your understanding of architecture and space planning, colour, materials and furnishings, decorative arts, and historic and contemporary interior style.
Visual technology and communication skills underpin the presentation aspects of working as a designer/decorator. You will work with computer-aided design (CAD), Photoshop and other industry-standard software.
From your second year onwards, you will deepen your knowledge of residential and commercial briefs, underpinned by the principles of sustainability across lighting, soft furnishings, interior building materials and techniques. You can also apply to take part in a unique mentorship program.
You'll develop your 3D visualisation and modelling skills to produce detailed and accurate spatial documentation, and you’ll hone your presentation skills in design practice studios for both concept and finished presentations.
Students can expect to attend 21 hours of classes over four days, and complete approximately 20 hours of additional self-directed study and research per week.
Choose a program structure
| Title | Location | Duration | Plan code | CRICOS |
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Choose a program structure
Program code: C5396
National curriculum code: MSF50218
Career
Graduates work for local and overseas design firms such as Atticus and Milo, Jardan, Dulux and many others.
As an interior designer, you might work in environments including:
commercial design offices
interior design and decoration departments
decoration and design consultancy
interior textile wholesale
retail and colour consultancy
Admissions
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent senior secondary school qualification) with a minimum 50% average (check calculator below).
Equivalent qualifications may also include completion of the RMIT Foundation Studies program or a recognised post secondary Diploma in the relevant discipline with the required grades.
Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee entry. Your application will still need to be assessed and accepted.
Art and Design application tips
Entry requirements
You must
- complete and submit the Interior Design VE selection task.
- VTAC applicants must register and submit the selection task.
- All tasks must be submitted by the dates noted below for each VTAC round:
- Early round (Non year 12 only): 25 October 2019
- Main round (All applicants): 2 December 2019
- All subsequent rounds (if places are available): 7 February 2020
- All tasks must be submitted by the dates noted below for each VTAC round:
- RMIT current or recent students please click the apply button to submit your direct application. The link to submit your selection task will appear on the applicant dashboard after you have submitted your application.
- All tasks must be submitted by 7 February 2020 and will be assessed in the order they are received until this date unless places are filled prior.
- VTAC applicants must register and submit the selection task.
Advisory letters will be sent in late December (Main round).
Selection task
The selection task requires:
- an applicant statement outlining why you want to study Interior Design (maximum 300 words)
- a digital folio of 6–8 bodies of your work that reflect both conceptual and finished skills in drawing, problem solving, creative use of colour, communication and 3D/spatial thinking. At least one body of work must be a computer generated project displaying digital skills.
- Your folio should contain a combination of development and finished work.
- Your folio must be compiled into a single PDF, including a short statement for each piece of work (100 words) describing the task and the outcome.
- You can upload your PDF (maximum file size 10MB) or supply a URL to your PDF.
Folio: You are required to submit a folio of 6–8 bodies of work that reflect both conceptual and finished skills in drawing, problem solving, creative use of colour, communication and 3D/spatial thinking. At least one body of work must be a computer generated project displaying digital skills. Your folio should contain a combination of development and finished work. Please include a statement for each body of work, describing the task and the outcome (maximum 100 words per work).
Your folio of 6 - 8 images must be collated a single PDF (maximum 10MB), or a URL to a single PDF if online. Please provide the username and/or password if applicable.
Folio presentation: You must present your folio at an assessment session. If you are living outside Melbourne, this can be conducted via email, phone or video call.
To study this program you will need to complete one of the following English proficiency tests:
- IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 5.5 (with no individual band below 5.0)
- TOEFL (Paper Based Test): minimum score of 530 (TWE 3.5)
- TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 50 (with minimum of 5 in Reading, 5 in Listening, 14 in Speaking and 15 in Writing)
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) (PTE (A)): minimum score of 42 (with no communication band less than 36)
- Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): minimum of 162 with no less than 154 in any component.
For detailed information on English language requirements and other proficiency tests recognised by RMIT, visit English language requirements and equivalency information.
Don't meet the English language test scores? Complete an Upper Intermediate Certificate at RMIT English Worldwide.
Pathways
Fees
2020 fees
The tuition fees you will pay for this program will depend on whether you are offered a Victorian Government subsidised place or a full-fee place. To find out if you are eligible for a government subsidised place, follow the steps at How to check if you are eligible.
- 2020 government subsidised place: AU$6,750* per annum
- 2020 full-fee place: AU$14,500* per annum
*Fees shown are indicative only and subject to change given individual circumstances at the time of enrolment.
Use our fee finder to get an estimate of your fees for this program.
Additional expenses
- Student services and amenities fee (SSAF): AU$308 maximum fee for 2020.
- Other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment.
Annual fee adjustment
The student tuition fees as displayed by the fee finder are indicative only and subject to change given individual circumstances at enrolment. Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide.
Eligibility criteria waver
**The Victorian Government is currently waiving two (2) eligibility criteria around prior qualifications. This means that more people who want to study a vocational education program at RMIT, and already have a qualification, will be able to access a government subsidised place in a program. Find out how to check your eligibility.
Defer your payment
The Australian Government provides financial assistance via the VET Student Loans scheme, which allows eligible students in eligible programs to defer payment of their tuition fees, up to the maximum loan amount for their program.
VET Student Loans
The Australian Government provides financial assistance via the VET Student Loans scheme, which allows eligible students in eligible programs to defer payment of their tuition fees, up to the maximum loan amount for their program.
How does a VET Student Loan work?
If your VET Student Loan application is successful, the Australian Government will pay RMIT your tuition fees on your behalf, up to the maximum loan amount for your program.
Your VET Student Loan becomes part of your VETSL debt. You will start repaying your accumulated VETSL debt to the Australian Government once you earn above the minimum income threshold for repayment, which is adjusted each year (this also applies if you are still studying).
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will calculate your compulsory repayment for the year and include this on your income tax notice.
For more information see VET Student Loans or Study Assist.
Vet Student Loan cap
If your program is eligible for the VET Student Loan scheme and has a loan cap that doesn’t cover the total amount of the tuition fees for your program, then you’ll need to pay RMIT the difference by the due date once you exceed the cap.
It’s easy for you to keep track of your VET Student Loan debt, and you can choose to make upfront payments at any time before the census date.
In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF), which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student.
The SSAF is calculated based on your enrolment load and the maximum fee for 2020 is $308.
For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.
You may also be required to purchase other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment. These additional fees and expenses vary from program to program.
The annual 2020 tuition fee for C5333 (2 years full-time) is AU$22,000.
The total indicative tuition fee for 2020 commencement is AU$44,750.
In addition to tuition fees you also need to pay for:
- Student services and amenities fee (SSAF) in each calendar year.
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) - Student visa holders must have cover for the total duration of their visa.
- Some programs incur additional expenses.
You also need to account for your living expenses. Estimate the cost of living in Melbourne.