Interior Architecture and Venue Design with Foundation Year

Interested in a career where you can translate your design ideas into reality? This degree equips you with the skills and knowledge you need to design exciting venues ranging from bars, restaurants and entertainment complexes to hotels, shops and museums. 

• Build all the skills you need to excel in rewarding roles with architectural and interior design practices, major construction companies and local authorities
• Gain valuable workplace experience – our students have been as far afield as Los Angeles and Singapore on practice placements
• Undertake real-world projects based upon actual sites
• Showcase your work in exhibitions, locally and in our Student Showcase

You can also take the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Venue Design without a foundation year.

Foundation Year - helping you to achieve more

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

Our degrees with a foundation year are continuous, meaning that you won’t need to apply again once you have successfully completed the first year.

Interior Architecture and Venue Design at Derby

This degree covers a wide range of venue designs that offer enormous potential, from the interior architecture of bars, restaurants and multi-purpose venue spaces to the design of hotels, resorts and residential developments. You will look at the planning and design of live performance spaces, social and community places, exhibition spaces, galleries, brand retail outlets and museums, to name just a few examples.

A thorough understanding

During your studies, you will be constantly challenged to conceptualise, investigate and develop the design of three dimensional spaces.  You will gain a thorough understanding of the ways in which architectural and interior design histories and theories, as well as existing physical and cultural contexts, inform design processes, programmes and proposals.

We foster an ethos where you will produce socially, culturally and environmentally responsive design proposals, drawing upon best practice and the wide-ranging expertise of our teaching teams.

Professional credibility

On successful completion of the Foundation Year you will enter onto BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Venue Design, which is accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) and affiliated with the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), so you will develop all the knowledge and skills required to become professionally qualified. 

Broaden your horizons 

You can gain valuable industry experience on a work placement between stages two and three of your honours degree studies. This placement could be taken abroad and may provide a salary.

Good recent examples being Hallum Herbert, Jenny Ritz and Thayna Couto De Oliveira all heading out to California for placements working in Santa Monica and Pasadena.

For the last several years we have been working with Down to Earth Derby, on nature-based regeneration and connecting communities with nature and growing food. A major project we are working on at the moment, with the Eden Project, is a community garden on part of Sturgess Fields, a site owned by the University between Kedleston Road and Markeaton Street sites. The plan is to create a New Commons that will be managed with the community. There are opportunities for you to work on this project, designing sustainable buildings and structures.

Derby Property Summit

Over the past few years, students have also collaborated with Marketing Derby at the Derby Property Summit events to showcase their final year projects that are based on ideas and designs for an area within the city of Derby.

Strong employer links

Our courses are designed with the help of employers, so they are focused on preparing you to hit the ground running from day one in your career. Our industry partnerships mean that you will have the chance to see real-world projects at first hand and go on study trips in the UK and Europe. You will also be inspired by guest lectures delivered by experts from industry. Our longstanding links with companies – both locally and overseas – will inspire and enthuse you. Our associations span major names such as Akarstudios, Virgin Atlantic, Interserve, Benoy Architects, Jacobs, Bouygues UK, Pick Everard, Lathams, WCAC Group, Maber, Morrisons Design Ltd., CPMG and Akar Studios, and Millar Management.

Expert teaching

Throughout your course you'll be taught by our research-active academics who have connections to industry and bring their expert knowledge to their teaching sessions. You'll be taught by:

Dr Timo Kapsalis: Timo is a Lecturer in Architectural Design and Technology, with international experience as a practitioner and a research background. He specialises in design technology that is geared towards the application of advanced techniques and tools in enhancing both the efficiency and efficacy of design processes in the built environment.

Dr Boris Ceranic: Boris is an experienced academic, practitioner and researcher. He spent ten years on the construction sites and in his own design and build practice, prior to entering academia. Since then, he has remained research and practice active, publishing on an international level and chairing panels at international conferences, undertaking PhD supervision and examination, and engaging in externally funded research projects and consultancy. He has a wide range of research interests including sustainable architecture and low energy design, healthy buildings, modular design and construction technologies, fire research and feng shui.

Dr Eleni Tracada: Eleni graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence, Italy in 1983. Once qualified she worked as a self-employed architect in Florence from 1983 to 1993. After moving to the UK and being awarded a Masters of Arts in Interior Design in 1996, she went into teaching architecture. Her research interests include recovered landscapes, the history and philosophy of architecture, and sustainable buildings and communities. 

Excellent Facilities

As a student studying the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Venue Design course, you'll have access to a wide range of resources and facilities including a Design Studio with a modelling area containing computers with design software, an A3 scanner, a 3D printer, light boxes, a hot wire cutter, guillotines, hot glue guns, large steel rules and cutting mats, binding machine, drawing boards and modelling tables. In our Workshop area, there are two laser cutters vacuum former, along with wood and metal working areas, and a spray booth. In addition to this, there is a further laser cutter as well as large format plotters available in the Digital Design Hub. The Media Hub also provides a loan facility for cameras, digital measuring devices, as well as other environmental recording equipment. You'll also have access to the Arts and Design library in Britannia Mill.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Real world learning

During the course, you will have the opportunity to take a placement year as well as UK and European study trips. You will also be encouraged to display your work in exhibitions, both locally and in our Student Showcase. Our annual Student Showcase is a great way to showcase your work to prospective employers and the public. You can take a look at some of our student projects in our online exhibit. 

The majority of your studio projects are based upon actual local sites so you could get involved in current projects with real-life clients.

How you are assessed

You will be assessed in a variety of ways to help you develop your presentation and communication skills, which are essential for professional practice.

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

2025/26

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

As a BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Venue Design graduate, you are ideally prepared for the wide variety of employment opportunities available to you, covering everything from generic architecture, or interior design, to venue project management and technical consultancy, depending upon where you wish to focus your career.

Some of the more popular choices are:

• Hospitality: hotels, bars and restaurants
• Leisure: cinemas, theatre, museums, spas and health centres, sports arenas and tourist attractions 
• Retail: shops, corporate branding and stores
• Corporate: offices and production facilities

In all of these areas, you could be involved in new build, refurbishment, change of use or conversions.

Graduates in the past have also secured employment in the areas of:

• Theatre and Stage Design
• Computer Game Environment Design
• Design of Executive Yacht Interiors

Your degree and professional qualification will also give you the opportunity to work overseas. Some past students have been employed in Santa Monica, USA and Japan, as well as many other countries.

Graduation from the course also gives you a sound basis for the opportunity of progression onto other professional qualifications, with some graduates having progressed on to RIBA courses and eventually qualifying as Chartered Architects, either whilst working (part-time) or (full-time) at other Educational Institutions.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.