Program Overview

Studio Practice (Interior Design) (top-up) at UCA

Our Studio Practice top-up course in Interior Design at UCA Canterbury will give you the chance to gain all the skills you need to progress to postgraduate study and boost your knowledge and experience.

Ideal for international students and also suitable to UK students looking to build upon existing qualifications, this course is aligned with the final year of BA (Hons) Interior Design, enabling you to progress to a Master's course in a streamlined way.

You'll get right into the action from the start, undertaking research and practical projects, working on collaborative activities and building your skills, knowledge and confidence.

Course Entry Options

• BA (Hons) (top-up)
  • Equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree, this course enables you to build upon an existing qualification such as a foundation degree or an HND.

Course Information

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: W405
• Campus: Canterbury
• Start date(s): September 2025
• Duration: 1 year full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • 240 credits from a relevant degree
  • International equivalent qualifications

What You'll Study

Year One (Equivalent in Level to Year 3 of BA Course)

• Your studies will align with the work undertaken by final year undergraduate students throughout the School of Architecture & Design, with high-level contextual research and the production of a portfolio ready for your career.

Design 05 – Pitch and Prototype

• You will engage with exciting new technologies and produce compelling digital and physical prototypes through the rapid acquisition and integration of new skills within your spatial design workflows.
• You will go on developing your individual and group working skills and start to experience the pace of work in practice as you move toward employment.
• During the preparation phase of this unit, you will identify new technologies for the design, representation, or production of project outcomes, engaging in practical and theoretical up-skilling to enable you to leverage these new opportunities in the realisation phase.

Briefs and Positions 03

• You will prepare an advanced set of briefing materials that will inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal in the subsequent Final Major Project unit.
• You will consider a context at the scale of an expanded spatial or material network and engage with three overlapping domains of action and knowledge to interrogate it - creative studio-based speculation, professional site analysis and (culturally critical research.

Major Project

• After defining your own brief during the previous unit, with the support of your tutor, you will develop and complete an expansive project that uses all your skills in design, making, research and project development.
• The finished work should reflect your deep understanding of contemporary spatial design practice.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees - 2025/26

• UK: £9,535
• EU: £9,535 (see fee discount information)
• International: £17,500

UCA Scholarships and Fee Discounts

• At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial Support

• There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources.
• Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional Course Costs

• In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course.
• The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

Facilities & Equipment

• There are open plan studio spaces for the course, used for group tutorials and personal working.
• Facilities for the course include: laser cutters, 3D printers, a virtual reality lab, a 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics, and fully-equipped computer studios with Macs and PCs running software for design and animation.

Entry & Portfolio Requirements

UK

• BA (Hons) course (top-up)
  • The standard entry requirements* for this course are:
    • 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
    • Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
    • Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject
  • And/or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
  • In recognition that you may already have a relevant professional qualification, or appropriate working experience in the relevant industries, APEL may be accepted for entry on to the course.
  • This will be based on the partnership articulations and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
  • Other relevant and equivalent UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.

International and EU

• BA (Hons) course (top-up)
  • The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:
    • Non-UK equivalent qualifications
  • Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio Requirements

• For this course, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review.
• We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course.
• Further information will be provided once you have applied.
• View more portfolio advice