We imagine boldly. We investigate meaningfully. We create intentionally. We collaborate across disciplines. We design with purpose to shape a better future.
Program Description
Interior design combines creativity, research, technical knowledge, and human-centered design to shape the interior environments where people live, work, learn, heal and connect.
Professional interior designers investigate complex design challenges and create spaces that support human experience while integrating aesthetics, building systems, materials, environmental responsibility, and life safety. They activate the space between architecture and people and are essential members of interdisciplinary design teams. Their work spans a wide range of project types—from homes, workplaces, healthcare and educational facilities to hospitality, retail, cultural institutions, and adaptive reuse projects—improving the quality, function, and experience of interior environments.
The Interior Design Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln prepares creative, confident, and technically skilled designers through a carefully sequenced curriculum.
Following the common first-year d.ONE program, students build foundational design knowledge and skills before advancing to increasingly complex, inquiry-based studios that integrate research, interdisciplinary collaboration, making, and engagement with emerging local and global design challenges. Students develop expertise through studios, professional electives, internships, study abroad opportunities, and collaborative learning experiences with architecture, landscape architecture, and planning students. The program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).
Upon successful completion of d.ONE and admission to the Interior Design Program, students enroll in the second-, third-, and fourth-year curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science in Design (BSD) in Interior Design.
Accreditation: CIDA
The interior design program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Design: Interior Design degree is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), www.accredit-id.org, 206 Grandville Avenue, Suite 350, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503.
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) is an independent, non-profit accrediting organization for interior design education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. For more than 35 years, this knowledge-driven organization has been passionately committed to the ongoing enrichment of the interior design profession through identifying, developing and promoting quality standards for the education of entry-level interior designers, and then encouraging, accrediting and supporting educational programs to aspire to those standards.
Enrolling in a CIDA-accredited interior design program means you can be confident that the program meets standards recognized by the profession and fulfills educational requirements necessary for your entry into the profession upon graduation. An accredited program has voluntarily placed itself before the scrutiny of the profession – investing time, energy, and money – to ensure that the education you receive will not only serve you during your time at school, but also position you for future professional growth.
The CIDA-accredited program prepares students for entry-level, interior design practice, for advanced study, and to apply for membership in professional interior design organizations. The Bachelor of Science in Design: Interior Design degree granted by the Interior Design Program at the University of Nebeaska-Lincoln meets the educational requirements for eligibility to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification Examination (NCIDQ Exam). For more information about NCIDQ Exam eligibility visit their website.
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is recognized as a reliable authority on interior design education by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The CHEA-recognized scope of accreditation is professional-level interior design programs that culminate in a bachelor’s or master’s degree located in the United States and internationally. (CIDA web site) Additionally, the Interior Design Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is also accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design NASAD.
NASAD, founded in 1944, is an organization of schools, colleges, and universities. It has approximately 339 accredited institutional members. It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials.
Institutional Membership is gained only through the peer review process of accreditation. Individual Membership is available by application.
NASAD provides information to potential students and parents, consultations, statistical information, professional development; and policy analysis.