Adelanto Alameda Alhambra Aliso Viejo
Altadena Anaheim Antelope Antioch
Apple Valley Arcadia Arden Arcade Atascadero
Azusa Bakersfield Baldwin Park Banning
Beaumont Bell Bellflower Bell Gardens
Berkeley Beverly Hills Boyle Heights Brea
Brentwood Buena Park Burbank Burlingame
Calexico Camarillo Campbell Canoga Park
Carlsbad Carmichael Carson Castro Valley
Cathedral City Ceres Cerritos Chatsworth
Chico Chino Chino Hills Chula Vista
Citrus Heights Claremont Clovis Coachella
Colton Compton Concord Corona
Costa Mesa Covina Culver City Cupertino
Cypress Daly City Dana Point Danville
Davis Delano Diamond Bar Downey
Dublin East Irvine East Los Angeles Eastvale
Echo Park El Cajon El Centro El Dorado Hills
Elk Grove El Monte Encinitas Escondido
Fairfield Fair Oaks Fallbrook Florence Graham
Florin Folsom Fontana Foothill Farms
Foster City Fountain Valley Fremont Fresno
Fullerton Gardena Garden Grove Gilroy
Glendale Glendora Goleta Hacienda Heights
Hanford Hawthorne Hayward Hemet
Hesperia Highland Hollister Hollywood
Huntington Beach Huntington Park Indio Inglewood
Irvine Jurupa Valley La Canada Flintridge Laguna Hills
Laguna Niguel La Habra La Jolla Lake Elsinore
Lake Forest Lakewood La Mesa La Mirada
Lancaster La Presa La Puente La Quinta
La Verne Lawndale Lincoln Livermore
Lodi Lompoc Long Beach Los Altos
Los Angeles Los Banos Los Gatos Lynwood
Madera Manhattan Beach Manteca Martinez
Menifee Menlo Park Merced Milpitas
Mira Loma Mission Viejo Modesto Monrovia
Montclair Montebello Monterey Park Moorpark
Moreno Valley Morgan Hill Mountain View Murrieta
Napa National City Newark Newport Beach
North Highlands North Hollywood Northridge Norwalk
Novato Oakland Oakley Oceanside
Oildale Ontario Orange Orangevale
Orcutt Oxnard Pacifica Palmdale
Palm Desert Palm Springs Palo Alto Paramount
Pasadena Paso Robles Perris Petaluma
Pico Rivera Pittsburg Placentia Pleasant Hill
Pleasanton Pomona Porterville Poway
Rancho Cordova Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Santa Margarita
Redding Redlands Redondo Beach Redwood City
Rialto Richmond Riverside Rocklin
Rohnert Park Rosemead Roseville Rowland Heights
Rubidoux Sacramento Salinas San Bernardino
San Bruno San Clemente San Diego San Dimas
San Francisco San Gabriel San Jacinto San Jose
San Juan Capistrano San Leandro San Luis Obispo San Marcos
San Mateo San Pablo San Pedro San Rafael
San Ramon Santa Ana Santa Barbara Santa Clara
Santa Clarita Santa Cruz Santa Maria Santa Monica
Santa Paula Santa Rosa Santee Saratoga
Seaside Sherman Oaks Silver Lake Simi Valley
South Gate South San Francisco South Whittier Spring Valley
Stanton Stockton Sunnyvale Temecula
Temple City Thousand Oaks Torrance Tracy
Tulare Turlock Tustin Union City
Universal City Upland Vacaville Valencia
Vallejo Van Nuys Ventura Victorville
Visalia Vista Walnut Walnut Creek
Watsonville West Covina West Hills West Hollywood
Westminster Westmont West Sacramento Whittier
Wildomar Woodland Woodland Hills Yorba Linda
Yuba City Yucaipa


 

Subjects to Ask Interior Design Schools

Once you have decided on the interior designer degree that you wish to earn, you can begin the process of evaluating your college options. Location will be an important factor, especially if the campus needs to be within commuting distance from your CA home. Naturally if you have decided on attending an online school, or are willing to move to attend classes, then location may not be a qualifier. The cost of tuition will limit your options as well. But selecting the cheapest school or the one that is nearest to home are not the optimal ways to make your selection. There are other issues that you should consider also, including the accreditation and reputation of the college. Below are a list of questions that you may want to address with the programs you are looking at to obtain those answers as well as others in order to help you compare and ultimately pick the appropriate degree program.

Is the Interior Designer School Accredited? It's essential to confirm that the interior design school and program that you enroll in has been accredited by either a regional or national agency. One of the most highly regarded in the field is the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Schools obtaining accreditation from the NASAD have undergone a rigorous evaluation of their instructors and programs. Just verify that both the degree program and the college have been accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. Not only will it help verify that the reputation of the school and the quality of the education are outstanding, it might also help when requesting financial assistance or a student loan. Often they are not accessible for non-accredited schools. Also, a number of California employers will only hire graduates of accredited schools for entry level positions.

Does the School Prepare you for Licensing? As we previously mentioned, some States do require that interior designers get licensed. This would require a passing score on the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam as well as a degree from an accredited program. And in several of those States calling for licensing, 2 or more years of occupational experience may be required as well. So aside from providing an outstanding education, the  CA college you choose should also furnish the suitable education to pass the NCIDQ exam and comply with the minimum licensing requirements for California or the State where you will be employed.

What is the College's Job Placement Rate? Once you have graduated and attained your interior designer certification, you will probably need some assistance in finding your first position. Ask the schools that you are reviewing if they have a job assistance program. If so, ask what their job placement rates are. A higher rate is a good indication that the college and its programs are highly esteemed within the interior design field and its students are sought after. It might also indicate that the college has a large network of  CA business relationships where they can refer students to secure internships or employment after graduation.

Is Financial Assistance Available? Get in touch with the financial aid departments for the  CA schools you are evaluating and find out what type of assistance they provide. A number of interior designer programs provide financial aid to their incoming students. Some schools provide partial scholarships and others provide help in acquiring grants or federal student loans. It must be stressed again that selecting an accredited college is important for qualification in most cases. In some cases a program that has a higher tuition may ultimately be cheaper than its counterparts because they provide more generous financial aid.

How Small are the Classes? Smaller classes are more personal and conducive to personalized instruction. If classes are larger, you may receive little individual attention from the teachers. Find out from the CA programs you are considering what their typical student to teacher ratios are. If practical from your home, go to the college and monitor a couple of classes. Take the opportunity to talk with some students and find out what their experiences have been. Ask the instructors what their teaching philosophies are and what their experiences have been in interior design.

Are Classes Available that Fit your Schedule? Finally, make sure that the interior design school you choose provides classes the fit your active schedule. This is especially significant if you will continue working while attending college. If you can only attend classes in the evening or on weekends near CA, make sure that those classes are available. If working full-time means you can only enroll part-time, verify that is an alternative as well. Finally, find out what the process is for making up classes missed because of illness, work or family emergencies.