MA Interior Architecture and Design with Professional Practice

2 Years On Campus Masters Program

University of Lincoln

Program Overview

The MA Interior Architecture & Design with Professional Practice at Lincoln is designed for graduates from art, design, or architecture who want to combine creative exploration with hands-on industry experience. You’ll develop your design and research skills in a studio environment that mirrors a professional consultancy, and then put those skills into practice during a full year working in a real interiors practice.

Curriculum Structure

This two-year full-time programme blends studio-based learning with professional practice:

First Year – Research and Design Foundations: You’ll start with Interior Design Process 4.1: Preparation, exploring built environments and developing research questions. Interior Research Process 4.1: Design-Research Methods equips you with the tools to combine theory, ethics, and practice, laying the groundwork for your future projects.
Mid-Year – Design Development & Collaboration: In Practice and Collaboration 4.1, you’ll work in simulated consultancy teams, collaborating on real-life briefs. Meanwhile, Interior Design Process 4.2: Definition helps you refine your design brief, develop concept ideas, and set the direction for your treatise.
Final Year – Professional Practice & Treatise: You’ll spend a full year in a paid professional interior design placement, gaining real-world experience. Alongside this, Interior Design Process 4.3: Interior Treatise and Practice and Collaboration 4.2 allow you to produce a significant body of original design-research work, presented professionally with support from tutors and peers.

Focus Areas

Adaptive reuse; imaginal interiors; design-research; professional interior practice; historic fabric; consultancy studio work

Learning Outcomes

Graduates leave the programme able to generate original design-research work, present a professional interior treatise, and operate confidently in both studio and commercial practice environments.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

While this MA doesn’t provide architecture licensure, it offers invaluable industry experience through its professional practice year, helping you graduate with a portfolio and skillset that are highly valued by consultancies and design firms.

Reputation & Employability

The programme is supported by Lincoln’s Critical Heritage and Place Consumption research group, giving your work a strong grounding in heritage and adaptive reuse. Graduates are well-prepared to work in heritage consultancies, cultural organisations, or innovative design studios, and the professional practice year significantly boosts employability.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

When you join this program, you’re not just learning theory—you’re rolling up your sleeves and getting hands-on with real design challenges. From the moment you start, you’ll work in a professional-style design studio, tackling projects both individually and in teams. You’ll experiment with materials, test your ideas in models, and explore spaces as a future interior architect would. The course is designed so that by the time you step into a professional placement, you’re confident, skilled, and ready to make an impact.

Here’s how the program brings learning to life:

Studio-based learning: Spend your time in a dedicated design studio, working on real-world projects and collaborating closely with tutors and peers.
Project-based modules: Take part in group design challenges like “Practice and Collaboration,” where you tackle commercial and heritage spaces.
Fieldwork: Conduct building surveys and archival research to inform your designs.
Research-led design: Choose between a design-focused treatise or a research-focused project, exploring your own questions and solutions.
Professional placement: Gain invaluable industry experience with a full-time 48-week placement in an interiors practice.
Critiques & reviews: Receive detailed feedback through design reviews and presentations, helping you refine your work to a professional standard.
Research group support: Work alongside the Critical Heritage and Place Consumption (CHPC) research group, exploring adaptive reuse and heritage in design.

You’ll also have access to amazing facilities that make learning hands-on and exciting:

CAD labs with high-end computers and design software like Autodesk for modelling and visualisation.
Multi-materials workshops for model making, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, laser cutting, and more.
Specialist printing facilities for large-format design visuals.
Creative studios and concept rooms across the Brayford campus.
Library with thousands of books, journals, and dedicated postgraduate study spaces.
Lincoln Arts Centre for creative projects and spatial experiments.
Conservation & restoration labs for those interested in heritage interiors, with high-tech tools and controlled environments.

All of this means you’re constantly learning by doing, whether it’s experimenting in the studio, testing designs in the workshop, or applying skills in a real professional environment.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduating from this MA opens the door to a wide range of exciting design careers. Many of our alumni become interior architectural designers, spatial designers, consultants on heritage-led projects, or design managers in interior practices. Thanks to the professional placement year, you’ll enter the job market with valuable hands-on experience, giving you a real head start compared to other graduates.

Here’s how Lincoln helps make that happen:

Supportive university services: The Careers & Employability Service will guide you with CV building, interview prep, and job search strategies. Plus, your 48-week placement lets you gain real-world experience while building professional networks. Guest lectures and industry workshops further connect your learning with current design practice.
Employment stats & salaries: Lincoln design graduates have a strong track record — almost all go on to work or study shortly after finishing, with around 70% entering highly skilled roles. Typical starting salaries are around £24,500, helping you step confidently into the profession.
Industry partnerships: The School of Design & Architecture collaborates closely with local design firms and industry bodies, meaning live projects, internships, and professional contacts are built into your learning.
Professional value: Completing the professional practice pathway ensures you graduate with both a polished portfolio and meaningful industry experience — highly valued by employers. The research pathway also prepares you for academic or design research careers, including potential doctoral study.
Graduate roles: Interior Architectural Designer, Spatial/Exhibition Designer, Design Consultant (heritage/adaptive reuse), Design Manager in an interior or architectural practice.

Further Academic Progression:
If you’re inspired to continue your studies, there are plenty of options:

Pursue a PhD (MPhil/PhD) in Interior Architecture, Design, or Architecture, especially if you complete the Treatise by Research pathway.
Explore research roles in academia or industry, leveraging your treatise and portfolio.
Take specialized postgraduate diplomas or certifications in areas like heritage conservation, spatial strategy, or sustainable design to deepen your expertise.