Professional Insights — Interior Design

Interior Design hiring professionals were asked the following:

• The quality of Interior Design graduates’ preparedness to enter the profession. See the results
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• Are students graduating with an adequate understanding of the following? These include community engagement processes, design for constructability, environmental impact of materials, environmental impact of processes, functional research, facilities life cycles, including equipment and infrastructure, impact on urban or regional resources, material life cycles, MEP Systems, programming, project typology, recycling processes, site analysis, site/civil/survey designs, and structures? See the results
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• Are students graduating with an adequate understanding of the following business of design fundamentals? These fundamentals include business model for professional service firms, collaborative teaming, client communication and presentation skills, engineering and construction discipline awareness, how client needs relate to individual work, importance of projects, budgets and schedules, typical and emerging procurement processes, and real estate and commercial law. See the results
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• Rate the importance of the following attributes for a new Interior Design graduate entering the workplace which include ability to collaborate effectively, ability to positively influence others, adaptive/flexible, comfortable interfacing with outside parties, committed work ethic, effective interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and empathy. See the results
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• Rate the importance of the following factors you consider in your hiring decisions for a new Interior Design graduate entering the workplace which include GPA, design excellence, research skills, school attended, study abroad experience, constructability focused, adequate understanding of professional services business structure, knowledge of sustainable design, technology adoption, design for health, and previous work experience (e.g. co-ops, internships, part-time jobs). See the results