Continuing & Professional Education

Residential Interiors

Earn a Certificate

Courses for everyone 14

Rec­og­nized as an excel­lent career-entry pro­gram by the

Dec­o­ra­tors & Design­ers Asso­ci­a­tion of Cana­da (DDA)

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Interior Designer and Interior Decorator
177 positions open annually
employment snapshot

This unique pro­gram, the first in West­ern Cana­da, offers you a uni­ver­si­ty-lev­el cer­tifi­cate in the art of inte­ri­or decorating.

Rec­og­nized as an excel­lent career-entry pro­gram by the Dec­o­ra­tors & Design­ers Asso­ci­a­tion of Cana­da (DDA) and indus­try pro­fes­sion­als, the Res­i­den­tial Inte­ri­ors Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram is a com­pre­hen­sive study of res­i­den­tial inte­ri­or fun­da­men­tals and applications.

Using prin­ci­ples of the relat­ed fields of visu­al arts, archi­tec­ture, and busi­ness, our instruc­tors effec­tive­ly com­bine design the­o­ry and prac­tice to ensure that stu­dents gain the expe­ri­ence and skills need­ed in the ever-chang­ing field of res­i­den­tial decorating.

Our stu­dent body is diverse, from recent high-school grad­u­ates to indi­vid­u­als seek­ing a career change. Some char­ac­ter­is­tics com­mon to our stu­dents are a keen inter­est in fash­ion and home décor, good spa­tial per­cep­tion, and the abil­i­ty to work well with all types of people.

This pro­gram will take your pas­sion for inte­ri­or dec­o­rat­ing to a new lev­el, as you work with expert pro­fes­sion­als to: 

                                                                                                                                       

The office was flex­i­ble and help­ful when I need­ed an accom­mo­da­tion to fast-track the pro­gram. I also liked that we always had plen­ty of time to com­plete assign­ments. The teach­ers were very nice.

Res­i­den­tial Inte­ri­ors Certificate student

Recognized by:
Decorators & Designers Assoc. of Canada
Decorating & Interior Design Assoc. of Alberta

Develop an awareness of the art, pragmatics, and aesthetics of housing and furnishings.

Practice interview strategies to quickly identify and interpret clients’ needs; understand basic business principles and issues.

Improve your drawing, drafting, and presentation skills; learn the fundamentals of wood frame construction.

Many of our graduates have established their own businesses; others have been employed in roles such as interior decorating consultant, manufacturer’s representative, and retail consultant.

Qualify to join the Decorators & Designers Association of Canada (DDA) and the Decorating and Interior Design Association of Alberta (DIDAA)

Earn a Certificate
in Residential Interiors
Apply Now
  • University of Alberta parchment in as little as 2 years
  • Pay as you go
  • Currently open for enrolment

Complete all six
(take EXRI 4676 first)

Choose 3 options

Enrichment options
(not for credit)

9 courses needed to graduate with this UAlberta Certificate and become a UAlberta Associate Alumni.

Only interested in taking a course? You can register for a course without applying and enrolling in the program – browse our Residential Interiors courses. If later you decide to apply for the full program, the course you’ve taken will be applied toward your Certificate as long as it is still part of the program plan at the time of your application. Please note, program requirements are subject to change over time.

Course planner schedule-at-a-glance

1. Download the Application for Program Admission form.

2. Submit your completed application, along with a $100 admission fee.

Enrolling in the pro­gram is a require­ment if you want to earn the cer­tifi­cate. Your appli­ca­tion may be sub­mit­ted before, dur­ing, or after com­plet­ing the course Intro­duc­tion to Res­i­den­tial Inte­ri­ors, but you must apply before com­menc­ing your sec­ond course. 

To enrol, you must have a high school diplo­ma (min­i­mum 100 cred­its) or equiv­a­lent, includ­ing Eng­lish 30. If you attend­ed a high school in Alber­ta, tran­scripts may be ordered from Alber­ta Edu­ca­tion at 780−427−5732; if you attend­ed high school out­side of Alber­ta, con­tact the provin­cial depart­ment of education. 

You are still invit­ed to apply if you do not meet the admis­sion require­ments. Your qual­i­fi­ca­tions will be reviewed, and con­di­tion­al entrance may be grant­ed. For details, please con­tact the pro­gram office at 780−492−3034.

This part-time program is comprised of six core courses and three electives. Each course is 39 hours in length, for a total of 351 instructional hours.

Typical course load is one course each term, three terms a year. When following this structure, students can fulfill the certificate requirements within three years. The program can be accelerated by taking up to three courses at a time once the introductory course is completed. At this rate, the program takes less than two years.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 is required to obtain the certificate (3.5 or higher earns a certificate with distinction).

Your program requirements

Once you are admitted, you can verify your program requirements by logging into the University of Alberta’s student portal, Bear Tracks, to view your Academic Advisement.

Applying for Graduation

Submit your request to graduate to obtain your credential, receive a parchment, and (optionally) attend the graduation ceremony. Apply for graduation between November 1 and February 1 via Bear Tracks.

  • If you haven’t previously completed a program application, you must do so in order to qualify for graduation.
  • You must apply for graduation even if you do not plan to attend the ceremony.

The Res­i­den­tial Inte­ri­ors cours­es are on the Approved Pro­gram Elec­tives (APE) list for any Human Ecol­o­gy stu­dent with a major in Cloth­ing Tex­tiles and Mate­r­i­al Cul­ture (CTMC): see BSc Human Ecol­o­gy — Cloth­ing, Tex­tiles and Mate­r­i­al Cul­ture Approved Pro­gram Elec­tives (APE), ​“Inte­ri­ors” list­ing of trans­fer courses.

  • An appli­ca­tion fee of $100 is required for admis­sion into the program.
  • Tuition is paid on a course-by-course basis as you reg­is­ter for your classes.
  • Cours­es are GST-exempt.
  • Some cours­es require a text­book at an addi­tion­al cost.
Bursaries and funding opportunities
Funding source
Eligibility
Amount
Apply by
Canada-Alberta Job Grant 

Available for businesses in all sectors across Alberta

 Two-thirds of the training costs (up to 100% if hiring an unemployed Albertan)
any time
Canada Training Benefit 

Residents of Canada, 25-65 years old, who have $10,000-150,000 in earnings for work.

 $250+
income tax return
Skilled Immigrant Micro-Loan 

Whether you intend to work in the same field you trained in outside of Canada, or you wish to apply your transferable skills to a new career, this low-interest loan helps you cover the cost of education and related living expenses.

 Up to $15,000 loan
N/A
Alumni Professional Development Grant 

Any graduate of the University of Alberta

 Up to $500 anually
monthly deadline
HRDF 

Employed by the University of Alberta as Non-Academic Staff (NASA)

 $750 annually
Dec / Mar / Jun / Sep
Ella May Walker Memorial Award 

Students in the Visual Arts (Certificate or Citation), Residential Interiors Certificate programs

 $500 annually
June

Looking for something different?

Over 300 courses and 40 programs to help you build the skills you need.

Ready to start this program?

  • Questions: codesign@ualberta.ca
  • 780-492-7237
  • Course planner schedule-at-a-glance

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