FIDER and Your Education
You've made the decision to become an interior designer. You now want to receive the best possible education. A variety of factors can influence your choice of a school or program -- and one of those factors may be whether a program is FIDER accredited. We hope the following information will help you understand accreditation and FIDER's role in interior design education today.
FIDER: What It's All About
The Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) is a specialized accrediting agency, accrediting interior design programs at colleges and universities in North America. Its mission is to "promote excellence in interior design education through research and the accreditation of academic programs." Standards developed by interior design practitioners and educators and concern for continued growth and development are central to accreditation.
The accreditation process begins with a comprehensive self-study by the program, followed by a series of evaluations and reviews by a FIDER visiting team, its Accreditation Committee, and, finally, the FIDER Board of Trustees. The trustees make the final decision to award or deny accreditation. All evaluators are interior design practitioners and educators.
In 1999, FIDER adopted a single set of standards for professional programs in interior design. These programs may exist in different types of institutions. Interior design programs may offer more than one type of certificate or degree, so students should ask specifically which is FIDER accredited.
What It Means To You
They receive an education that is recognized by the interior design profession as meeting educational requirements for entry into the profession. In the future, this factor may impact the right to practice in states with licensing or registration acts.
Though graduation from a FIDER-accredited program is not yet required to practice interior design, students can be confident that their program voluntarily placed itself before the scrutiny of the profession -- investing time, energy, and money to ensure that graduates receive an education that meets the standards of the profession and will serve them now and into the future.
