Interior Design Accreditation, FIDER, and NKBA

The decision is made. You want to be an interior designer. Most likely, that also means you want to be the best designer you can be. Attending an accredited institution and seeking out memberships in professional organizations after graduation seem like the most logical path to take, but what exactly do these things do for you?

Since interior design can be subject to government regulation depending on where you want to practice, ensuring that you get the highest quality education is the first step you can take in beginning your career. The Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) is an accrediting agency for interior design programs at North American colleges and universities. Created to set standards for education and to assess whether academic programs then meet them, FIDER assures quality by only granting accreditation to those institutions that meet or surpass their requirements.

Opting for accreditation is a voluntary process for each school. After submitting a self-study of their faculty and program, the school is then visited by a team of experts for a series of peer reviews. Everything is done at the expense of the institution, which demonstrates for you, the student, its commitment in giving you a quality education. By attending a FIDER-accredited school, you know you are receiving training that is recognized by the industry as meeting the standards of the profession. It’s not currently a condition for state licensing, but there remains the possibility that this might change in the future.

Attending an accredited school is just the first step, though. After graduation, you will face the prospect of joining any number of organizations. As the professional community expands beyond geographical borders, belonging to its associations will give you a wide variety of advantages.

First of all, professional organizations such as the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) are excellent sources of information and education. NKBA aids its members by offering development courses to further your knowledge and certification in design. It also links you as a kitchen and bath professional to their database of job listings.

Secondly, membership offers many of the same benefits of accreditation. By maintaining a broad set of standards, you demonstrate that you are willing to stay up-to-date on current trends and practices. A client sees your accreditation as proof that he is hiring someone with specialized expertise and a commitment to quality.

Certain organizations such as NKBA also offer their endorsement to qualified college programs, acting in a similar way to FIDER. They assure superior, consistent education for those interested in becoming professionals within the industry.

While accreditations and professional memberships aren’t currently required to practice in certain parts of the country, in today’s mobile society, it makes the most sense to be prepared in case you need to move. Make the smart decision and choose the path that will open the most doors for you. Attend a FIDER-accredited school, and the choice will be all yours.