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2024 Best Interior Design Schools in California

9 Colleges in California
756 Interior Design Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in interior design, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #150 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for interior design students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 756 degrees in interior design during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Interior Design School

Best Interior Design Schools in California Your choice of interior design school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Interior Design School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Interior Design Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Interior Design
Bachelor's Degrees in Interior Design
Master's Degrees in Interior Design

The interior design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Interior Design Schools in California. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Interior Design in California

The schools below may not offer all types of interior design degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Interior Design

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
33 Interior Design Degrees Awarded

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in interior design. FIDM Los Angeles is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

There were roughly 33 interior design students who graduated with this degree at FIDM Los Angeles in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA

It is hard to beat San Jose State University if you wish to pursue a degree in interior design. San Jose State is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Jose. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were about 27 interior design students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from San Jose State University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
36 Interior Design Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat California State University - Long Beach if you want to pursue a degree in interior design. CSULB is a very large public university located in the city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 36 interior design students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in interior design from California State University - Long Beach

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
61 Interior Design Degrees Awarded

San Francisco State University is a great decision for students interested in a degree in interior design. SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 61 interior design students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from San Francisco State University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In CA

California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of San Francisco.

There were approximately 15 interior design students who graduated with this degree at California College of the Arts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from California College of the Arts

6

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA
11.8% Growth in Graduates

Fresno State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Fresno. This university ranks 74th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 17 interior design students who graduated with this degree at Fresno State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from California State University - Fresno

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA

Design Institute of San Diego is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

There were approximately 18 interior design students who graduated with this degree at Design Institute of San Diego in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in interior design from Design Institute of San Diego

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA

Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego Mesa College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 145th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 25 interior design students who graduated with this degree at San Diego Mesa College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in interior design from San Diego Mesa College

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
51 Interior Design Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Newport Beach, Interior Designers Institute is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

There were roughly 51 interior design students who graduated with this degree at Interior Designers Institute in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in interior design from Interior Designers Institute

Best Interior Design Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Interior Design Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 164
Oregon 587 105
Hawaii 267 9

View All Rankings >

One of 9 majors within the Design & Applied Arts area of study, Interior Design has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Graphic Design 1,327
Visual Communications 702
Fashion Design 486
Game & Interactive Media Design 396
Illustration 315
Other Design & Applied Arts 303
Industrial Design 215
Commercial & Advertising Art 75

View All Interior Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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