New Zealand Diploma in Interior Design (Residential)

Summary

This residential focused interior design programme will prepare you for a career working as an interior design consultant or design assistant within the residential sector. If you enjoy design, seeing your work come to life and working with people, this programme is for you. This programme is ideal if you’re looking to enter the residential interiors industry or if you’re already working in the field and would like hold the formal qualification.

This diploma also prepares you for the commercial environment as it is a prerequisite for the New Zealand Diploma in Interior Design (Commercial). This residential focused diploma includes many of the interior design fundamentals that span across both residential and commercial.

In this programme you’ll be guided from the ground up; exploring design principles, theories and history, right though to application and development of practical business that will get you beyond work ready by the time you complete this programme. See a full list of courses in this programme in the Courses section below.

At Unitec, our approach to interior design learning is highly industry focused. This means that in addition to developing your necessary knowledge and skills in residential interior design, we also integrate you into the interior design industry through practical learning, facilitating industry connections, working on actual client projects, guest speakers from industry, work placement projects and much more.

Highlights

• Highly industry integrated and connected
• Work on actual client projects
• Practical projects which model current design processes used within industry practice.
• Internship working with practising designers
• Off site visits to trade suppliers and manufacturers
• Guest speakers from industry
• Focus on “work ready skills” that can be used in practice
• Knowledgeable and skilled staff. Many of your lecturers are practising professionals at the top in their field
• Pathways onto the New Zealand Diploma in Interior Design (Commercial)

Qualification pathway

Once you’ve completed this programme you can go onto to work in the residential interior industry in the careers or similar careers as listed above.

You can also go onto further study for commercial interior design in the New Zealand Diploma in Interior Design (Commercial), for which this programme is a pre-requisite.

As a Unitec Interior Design student and graduate you can also join the Designers Institute of New Zealand.

Career Options

• Colour consultant,
• Interior design assistant (residential),
• Junior interior designer (residential),
• Kitchen and bathroom designer,
• Self-employed residential interior designer,
• Specialist sales roles in textile, furniture, lighting

Annual Tuition Fees

Domestic/NZ students

$8,400

(Approximate fees only - includes GST but excludes the Compulsory Student Services Fee (CSSF) levy. Your final study costs depends on a number of factors including the courses you select to study. View options for funding your study and fees-free eligibility)

International students

$26,415 (NZD) (approximate fees for 120 credits) Save upto $2,000 (NZD) with Unitec International Study Grant 2026.Terms and conditions apply.

Semester Dates

Sem 1 2026: 23 Feb – 28 Jun

Sem 2 2026: 20 Jul – 22 Nov

For course and class timings, refer to the specific course webpage.

For StudyLink purposes, please ensure your application states your earliest course start date.

Downloads and resources

Programme regulations - New Zealand Diploma in Interior Design (Residential) Order a personalised brochure Scholarships and awardsStudent LifeFor Māori studentsFor Pacific studentsFor International students