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AAFT's B Des and B Sc in Interior Design: Build a live-project portfolio with Padma Shri mentors and top recruiters
India's interior design market is growing fast. AAFT's B Des and B Sc in interior design offer live projects and Padma Shri mentor Sunita Kohli.
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India is adding roughly 600 million urban residents by 2036, according to World Bank projections. Every one of them will live, work, shop and be treated inside a space somebody has to design. That is not a passing design trend; it reflects the growing demand for skilled interior designers.
To prepare students for this expanding industry, AAFT's School of Interior Design offers two undergraduate programmes at its Noida campus in Delhi NCR: a four-year B.Des in Interior Design and a three-year B.Sc in Interior Design.
Eligibility is 10+2, classes run five days a week, and both programmes are built around studio projects, portfolio development and a 6–8 week summer internship, with mentorship from Padma Shri awardee and Industry Dean Sunita Kohli.
Is interior design a good career in India in 2026?
Yes. India's interior design market reached USD 36.89 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit USD 74.73 billion by 2034, growing at 8.16% CAGR, according to IMARC Group. The demand is structural, not cyclical: it is tied to urbanisation, real estate and household spending. This growth is supported by India's real estate market, which is projected to expand from USD 532 billion in 2025 to USD 1.26 trillion by 2034. Designers are hired across residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, retail and exhibition work.
The government pipeline reinforces it. PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 commits ₹10 lakh crore toward housing for one crore urban families, and the Smart Cities Mission continues to generate demand for interior finishing and design services.
Beyond the overall market growth, two industry trends are reshaping career opportunities. Renovation and remodelling is growing faster than new construction. Demand is also increasing more rapidly in the economy and mid-range housing segments than in the luxury segment. The work is not confined to premium metro apartments, it is spreading into tier-2 cities and existing building stock.
Green building is the third shift. India's certified green building footprint grew from 4.5 billion sq ft in 2019 to 7.55 billion sq ft by 2023. Sustainability has moved from a talking point to a specification.
What is the difference between a B.Des and a B.Sc in Interior Design?
AAFT's B.Des in Interior Design runs for four years and is design-led, with a multidisciplinary curriculum, a dedicated Professional Practice module and 100% continuous assessment through studio work. The B.Sc in Interior Design runs three years and is technically weighted, covering CAD, 3D printing and visualisation alongside core design. Both require 10+2, both include a 6–8 week summer internship, and both build a portfolio throughout. The B.Des suits studio and entrepreneurial paths; the B.Sc suits execution-focused, CAD-driven roles.
Choosing between the two programmes is one of the most common questions applicants have. The four-year B.Des in Interior Design offers greater depth in design thinking, professional practice and portfolio development, making it well suited for students who aspire to lead creative projects or establish their own design practice.
The three-year B.Sc in Interior Design places a stronger emphasis on technical skills and execution, preparing students to enter the industry with expertise in design software, technical drawings and project implementation.
What do you study in AAFT's B.Des in Interior Design (4 years)?
The four-year B.Des in Interior Designcovers space planning, colour theory, lighting, furniture design, materials and finishes, interior styling, sustainable practices and Vaastu principles. Studio projects and industry-standard software build sketching, drafting, model-making, graphics and visualisation skills. Industry exposure runs throughout via live projects, site visits, masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring, portfolio reviews, a Professional Practice module and a 6–8 week summer internship. Assessment is 100% continuous; there is no final-exam gamble.
The core subject areas are:
- Space planning and user-centric design
- AI-powered design tools and 3D visualisation
- Colour theory, lighting and interior styling
- Furniture design, materials and finishes
- Sustainable practices and Vaastu principles
- Sketching, drafting, model-making, graphics and visualisation
By graduation, students can communicate design concepts across multiple media, apply technical knowledge with ethical professional practices, conduct research, and develop user-centric design solutions. Career pathways span residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, exhibition and furniture design, as well as entrepreneurship and independent practice.
Full curriculum details, fees structure and admission information are available on the B.Des in Interior Design course page.
What does AAFT's B.Sc in Interior Design (3 years) cover?
The three-year B.Sc in Interior Designcombines classroom learning with studio-based training across space planning, drawing, lighting, furniture design, materials and digital media. The interior design course places a strong emphasis on technology, with training in CAD, 3D printing and emerging visualisation tools. Students complete studio projects, hands-on design assignments, industry visits, expert mentoring and a 6–8 week summer internship, and graduate with a portfolio, technical expertise and placement support.
The technical weighting is deliberate. Design firms consistently report that the gap between a graduate's concept and a buildable drawing is where projects die. The B.Sc is aimed squarely at closing it.
Learn more about the B.Sc in Interior Design, including the curriculum, fee structure and admission schedule, on the programme page. Graduates can further specialise through AAFT's two-year M.Sc in Interior Design. .
Who teaches interior design at AAFT, and what facilities do students get
AAFT's School of Interior Design is mentored by Padma Shri awardee and Industry Dean Sunita Kohli, supported by experienced faculty with industry exposure. Students work in advanced design studios, drafting labs, carpentry workshops and computer laboratories. Learning runs through live design projects, design workshops, expert-led masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring and portfolio reviews, with AAFT's Career Resource Cell handling internships, industry interactions and placement assistance
The carpentry workshop is the underrated item on that list. A designer who has physically built a joint understands what a fabricator can and cannot deliver, and stops specifying details that come back as cost change requests. Very few interior design programmes in India put students in front of a workshop bench.
Learn more about the faculty, facilities and learning environment at the AAFT School of Interior Design.
What jobs can you get after an interior design degree, and what do they pay
Graduates work as interior designers, space planners, furniture designers, retail and exhibition designers, visual merchandisers, lighting designers, CAD designers, kitchen and modular specialists, design consultants and studio founders. AAFT's recruiters include HomeLane, Livspace, FabIndia, Home Raga, Godrej, Asian Paints and DLF. Entry-level interior designers in India typically earn ₹2.5 to 4.5 LPA, with organised platforms starting graduates around ₹3 to 3.5 LPA on structured growth tracks. Specialists earn 20–35% more than generalists at the same experience level.
Entry-level salaries in interior design are typically modest, but career growth is closely linked to practical skills, portfolio quality and industry experience. As designers build expertise and specialise in niche sectors, their earning potential increases significantly.
Career progression is driven by four key factors:
- Practical experience: Studio projects, internships and a strong professional portfolio play an important role in career growth.
- Industry demand: Recruiters such as Livspace, HomeLane and Godrej Interio continue to expand their footprint. Livspace grew revenue 23% in FY25 and plans to expand to 200+ stores across 100+ cities. HomeLane grew 22%, turned EBITDA-positive in Q4 FY25 and announced 100 franchise-led stores, while Godrej Interio is targeting around 1,500 stores.
- Specialisation: Expertise in healthcare, hospitality and sustainable design can open opportunities in high-growth segments that require specialised technical knowledge.
- Long-term growth: As designers build technical expertise, client trust and domain experience, they can progress into senior design, consultancy and entrepreneurial roles.
Can you start your own interior design studio after this degree?
Yes, and many designers do by their fifth to seventh year. According to the Indian Institute of Interior Designers (IIID), professional designers in tier-1 cities bill ₹150–600 per square foot for residential projects and ₹300–1,200 per square foot for commercial work. A designer running four to six residential projects a year at ₹300 per sq ft on 1,500 sq ft averages ₹18–27 lakh annually, a senior salary, without the floor between projects.
That math cuts both ways, and it is why the Professional Practice module in the B.Des matters more than it sounds. Craft sets your floor; structure sets your ceiling. Studio owners live or die on quoting accurately, scoping tightly, managing vendors and getting paid on time.
India's interior design industry is also still substantially unorganised. That is the arbitrage for a trained graduate. The designer who arrives with drawings a contractor can build, a cost BOQ, a delivery timeline and a signed scope is not competing on price; they are competing in a different category.
Is AI replacing interior designers?
No. AI and AR/VR tools are compressing execution like layout iterations, renders, material trials, walkthroughs, and shortening client decision cycles. They are not replacing site judgement, material knowledge, vendor management, budget control or client trust. AAFT trains students on industry-standard design software, 3D visualisation, CAD and virtual walkthroughs as part of the core curriculum, so graduates use these tools as a floor rather than treating them as a differentiator.
The honest version is that AI has made the render cheap. It has not made the room buildable. Anyone can generate a beautiful visualisation in ninety seconds; almost nobody can tell you what that visualisation costs, whether the client's slab can carry it, or which fabricator in Kirti Nagar will deliver it on time.
That gap between the image and the built space is the entire profession. It is also, conveniently, exactly what a studio-and-workshop-based programme teaches.
What are the eligibility criteria and how do you apply to AAFT?
Eligibility for AAFT's B.Des in Interior Design (4 years) and B.Sc in Interior Design (3 years) is 10+2. The M.Sc in Interior Design (2 years) requires graduation. All programmes run in regular mode, five days a week, at AAFT Noida in Delhi NCR. Every undergraduate route includes studio-based learning, portfolio development, a 6–8 week summer internship, and placement assistance through AAFT's Career Resource Cell.
Applications for the current intake are open. If you are undecided between the B.Des and the B.Sc, the campus visit is worth more than the brochure: sit in a studio, look at final-year portfolios, and ask what the last three graduating cohorts are doing now.
Conclusion
India will roughly double its interior design market within a decade, add 600 million urban residents by 2036, and renovate as much as it builds. The demand is not in question. The supply of designers who can take a concept from a render to a buildable, cost-delivered space is.
AAFT's B.Des and B.Sc in Interior Design exist to close that gap through studios, drafting labs, a carpentry workshop, live projects, an internship, a portfolio and a Padma Shri mentor.
Disclaimer: This article is part of Hindustan Times' paid consumer connect initiative. The content, created based on inputs by AAFT, is for informational purposes only.
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