Singapore Airlines

Executive Summary Singapore Airlines is a premium carrier in Asia’s aviation industry. It is associated with excellent services and affordable prices. Its success is mainly attributed to its ability to pursue both cost leadership and differentiation strategies. Currently, its corporate strategy involves investing in aviation related businesses. Its business and functional level strategies focus on enhancing high service quality and achieving cost efficiency.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Singapore Airlines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Singapore airline has been able to offer world class services due to the following reasons. It focuses on both process and product innovation in order to improve product quality. It is also involved in overseas ventures, improving the efficiency of internal communication and promoting a people-centered culture. It has since launched a subsidiary in Australia, Tiger Airways. Unlike SIA, Tiger Airways is a budget currier whose business model is based on a cost leadership strategy (Tiger Airways, 2011). Tiger Airways concentrates on providing low cost flights to various destinations from Australia by eliminating non-essential costs in its operations. It has not been able to achieve the same level of success as SIA due to the low quality of its services. Thus it can improve its performance by improving the quality of its services in addition to maintaining the low prices. SIA on the other hand should focus on maintaining low prices, high quality and flexibility. Introduction Singapore Airlines (SIA) is one of the most profitable and fast growing airlines in Asia’s aviation industry. Since its inception in 1947, the airline has progressively expanded by increasing its fleet size as well as the number of its routes. By 1993, the firm had the youngest fleet in the industry. Its success is mainly based on prudent management that is chara cterized by formulation and implementation of effective operation strategy (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). This has enabled it to withstand the adverse effects of economic recessions that have been experienced in various parts of the world over the years. This paper focuses on SIA’s operation strategy by analyzing the factors contributing to the airline’s success.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Recommendations on how SIA can develop in future will also be discussed. Finally, the operation strategy of Tiger Airlines Australia, a subsidiary of SIA, will be analyzed and compared to that of SIA. Factors that Make SIA a World Class Service Provider SIA is associated with high product quality and excellent customer services. The firm’s mission focuses on offering high quality services that are also affordable to majority of its customers. Th e firm has thus been able to realize its mission by taking advantage of its strengths which include the following. Innovation and Development SIA is committed to investing in a variety of modern technology as well as product and service innovation. Innovation at the company has been achieved through on-going research and development initiatives and overseas ventures. Consequently, SIA has been able to offer new services which include free drinks, a choice of meals, in-flight phones and fax services (Johnston, 1996, p. 510). It also continues to improve the quality of facilities at Changai Airport to enhance the quality of its services. By staying ahead of its competitors in all aspects of the business, SIA is able to offer world class services. Overseas Ventures SIA partnered with Swissair and Delta Airline in 1989 in order to offer high quality flights to various parts of the world (Johnston, 1996, p. 511). The partnership enabled the firm to improve coordination of flight schedule s and sharing of airport facilities. Consequently, it has been able to avoid customer dissatisfaction arising from delays and difficulty in connecting to other parts of the world from Singapore. Customer Services SIA focuses on offering excellent customer services by encouraging its employees to be very attentive and responsive to customers’ needs. The company is able to distinguish between bad and good services by paying attention to every detail of customers’ needs (Johnston, 1996, p. 512). In order to maintain excellent customer services, the cabin crews are regularly trained on how to improve the quality of their services. Besides, the quality of the aircrafts’ cabins such as the quality of seats is also improved regularly.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Singapore Airlines specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People-Centered Approach The management aims at developing its human re sources in order to enhance the quality of services. It focuses on hiring talented employees who bring new ideas on how to improve the quality of services (Johnston, 1996, p. 512). The human resources department helps employees to improve their skills through training. Such training programs not only aim at improving existing skills but also aim at creating new ones. Consequently, the employees are able to offer excellent services at all levels in the company. Efficient Internal Communication Effective and efficient communication has been achieved at SIA through various newsletters and magazines (Johnston, 1996, p. 513). This has enabled the firm to effectively communicate its strategic objectives to its employees. The employees are also informed of their performance targets as well as the company’s commitment to improve the quality of services. Thus, teamwork, coordination and quality of services have tremendously improved over the years. SIA’s Operation Strategy Oper ation strategy refers to the â€Å"total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any type of operation and their contribution to the overall strategy through the reconciliation of market requirements with operations’ resources† (Dess, 2002, p. 76). Thus, it is the tool used by the management to determine how to offer services to customers. SIA’s operation strategy can be described as follows. Corporate Level Strategy The corporate level strategy directs the activities of the firm by defining the long-term goals and objectives to be achieved. It is normally expressed in the company’s mission statement. SIA’s corporate strategy focuses on providing high quality and affordable services. As an airline, SIA concentrates in the business of providing air transportation services from Singapore to various parts of the world. Consequently, the firm has been investing in air transportation alongside related businesses such as ground han dling services, aircraft maintenance and catering services. The related businesses provide supportive services that help in improving the quality of the firm’s air transportation services (Daraban and Fournier. 2008, pp. 15-24).Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, the aircraft maintenance segment helps in maintaining the efficiency of the aircrafts while the catering segment provides meals to passengers. Most of the company’s resources are channeled towards improving the transportation segment since it is the core business of the firm. Business Level Strategy Business level strategy defines the dimensions along which a firm should compete in its industry as well as the relevant goals and objectives that it should pursue (Feiler and Goodoritch. 2009, pp. 55-64). SIA’s mission is to provide high quality services at competitive prices. Consequently, it competes along the dimensions of high product quality and competitive prices. The firm’s products are differentiated in terms of their high quality and affordable prices. SIA’s strategic objective thus is to remain profitable and achieve rapid growth through world class services. Functional Level Functional level strategy is concerned with how the various functions such as marketing contribute to the overall strategy. It is also concerned with the objectives of the organization’s functions and how resources allocated for such functions should be managed (Hazeldine, 2010, pp. 40-43). At SIA, the human resources management contributes to the overall strategy by hiring talented employees as well as creating new skills through training. The marketing activities focus on high service quality by paying attention to detail and developing products that meet customers’ needs. Customer services contribute to the overall strategy by promoting responsiveness to customers’ needs. Finally, the financial management initiatives help in accessing the capital for implementing the overall strategy through acquisitions and partnerships/ joint ventures. Effectiveness of the Strategy The effectiveness of SIA’s strategy can be evaluated in terms of the five operation performance objectives namely, cost, quality, speed, dependabi lity and flexibility. SIA has been able to achieve cost effectiveness by flying a young fleet thereby saving fuel and maintenance costs. It has also been able to connect passengers to various destinations at low costs by forming an alliance with Swissair (Johnston, 1996, p. 511). High product quality has been achieved through product innovation, staff training and investment in modern technology. Quick decision making and execution of various tasks has been realized through effective and efficient internal communication systems. On-going research and development has enabled the firm to offer consistent services (dependability). Besides, it has enabled the firm to remain flexible in its operations. For example, the airline has aircrafts of different sizes; thus it can easily change the amount of capacity deployed to a particular route as demand changes. SIA Development in Future: Platts-Gregory Procedure The Platts-Gregory procedure points out the difference between the requirements of the market and the achieved performance of the company. The difference or gap between the two can be reduced by formulating and implementing an effective operation strategy. The Platts-Gregory is implemented in three stages which can be illustrated by figure 1. Figure 1 Step One The company’s current market position is defined at this stage by evaluating the opportunities available to it as well as the threats facing it in the industry. Hence, the market demand facts such as the expected product characteristics, quality, flexibility, lead-time and prices must be assessed (Franke, and John, 2010, pp. 19-26). SIA is a market leader in Singapore’s aviation industry. Currently, it offers exemplary services in the industry. However, not all customers are satisfied with the quality of its services and thus the firm must consistently improve the quality of its services. Effective and efficient communication and coordination has enabled the firm to reduce the delivery time . Thus the services are provided at an acceptable speed. Extensive investment in research and development has also enabled the firm to maintain flexibility in its operations. This means that SIA can easily vary its level of production inline with demand dynamics. Even though SIA focuses on providing affordable services, it is not the lowest cost producer in the industry. Low-cost airlines in Singapore are currently the lowest cost producers (Graham, 2009, pp. 306-316). Consequently, SIA is not able to compete with them on the line of low prices. We can conclude that there is a small difference between customers’ needs and the actual performance of SIA. This means that the actual performance of SIA satisfies the customers’ expectations to a great extent. Step Two This stage involves evaluation of the capability of the firm’s operation in terms of its scope, facilities, and capacity. The scope of SIA’s operation enables it to offer a variety of services to its customers. These include in-flight phone and fax services, world class entertainment and efficient connection to a variety of destinations. SIA also boasts of modern and adequate facilities such as new aircrafts, modern airport lounges and aircraft maintenance facilities. These help it to improve its efficiency and level of customer satisfaction (Morrell, 2008, pp. 61-67). The management has been able to expand the capacity of the firm through various expansion programs such as acquisition of additional aircrafts, joint ventures and alliances as well as expansion of airport facilities. Thus they have been able to cope with the increase in demand for their services. Step Three In step three, new strategies are developed to enable the company compete effectively within its industry. The new strategies will thus be discussed in terms of the market demand facts highlighted in step one. Delivery lead-time can be improved by reducing the time required to provide the services. For inst ance, the flight delay and cancelation rates should be reduced to less than 5%. Time limits should be set for delivering in-flight services such as serving drinks (Morrell, 2008, pp. 61-67). For example, such services can be provided within one minute. Reliability relates to the firm’s consistency in offering particular services to customers. SIA can improve its reliability by identifying a particular range of products and provide them at a standard high quality to the customers (Nicolau, 2010, pp. 254-260). This means that the firm should not compromise on the availability and quality of its products. Maintaining high levels of flexibility is important due to the seasonal fluctuations in demand for flights. SIA should thus improve its flight schedules in order to serve its route network effectively. Deployment of capacity to particular routes should be informed by the level of demand (Nicolau, 2010, pp. 254-260). The quality of SIA’s services is currently very high. H owever, continuous innovation and employee training can help in maintaining or improving the quality of the services. Finally, emphasis must be placed on cost efficiency in order to reduce prices. The effectiveness of the new strategy should be evaluated in terms of the roles of order winning and qualifying factors. Order winning factors are those that have direct and significant influence on the firm’s ability sell its products (Dess, 2002, p. 143). They include timely arrivals and departures, safety and affordable prices. Order winning factors must be improved for the business to increase its sales. Qualifying factors are those that are important but have no direct influence on the firm’s ability to sell its products. They include meals and drinks during flights. Qualifying factors must be there so that the firm’s products can be considered by customers. The role of these factors in the products life cycle is illustrated in figure 2. Competitors The firm†™s products should be compared with those of the competitors by considering the following parameters. The order winning factors should offer crucial advantages to customers. Qualifying factors should be comparable to industry standards. The products should be â€Å"consistently and clearly better than the nearest competitor’s products† (Dess, 2002, p. 144). They should also be better than those of most competitors. SIA’s Current Operation Strategy SIA has positioned itself as â€Å"a premium carrier with high levels of innovation and excellent levels of services† (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). Besides, it has given precedence to profitability over size. The key aspects of its operations include continuous human resources development and rigorous product design. SIA’s strategy at the corporate level involves diversification by investing in related businesses. Currently, SAI group has 36 subsidiaries and associated businesses. Some of its s ubsidiaries include â€Å"Tiger Airlines, Singapore Airport and Singapore Engineering Company† (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). SIA is a member of the Star Alliance and has also invested in aviation related businesses in India and China through alliances and joint ventures. The use of modern information technology is an integral part of its strategy. The technology is particularly used to enhance customer services and to improve efficiency. At the business level, SIA focuses on providing premium services through product differentiation. The high quality product/ services are also provided at prices that are comparable to those of low-cost carriers. Thus SIA pursues â€Å"a dual strategy of differentiation and cost leadership† (Harvey, 2010, pp. 287-307). At the functional level, various processes such as marketing are aimed at improving the quality of services and lowering the cost of providing such services. The five pillars of SIA’s current strategy can be described as follows. First, it focuses on rigorous product design and development. At SIA, the process of designing and developing products is viewed as a structured effort (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). It has a product development department that perfects and adequately tests any changes prior to their introduction. The department designs new products, tests them and assess customers’ reactions before such products are introduced. Second, SIA concentrates on total innovation. Its aim is â€Å"to be just a bit better in all its functions and offerings than its competitors† (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). It focuses on constant incremental innovation which is cost-effective but delivers the desired quality. Third, SAI aims at achieving strategic synergies through diversification. The subsidiaries act as training grounds and source of learning for employees. Fourth the firm prefers to remain profitable rather than increasing its size. Finally, it conc entrates on developing employees through appropriate training. The current strategy is comparable to the recommendations discussed above since it promotes maintaining low cost in production and enhancing high service quality through differentiation. The corporate level strategy is also comparable to the recommendations due to the fact that diversification enables the firm to invest in businesses that support its core activity of proving excellent air transportation services (Duvan, 2005, pp. 448-454). Besides, it improves the profitability of the firm thereby creating resources for implementing the overall strategy. Tiger Airways Australia Tiger Airways is jointly owned by Tiger Airways holding ltd, Singapore Airlines and Dahlia Investments ltd. Unlike SIA, Tiger Airways is a budget carrier that competes along the dimensions of low costs. Its business model is based on maintaining simplicity in order to achieve the lowest operating costs. It concentrates on evaluating every aspect o f its operations in order to eliminate non-essential costs. Tiger’s strategic objective is to maximize profits by developing a route network that is characterized by a high passenger load factor and prudent management of capacity (Tiger Airways, 2011). Thus the development of Tiger Airways did not follow the operating strategy of SIA. While Tiger Airways concentrates solely on cost leadership, SIA focuses on both cost leadership and differentiation. Problems Associated with Tiger’s Operation Strategy SIA went wrong in formulating the operation strategy for Tiger Airways. To begin with, SIA over emphasized the need to maintain low production costs in the industry. While the company managed to provide the lowest prices in Australia, it neglected the need to provide high quality services (Forsyth, 2010, pp. 204-255). This can be explained by the complaints raised by customers and the industry regulator about its poor services. In 2010 Tiger had a low on-time departure rat e of only 73.9% as well as a low on-time arrival of 72.8% (Tiger Airways, 2011). In 2011, it received about four warnings from the industry regulator for failing to comply with the security requirements at various ports in Australia. Consequently, its services were suspended in July 2011 by the Civil Aviation Authority. The poor services not only led to high levels of customer dissatisfaction but also led to huge losses. After resuming its operations, the airline had to reduce the size of its fleet and route network due to low demand. The management also failed to correctly judge the level of competition in the industry. When Tiger Airways lowered its prices in order to attract customers, other airlines such as Qantas did the same (McGurk, 2009, pp. 635-652). Since Tiger was not able to sustain the low prices for long, it found itself introducing extra fees for non-essential services. For example, it introduced a fee for check-in luggage and ticketing services at check-in. The overa ll effect was an increase in its prices which was against its cost leadership strategy. There was no focus on staff training and development at Tiger Airlines. Staff development through adequate training and skill improvement programs has been one of the major organizational pillars of SIA (Heracleous and Wirts, 2009, pp. 1-6). Its failure to replicate the same staff development programs at Tiger Airlines can be explained by the mistakes made by the cockpit crews in 2011. Despite the several warnings issued by the Civil Aviation Authority to Tiger Airline, its pilots kept flying their aircrafts very low at the Sydney Airport. Consequently, they risked causing accidents at the airport and losses to the company. Besides, such mistakes led to low customer confidence on the company’s safety standards. Need for a Different Approach SIA should have approached the launch of Tiger Airways differently due to the following reasons. First, the budget carrier business is not well develop ed in the region. Thus customers are not only interested in low prices but are also emotionally attached to various add-in services such as in-flight drinks (Trethway, 2004, pp. 3-14). Second, the customers are very demanding in terms of their expectations on the quality of services. Consequently, SIA should have focused on introducing the high service quality at Tiger Airways. Finally, SIA had the resources and technical capability to initiate innovation at Tiger Airways in order to provide high quality low-cost services. For instance a service department should have been established to design and introduce new products that ensure low operating costs without compromising the quality of services (Trethway, 2004, pp. 3-14). Recommendations SIA’s ability to offer world class services is based on its commitment to product and process innovation through research and development. Its success is attributed to the fact that it has been able to simultaneously pursue cost leadership and differentiation strategies. However, it can consider the following recommendations in order to improve its profitability in future. First, SIA should join new markets through joint ventures and partnerships (Trethway, 2004, pp. 3-14). For instance it can join emerging economies in Asia and Africa which are currently under serviced in order to increase its profits. Second, it should formulate its growth strategies within the strategic foresight framework. This will enable it to identify future customer needs. Hence it will be able to develop new products and identify new markets to satisfy emerging needs. Finally, it should focus on strengthening its core competencies such as excellent customer services in order to maintain its competitiveness. Tiger Airways on the other hand should consider the following recommendations. First, it can adopt cooperative growth strategies such as outsourcing alliances and supplier alliances (Trethway, 2004, pp. 3-14). These strategies will enable it to reduce its operating costs by outsourcing non-core activities. Hence it will be able to charge low prices without compromising quality. Second, it should concentrate on improving the quality of its services in order to attract new customers and retain the existing ones (Trethway, 2004, pp. 3-14). Finally, it should also diversify into related business with the aim of improving its revenues. References Daraban, B. and Fournier, G. 2008. Incumbent Responses to Low-Cost Airline Entry and Exit: A Special Autoregressive Panel Data Analyses. Research in Transport economics, 24(1), pp. 15-24. Dess, G. 2002. Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Duvan, D. 2005. Public-Stakeholder Perception of Airline Alliances: the New Zealand Experience. Journal of Airline Transport Management, 11(6), pp. 448-454. Feiler, G. and Goodoritch, T. 2009. Decline and Growth, Privatization in Middle East Airline Industry. Journal of Transport Geography, 2(1), pp. 55-64. Forsyth, P. 2010. Environment and Financial Sustainability of Air Transport: Are they Incompatible? Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(8), pp. 204-255. Franke, M. and John, F. 2010. What Comes Next After Recession? Airline Industry Scenarios and Potential End Games. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(1), pp. 19-26. Graham, M. 2009. Different Model in Different Space or Liberalization Optimization? Comparative Strategies among Low-Cost Carriers. Journal of Transport Geography, 17(4), pp. 306-316. Harvey, G. 2010. Cleared for Take-Off? Management Labor Partnership in the European Civil Aviation Industry. Journal of Industrial Relations, 10(3), pp. 287-307. Hazeldine, T. 2010. Legacy Carriers Fight Back: Pricing and Product Differentiation in Modern Airline Marketing. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(1), pp. 40-43. Heracleous, L. and Wirts, J. 2009. Strategy and Organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving Sustainable Advantage through Dual Strategy. Journal of Air Transport Management, 10(2), pp . 1-6. Johnston, R. 1996. Singapore Airlines. New York: McGraw-Hill. McGurk, J. 2009. Contrasting Management and Employment Relations Strategies in European Airlines. Journal of Industrial Relations, 51(2), pp. 635-652. Morrell, P. 2008. Can Long-Haul Low-Cost Airlines be Successful? Research in Transport economics, 24(1), pp. 61-67. Nicolau, J. 2010. Testing Prospect Theory in Airline Demand. Journal of Air Transport Management, 16(4), pp. 254-260. Tiger Airways, 2011. Investors Relations. [Online] Web. Trethway, M. 2004. Distortions of Airline Revenues: Why the Network Airline Business Model is Broken. Journal of Transport Management, 10(1), pp. 3-14. This critical writing on Singapore Airlines was written and submitted by user Eden Kerr to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

10 Best Interior Design Schools in the US

10 Best Interior Design Schools in the US SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips An education in interior design is getting more and more important for aspiring professionals in the field. In many states, you can’t call yourself an interior designer unless you have a license or a certain level of education. If you’re thinking about becoming an interior designer, you’ll want to know about the best interior design schools you can attend in the US. Whether you want to work on residential or commercial design, the following programs will prepare you well for your future career as an interior designer. But before we get to the rankings list, let's briefly go over what makes interior design programs unique. What's So Special About an Interior Design Program? Interior design schools teach a unique set of skills. These programs focus on the creative aspects of design, of course, but a good program also instills strong technical, business, and management skills in its students. If you attend a top interior design school, you'll learn the following: Client-facing skills, such as researching clients' goals and project requirements How to create 2D and 3D space plans How to select colors, materials, textures, and decor How to ensure space plans meet all public health, safety, and welfare requirements and codes How to prepare project budgets and schedules How to prepare construction documents How to collaborate with other professionals, such as architects and engineers How to oversee, manage, and supervise projects Some of these programs offer a Bachelor of Arts (BA), while others offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or even a Bachelor of Science (BS). I'll talk more about the difference between these degrees at the end of this article. How Are These Interior Design Schools Ranked? To come up with a reliable list of the top 10 interior design schools, I aggregated common ranking lists from interior design industry experts (including DesignSchoolsHub and Design Intelligence). These lists compiled the rankings by surveying design professionals and asking which schools best prepare students' for a career in interior design. Note that the following programs aren’t listed in any particular order. If a school is on this list, it’ll give you a top-notch interior design education, regardless of the order it appears in. That said, I did separate the schools into two tiers based on their aggregate rankings. Keep in mind, though, that the most important consideration in choosing one of these schools is finding the one that best fits your own preferences and interests. Now then, let's get to our rankings of the best colleges for interior design! Best Interior Design Schools: Tier 1 These are the top-rated interior design schools, the cream of the crop. They're likely to be the most competitive of all interior design programs, so be cautious when putting together your applications- you don't only want to apply to schools with very low admissions rates! If you want more information about admissions statistics and requirements for any of these schools, just click their names. New York School of Interior Design - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #5 by Design Intelligence, #4 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $350 enrollment fee plus $1060 per credit (16-17 credits per full-time semester) The New York School of Interior Design is the only school on this list that specializes solely in interior design education. It's also a top-ranked grad school for interior design, which indicates strong faculty, networking, and post-grad opportunities. Graduates of this institution have pretty great career prospects: 98% of students find jobs within six months of getting their degrees. If you aren't sure whether you want to commit to a full degree program, or if you don't yet feel prepared to apply to an interior design program, you can also enroll in one of the school's non-degree certificate programs to work on building up your portfolio. One of the best cities to be for any type of arts program. Parsons School of Design (The New School) - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #4 by Design Intelligence, #5 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $25,230 per full-time semester The Parsons School of Design (one of five colleges at The New School) boasts some well-developed networks in commerce and industry, so this school might be a particularly good option for those who wish to pursue commercial design. If you're not sure what you want to focus on, however, you can still find your niche here: Parsons offers more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs (their grad programs are top-ranked as well). This institution states that they put a special focus on collaborative work, meaning you'd have the opportunity to complete group projects, perhaps even with students who belong to different degree programs. As interior designers have to work with many types of professionals to finish a job, this type of collaboration will be vital in helping prepare you for a career in design. Pratt Institute - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #2 by Design Intelligence, #2 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Around $52,000 per year for full-time students If you're hoping to get a job directly after graduation, then you'll definitely want to check out the Pratt Institute. In 2015, 100% of graduates (who responded to the survey) found jobs within just seven months after graduation. Or if you'd rather continue your education with a grad degree, you'll be pleased to know that 100% of graduates in May 2014 who applied to grad school were accepted to at least one program. (Unfortunately, the school doesn't offer any data on the quality of programs students attended.) Like other schools on this list, the Pratt Institute boasts a top-rated graduate program for interior design. In this MFA program, you'll learn about topics such as sustainable practice, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies. Rhode Island School of Design - Providence, RI Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #3 by Design Intelligence, #3 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $51,800 per year for full-time students One of the most famous and well-ranked arts and design schools in the US, RISD is located in the city of Providence, which has one of the highest concentrations of artists in the country. The interior design major is known as "interior studies" or "interior architecture" at RISD. RISD is particularly well-known for teaching students with practical instruction and coursework. If you're interested in eventually going to grad school, you should know that RISD also has a highly ranked grad program for interior design, through which you can earn an MA degree. Savannah College of Art and Design - Savannah, GA Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: #1 by Design Intelligence, #1 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $37,575 per year for full-time students SCAD is ranked highly across the board for all its art and design programs (not just interior design), ensuring you’ll have access to other artistic and creative resources on campus. While the main campus is located in Savannah, SCAD also has interior design programs in Atlanta and Hong Kong, as well as online. This array of program locations means that you will have more opportunities to land internships in metropolitan areas and even study abroad. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Architecture's not bad for a design school, right? Best Interior Design Schools: Tier 2 These schools are generally lower-ranked than Tier 1 schools, but they still offer pretty strong interior design programs and tend to show up toward the top of many ranking lists. Like with the Tier 1 schools, just click any school name to get more information about admissions statistics and requirements. Cornell University - Ithaca, NY Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #7 by Design Intelligence, #8 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $37,880 per year for full-time in-state students; $56,550 per year for full-time out-of-state students Cornell is the only Ivy League school that offers an interior design program. This program has a special focus on the impact of design decisions on the environment. Drexel University - Philadelphia, PA Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #14 by Design Intelligence, #10 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Around $18,000 per full-time academic quarter Drexel's program in interior design combines the study of interior design with the study of art and art history. Students explore the behavioral aspects of interior design in addition to aesthetic aspects. Fashion Institute of Technology - New York, NY Degrees Offered: BFA Rankings: # by Design Intelligence, #7 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $3,435 per semester for full-time in-state students; $10,396 for full-time out-of-state students Although FIT is well known for its fashion design programs, it also boasts a strong interior design program. It's the largest program of its kind in NYC, with around 400 students. If you attend FIT, you'll have the opportunity to work with top professionals in the area, such as architects and interior/lighting/graphic designers. Syracuse University - Syracuse, NY Degrees Offered: BFA, BID (Bachelor of Industrial Design) Rankings: #22 by Design Intelligence, #9 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: $52,210 per year Syracuse offers a program called Environmental and Interior Design, which is a bit broader than most other programs on this list. At Syracuse, interior design students take studio courses in fine arts and crafts to supplement their main course of study. This program might be a good option for students who want to focus on design but also want parts of a more standard liberal arts experience. University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH Degrees Offered: BS Rankings: #6 by Design Intelligence, #6 by Design Schools Hub Tuition: Not yet set for 2019 onwards as of this article's publication; we'll update as it becomes available The interior design program at UC's School of Architecture and Interior Design emphasizes the physical, psychological, and social needs of people at work and at leisure. The program is five years long- slightly longer than the standard four-year bachelor's degree program- and requires one and a half years of cooperative education experience. Furthermore, about 70% of graduates get jobs within three months of graduating. Let's talk about how to choose the interior design program that's best for you. Picking the Right Interior Design Program for You: 5 Factors Although there isn't a gigantic variety of interior design program choices out there, you still have to sift through a lot of information to pick a school that's right for you. Hopefully, this last has got you started on the right track. That said, there are other things to keep in mind before committing to a particular interior design school. Here are five key factors to consider. #1: Make Sure the School Is Accredited by the CIDA First, you'll want to check that the interior design school you're interested in is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Any program that claims to prepare you for a career in interior design should be approved by this organization. All the schools on our list above are accredited by CIDA and state this fact very clearly on their websites. If you're not sure whether a particular school is accredited, contact its admissions office and ask. #2: Choose a School That Offers the Degree You Want Most interior design programs offer a BA or BFA, with some offering a BS. If you attend a BA program, you'll likely get more of a traditional liberal arts degree, meaning that the program strives to educate well-rounded artists and scholars. BS degrees, by contrast, are more strictly focused on their subject matter than BAs, so you'll take fewer general education courses. Finally, BFAs are professional degrees; you'll take some general education courses, but the main focus of the program will be helping you hone and focus your artistic talent and voice. #3: Decide Whether You Prefer a Flexible or Focused Program Some of the programs above offer plenty of room for students to explore their artistic and design interests, and boast dozens of degree options and specializations, whereas others are more focused and therefore might be better fits for students who already know what interests they want to pursue. Spend some time exploring the programs' websites to get a better feel for whether they're good fits for you. #4: Look for Portfolio Requirements You Can Meet As with any design or arts program, you'll have to submit a portfolio as part of the application process for any of the schools listed above. Some of these portfolio requirements might seem reasonable, while others might be tough to meet. Explore each program's portfolio requirements well ahead of any application deadlines. #5: Take Location Into Account Are there particular fields or specialties where you might have an advantage if you're living in a certain area? Also, think twice before applying to a school in an area you absolutely hate or are really unsure about. Once you consider these five factors, you'll be better able to choose an interior design program that's right for you. The better the fit, the more successful you're likely to be in school and your career! What's Next? Interested in design but don't know much about it? Start with our guide to the 7 principles of design. If you're planning on going to an interior design school, you'll likely need to create a portfolio of your best work. Learn more about how to make a great portfolio that will definitely impress your dream school. Once you're done putting together a list of schools to apply to, the next step should be figuring out how to pay for your education. Learn more about how to apply for financial aid, how to pay for school without loans, and how to get some of the top scholarships in the country. Thinking about going to an art school instead? Check out our guide to the best art schools in the US! Or, whet your appetite for art school with our short guide to contour line art. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: