Education Survey

According to our estimate, each year approximately 835 students graduate from various interior design programs in Hong Kong. The intake of students is from F.5 and F.7 level, and aged 18-24. At any time, the total number of students enrolled in interior design courses, both full and part-time, is in the range of 1200-1400. Most interior design programs offered in Hong Kong are  not at bachelor’s degree level, with most of them at high diploma, diploma, and certificate or below level, which account for over 85% of all programs while associate degree level accounts for another 5%. Only 11% of students study interior design at bachelor’s degree level. In terms of the number of graduates, those with bachelor’s degree account for 12.6% of all graduates, associate degree 26.3%, higher diploma 33.5%, diploma and certificate 27.5%.   When students graduate, between 70-80% of them find employment within the field of interior design, mostly in entry level positions include drafting, contracting and assistant designers. Surprisingly, there is no significant variance in the employment rate for students from different kinds of programs. It appears that employers are more concerned about the ability and personality of graduates rather than their qualifications.   In Hong Kong, almost all interior design graduates are below the age of 25, unlike in other countries where adult and continuing education is more common. In the United States, for example, it is not unusual for practitioners to return to school in preparation for taking the NCIDQ exam.  By comparison Hong Kong practitioners are discouraged from continuous education by the schools’ admission requirements and by their heavy work schedule. For those intending to pursue continuous education, there is a limited range of options.   We distributed three types of questionnaire to students, graduates and teachers, respectively,  in different schools offering interior design courses in Hong Kong. Their participation is voluntary and in total 100 students, 29 graduates and 18 teachers have completed the questionnaires. The questionnaires for students and graduates ask respondents to evaluate their education and testify to the way they perceive their learning outcome, as well as give them a chance to self-assess their knowledge and abilities. (see Appendix 2)  In addition, questionnaires for graduates (Appendix 3) also ask respondents to evaluate whether knowledge acquired in school match with industry needs.  Questionnaires for teachers (Appendix 4) ask them to evaluate students’ knowledge and ability.