TL;DR: BS Interior Design (BSID) is governed by CHED Memorandum Order No. 44, series of 2017, which sets a minimum 173-unit curriculum, and by Republic Act No. 10350, the Philippine Interior Design Act of 2012. Unlike most creative degrees, it ends in a PRC licensure examination. RA 10350 lists seven exam subjects and sets the passing mark at a weighted general average of 70 per cent. Once registered, you may use the title "IDr." The programme includes a 150-hour practicum and two studio-based thesis and special-project courses.
Interior design is the exception among Philippine creative degrees. Multimedia arts, animation, game development, industrial design, music and theatre arts have no licensure exam. Interior design does — a real one, with a statute behind it, a professional regulatory board, a subject weighting table and a title you earn.
That changes how you should choose a school, because a programme's job is no longer just to make you employable. It has to prepare you for a specific examination.
The Two Documents That Govern This Degree
CHED Memorandum Order No. 44, series of 2017 promulgates the Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design (BSID) programme, issued by virtue of Commission en banc Resolution No. 231-2017 dated 28 March 2017. It sets the degree name, the minimum curriculum and the resource requirements.
Republic Act No. 10350, the "Philippine Interior Design Act of 2012," creates the profession's legal framework: the Professional Regulatory Board of Interior Design, the qualifications to sit the exam, the subjects, the passing rating, registration and the scope of practice. RA 10350 expressly repealed the earlier Republic Act No. 8534, which matters because outdated summaries of the old law still circulate.
CMO No. 44 quotes RA 10350's own definition of the field: interior design is "the science and art of planning, specifying, selecting and organizing the surface finishes and materials including furniture, furnishings and fixtures and other interior design elements for the purpose of interior space allocations to suit, enhance and meet the intended function, movement and character for which the interior of the building is designed."
Disclaimer: CHED prescribes minimums; schools design their own curricula within them. Confirm the current programme of study and any additional school requirements with your target institution.
BS Interior Design Curriculum: 173 Units
| Component | Units |
|---|---|
| General Education | 36 |
| Professional Courses | 105 |
| Electives | 18 |
| Physical Education | 8 |
| NSTP | 6 |
| Total | 173 |
That is a heavy load by Philippine undergraduate standards, and the reason is visible in how CHED structures the 105 professional units. They are not a general design block — they are organised to mirror the licensure examination's competency areas.
| Professional competency block | Units |
|---|---|
| Interior Design competency courses | 60 |
| History of Arts and Interior Design | 9 |
| Furniture Design and Construction | 8 |
| Materials of Design and Decoration | 6 |
| Interior Construction and Utilities | 6 |
| Color Theory | 6 |
| Professional Practice and Ethics | 10 |
| Total | 105 |
The 60-unit Interior Design block runs as a studio sequence: Interior Design 1 through 6 at 4 units each, then Interior Design 7 (Thesis) and Interior Design 8 (Special Project) at 6 units each, supported by Theory of Interior Design, Interior Perspective, Research Methods, Interior Design Drafting, Visual Techniques, and CAD 1, 2 and 3.
CHED also sets studio contact time rather than leaving it to the school: a minimum of seven hours per week for professional interior design courses with laboratory, five hours for elective interior design courses with laboratory, and three hours for purely lecture courses. Class size in laboratory courses should not exceed 35, and thesis classes should not exceed a 1:15 supervision ratio.
The Practicum or Apprenticeship is 4 units with a minimum of 150 hours, normally taken in the summer after third year.
Sample Electives
CHED's suggested 18 units of electives include Period Colors, Interior Floral Design and Plantscaping, Lighting Design, Building Utilities, Liturgical Arts, Interior Styling and Photography, Textile Design, Perspective of World Arts, Philippine Arts, Aesthetics for Interior Design, Accounting for Interior Design, Statistics and Project Management. These are suggestions; ask which a school actually runs.
The Licensure Examination
Interior Design is one of the PRC's 46 Professional Regulatory Boards. CMO No. 44, s. 2017 is blunt about the endpoint: "Upon completion of the BSID program, the graduates must pass the licensure examination given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and obtain certification."
Section 16 of RA 10350 lists the subjects. CMO No. 44, s. 2017 publishes the weights, and the Board's own published examination programme uses the same seven subjects and weights:
| Subject | Weight |
|---|---|
| Interior Design | 40% |
| Furniture Design and Construction | 15% |
| Materials of Design and Decoration | 10% |
| History of Arts and Interior Design | 10% |
| Interior Construction and Utilities | 10% |
| Professional Practice and Ethics | 10% |
| Color Theory | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
In the most recent examination programme published by the Professional Regulatory Board of Interior Design, the papers were spread across three consecutive days, with Furniture Design and Construction, Materials of Design and Decoration and History of Arts and Interior Design on day one; Interior Construction and Utilities, Professional Practice and Ethics and Color Theory on day two; and the 40 per cent Interior Design paper alone on day three.
Passing rating. Section 17 of RA 10350: a candidate must obtain "a weighted general average of seventy percent (70%)."
A source warning worth taking seriously. PRC's website still hosts an older Board of Interior Design syllabi document that lists only six subject areas, with Interior Design weighted at 45 per cent and no Color Theory paper at all. That structure predates RA 10350 and does not match either the statute or the Board's current examination programme. Review materials built from it will be misweighted. When something you read online conflicts with RA 10350 or the Board's published programme, treat PRC's current examination programme and the statute as controlling, and confirm with the Board.
On dates. PRC sets and publishes the schedule of licensure examinations each year, and dates move between cycles. Do not plan a review calendar around a date you read in a blog post, including this one. Check PRC's official schedule of examinations. For what you need to file and when, see our guide to PRC board exam requirements.
Who Can Sit the Exam, and What Registration Gives You
Section 15 of RA 10350 sets the qualifications: Philippine citizenship, or foreign citizenship where the applicant's country has a reciprocity policy with the Philippines; good moral character; a degree in interior design from an institution in the Philippines recognised by the government and affiliated with a school, college or university duly recognised or accredited by CHED, or a foreign interior design degree certified by CHED as equivalent to a Philippine BS Interior Design; and no conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude.
That first clause is a practical reason to check accreditation before enrolling, not after. Our guide on how to verify school legitimacy covers how to confirm a programme's standing with CHED.
After passing, successful candidates take an oath of profession before the Board or an authorised official before entering practice, and are issued a Certificate of Registration and a professional identification card. RA 10350 provides that once registered, the interior designer may use "IDr." as an official appendage title. Renewal of the professional identification card requires proof of payment of annual dues to the accredited professional organisation and proof of completion of continuing professional education requirements.
What Licensed Interior Designers Actually Do
RA 10350's scope of practice covers consultation, schematic design development, preparation of plans and specifications, interior construction administration and supervision, and other works requiring the professional competence of an interior designer. CMO No. 44 divides practice into residential and non-residential interior design.
The memorandum also lists allied careers a BSID graduate may pursue, which is a more realistic picture of where graduates end up than the two headline categories: interior design education and research; furniture and interior accessories design, construction and manufacturing; exhibition design, retail design and visual merchandising; set and production design; colour and materials specialisation; interior design journalism and photography; lighting design; professional rendering; specifications writing; scaled model-making; professional CAD specialisation; events planning, styling and management; floral design and interior plantscaping; interior design business and project management; cultural heritage conservation; art direction; and museum design and curatorial planning.
There is also a teaching-track consequence built into the policy. CHED requires faculty teaching interior design courses to hold a bachelor's degree with a licence in interior design, and notes that a master's degree is mandated by RA 10350. If academia is the goal, plan for both.
Interior Design vs Architecture vs Industrial Design
These three sit close together and get confused constantly. Only two are licensed.
| Interior Design | Architecture | Industrial Design | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHED policy | CMO No. 44, s. 2017 | CMO No. 61, s. 2017 | CMO No. 43, s. 2017 (Fine Arts and Design) |
| PRC board | Yes — Board of Interior Design | Yes — Board of Architecture | None |
| Governing statute | RA 10350 | Architecture law | No professional regulation act |
| Minimum units set by CHED | 173 | Set in its own PSG | 158 minimum |
| Title after registration | IDr. | Ar. | None |
If the licence is the point for you, note that architecture and interior design are both regulated but are distinct professions with distinct scopes — one does not substitute for the other. Our strand for architecture guide covers senior high preparation for the architecture route, and the two share a lot of it.
Where It Is Offered, and What to Ask
Verified from the school's own published programme list, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde offers Interior Design under its School of Environment and Design, alongside Architecture, Industrial Design and Fashion Design and Merchandising.
Because this degree ends in an examination, comparison questions get sharper than for unlicensed courses:
- What is the programme's recent licensure passing record? Ask for it directly; schools track it.
- Are the interior design faculty licensed IDrs? CHED requires it.
- How is the studio time actually scheduled? CHED's seven-hour weekly minimum for professional laboratory courses is a floor, and a compressed schedule is a warning sign.
- What does the programme cost in materials? Studio courses carry real recurring costs for boards, models, printing and software beyond tuition. CHED does not regulate any of it.
- Where do students do the 150-hour practicum? Ask which firms.
Is BS Interior Design Right for You?
- Do you want a licence? This is the main structural difference between interior design and the other creative degrees. If a regulated profession appeals, see our list of courses with board exams.
- Can you handle 173 units and long studio hours? It is among the heavier undergraduate loads, and the studio sequence runs from first semester to last.
- Are you interested in codes as well as aesthetics? CHED's performance indicators require designing to Philippine statutory standards, including the National Building Code, the Fire Code, and accessibility and breastfeeding-station requirements. This is a technical profession with a design surface, not the reverse.
- Do you want to teach eventually? Plan for the licence plus a master's degree.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools and compare programmes across the Philippines on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- Commission on Higher Education — CMO No. 44, series of 2017, PSG for the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design (BSID) Program
- Republic Act No. 10350 — Philippine Interior Design Act of 2012
- Professional Regulation Commission — Professional Regulatory Boards
- Professional Regulatory Board of Interior Design — Programme of the July 2026 Licensure Examination for Interior Designers
- Professional Regulation Commission — Board of Interior Design, Syllabi for the Interior Design Licensure Examination (older document, superseded structure)
- Professional Regulation Commission — Schedule of Examinations
- Commission on Higher Education — 2017 CHED Memorandum Orders index
- De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde — Undergraduate Programmes
