The Interior Design program aims to teach students how to analyze design factors based on understanding the project objectives, goals and end user requirements. The course work includes design, analysis, construction and job administration. Students will be expected to conduct a wide range of research and on-site examination of areas selected for project work.
The primary objective of the interior design courses in the American University in the Emirates is to equip students with creative awareness, professional attitudes, imagination and technical knowledge required for this profession. Interior Design is a multifaceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are adopted within the building to maintain and achieve an interior environment through systematic design processes and techniques. The program objectives are as follows:
The College has large design studios, state-of-the-art facilities provided with the latest electronic media and printing equipment and an extensive library filled with the latest tutorial educational resources relevant to interior design. They are all available for students to use in an engaged learning environment.
Students will be studying under the direction of experienced architects, engineers and tutors. Students will work towards projects in both commercial and residential interiors, developing a sense of how people function inside and outside these spaces. They will develop a range of live projects with themes including leisure and public interior spaces.
Program at a glance
Total Credit Hours
Duration
Instruction Language
Tuition Fees

Program Director
Assistant Professor / Department Chair - Interior Design
| Course Category | Total Number of Courses | Total Number of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Courses | 10 | 30 |
| Core Courses | 11 | 33 |
| Specialization Courses | 21 | 63 |
| Total | 43 Courses | 126 Credit Hours |
This course provides students with advanced writing skills in English so that they can successfully pursue their studies in various academic specializations. It helps students to develop, improve, and upgrade their writing and structure skills, and it also acquaints students with technical writing, research papers, and essays since brief research methods are applied in student projects and assignments.
This course is designed to enable students to analyze multiple texts in various fields of knowledge. In order to be able to distinguish between texts despite their difference of contents, it also enables student to simulate those texts in a correct way, and to transform the information into skill and behavior. And since writing is an integrated building process, and that the building is affected by its parts, therefore student needs models, linguistic laws, planning, cohesion and goals including: news and inquiries, demand and influence of the recipient.
This course is based on the principle that "Education" is an accumulative task especially when it comes to language learning. This process undergoes specific stages to assist the non-Arabic speakers to reach the ultimate goal which is to acquire the required skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) easily and accurately. To achieve this aim, text-based dialogues are provided as head start for the non-Arabic speakers to continue to the higher levels. The course also provides basic elements for reading, writing, dialogues, and listening to assist the learners to confidently interact with the Arab community
This course is designed to enable the Arabic-speaking student with the necessary language skills, especially focusing on the steps of writing reports, official letters and systematic research. To achieve this, and to develop the student's abilities to understand correctly what he reads and listens, and to gain the ability to write articles, reports, meeting minutes and recommendations of conferences and seminars in a sound manner, the course was concerned with training the student in basic writing skills; such as multiple spelling rules, punctuation marks, paragraph system, and essay writing progressively.
The course is designed to introduce the UAE and GCC society with its historical background and uniqueness. It is aimed at enabling students to understand the specific features of the society along with its customs, traditions and lifestyle. The course will introduce the processes and the challenges of development as well as the future aspirations of the UAE and GCC Society.
This course will provide the students with a comprehensive overview of English literature in the United States. It will familiarize the students primarily with early Anglo-American writers and the different literary movements that took place in the United States. Today American literature includes many minority literary works, but the historical matrix remains Anglo-Saxon if we are to consider the dominant culture as the starting historical point.
The ‘Principles of Environmental Science’ course is designed to introduce the fundamental concepts of Environmental Science to undergraduate students. It includes topics from different areas of study such as ecology, biology, soil science and atmospheric science. The course aims at raising environmental awareness among students and providing them with the scientific knowledge and skills to identify, prevent and solve environmental problems. Additionally, it deals with ecological concepts, organism interactions, communities and ecosystems. The course focuses on key areas of population dynamics, biodiversity, human activities and the environment managed ecosystems, air quality, water and solid waste management.
This course is designed to develop a good understanding of the fundamental concepts of mathematics. It also stresses on crucial cognitive transferable skills such as the ability to think logically and concisely. Mastering this course will give students the confidence to go on and do further courses in mathematics and statistics.
An introduction to the science of psychology, its theories and foundations. The course is focused on principles and research methodologies, including the following topics: history of psychology, the biology of mind, memory, learning, child and personality development, psychological disorders and therapy. The aim of the course is to introduce the basis of psychology, provide the foundational knowledge to pursue the subject in more depth in the future, and build an ongoing interest in the application of psychology in everyday life.
This course aims to focus on the evolution of Islamic Art through a chronological overview of various ?trends and approaches throughout history. Students will explore and analyze the rise and influence of ?Islam leading to the formation of a new artistic culture the world over.?
This course marks students’ introduction to the theory and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship. Whether they are creating an opportunity or seizing an existing one students explore the core concepts and tools for creating new products or services, new businesses, or new markets from a multilayered perspective. The course examines the fundamentals of innovation in a multitude of settings, operationalizing the entrepreneurial spirit via a comprehensive business plan, and making decisions in the areas of strategic planning, financing, marketing, process improvement, and management with an awareness of the opportunities and challenges of working in an increasingly complex environment regionally and internationally.
This course provides an understanding of anthropology, the study of human beings throughout time and space. Anthropology is a broad discipline that studies human from a holistic perspective looking at both biological and cultural aspects. Anthropologists use different methods in order to understand and study humans. During this course, students will experience ethnographic fieldwork.
This course will provide the students with a comprehensive overview of geography. Emphasis is on concepts that are necessary to understand global, regional and local issues. This course also includes topics on both human and physical geography.
This course will introduce the students to the key concepts of philosophy and its principle tools. The course will discuss the schools of philosophical thought, and will apply philosophical analysis to the topics of knowledge, religion, mind, freedom, responsibility, and ethics.
This course will introduce the students to the key concepts of Political Science and its principal tools. The course will discuss the role of main political actors in the field of politics and their function.
The intent of this course is two-fold. First, it introduces students with the basic research terminologies. Second, it familiarizes them with the process of research from choosing a topic to writing the proposal. Students will be immersed in hands on experience where they will be introduced to research concepts that will help them understand, interpret, and review a journal article. Contents to be covered include the language of research, types of research, elements of scientific research proposal, writing an academic research proposal using APA style, research ethics, identifying data collection instruments, and interpreting data.
This course serves as an introduction into the interdisciplinary and multifaceted social sciences. The content on the course covers the range of different disciplines that social sciences consists of, namely: anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, economics and to a lesser extent also history and geography. The secondary aim of the course is moreover for students to develop their critical thinking skills by engaging actively with material about social issues, social change and social institutions.
This course introduces the science of Sociology. Students will examine Society, Institutions and the relationships that make up a social context. The scientific methodology used to study social interactions, stratification and other elements of sociological enquiry will be discussed to emphasize the core concept of sociology as a systematic study of societies and social structures.
The course is designed to give an in-depth understanding of the Islamic civilization. It deals with the universal principles that went into the making of the Islamic civilization. It examines the basic ideas of Islamic civilization besides exploring their contemporary relevance and challenges. The course seeks to effectively address the notion of the ‘clash of civilizations.
This course will expand students’ knowledge to enable them to understand the Islamic culture and its characteristics. It analyzes the sources of legislation in Islam. It offers a review of the history of Islam and how it is currently the fastest growing religion in the world.
This course provides an overview of Middle-Eastern History, including the sources of Middle Eastern History. The course will conclude with discussions about perspectives on Middle-Eastern History.
The natural science course incorporates a wide range of subjects of sciences such as astronomy, geology, biology, chemistry, and environmental science. The course will present the scientific facts of astronomy, the Earth and its weather, water, and environment, biology, and nutrition with the chemicals of life. The course emphasizes understanding the core principles of different branches of science and their effects on our lives. Moreover, the course explores the scope of natural phenomena, changing environment conditions, general health rules of nutrition, and the variety of living organisms. The course helps the students to acquire skills in observation, critical thinking, analyzing, interpreting, understanding and discussing scientific terminology and facts.
This course gives a thorough introduction to sustainable energy, conservation, and energy efficiency within the UAE and the world. It will explore the relationship between energy, environment, economy and ecological well-being. It will discuss energy production from the biology, natural science, environmental science and social sciences perspectives. A variety of topics will be introduced including global warming, climate change, sustainable food production, solid waste management, environmental and natural resources laws. The course includes the growing challenges of climate change and energy crisis and proposes solutions to overcome them.
The purpose of this course is to facilitate the process of transition into a new academic and cultural environment for the new students enrolled in the AUE. Furthermore, it aims to promote their confidence so that they can succeed and meet the academic requirements. The course assimilates academic content with interactive in class activities to ensure an understanding of curricular options and begin to develop a future career plan through self-reflection.
This course provides an overview of World / General History. The course will conclude with discussions about perspectives on World History. It surveys the history of humankind since 250CE till 1990 CE. In addition, interregional, comparative, cross-cultural, transnational, and historiographical topics will be considered. The objective of the course is to explore the roots of contemporary globalization and to develop historical thinking and writing.
The college considers students’ internship as an essential channel that brings together the college, the students, and the job marketplace. Furthermore, internship is a method that integrates the instructional theoretical backgrounds to real existing practice. The training allows them to work under the observation and guidance of the field supervisor without replacing any regular employee. The internship is closely monitored by a college faculty member as an academic supervisor.
The capstone graduation project is the representation of the students’ in-depth learning and understanding of their field of specialization through a long-term project accomplished in a professional manner. They are evaluated on their ability to complete this project with originality and quality, applying the skills, techniques and methodologies they have learnt during their course of study. The student is assigned to develop a comprehensive design based upon the concept design proposal already delivered in the Capstone Seminar. The topic could range from academic research to school/ community service, student-developed business or any other area of personal interest. The student communicates regularly with his/ her academic-capstone advisor for review, while working constantly to improve the outcome by building upon previously gained expertise. The academic-capstone advisor contributes through meaningful feedback and setting expectations of standards, offering an opportunity for open-ended learning through self-reflection and improvement. The process is documented, findings are compiled and presented orally as well as in writing through a capstone report. The project is divided into three distinct phases: 1. Research and topic selection. 2. Conceptual and design development. 3. Design execution/ design presentation, with necessary documentation and a comprehensive report.
The Capstone Seminar is a preparatory course to deliver a design dissertation subject to be further developed in the Capstone Graduation Project. Students will be introduced to different research methodologies in the field of design. They are expected to identify a meaningful topic to be explored in their research according to their interests, attitudes, strengths, and career aspirations. The research process will proceed by developing a literature review, targeting a potential innovative design scope, choosing the appropriate research methodology and finally delivering the final proposal. The outcome of such process should be also supported by a meta- project (e.g. concept design/preliminary design) as integral part of the final delivery. It will identify key elements which will constitute the base and starting point of the design phase to be developed in the Capstone Graduation Project.

For undergraduate degree completion, undergraduate students must satisfy the following requirements:
When can I join?
Students can join at the beginning of any semester.
Intake 01
September
Min. 3 courses | 9 credit hours
Intake 02
January
Min. 3 courses | 9 credit hours
Intake 03
May
Min. 3 courses | 9 credit hours