Council for Interior Design Accreditation
Encyclopedia
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) is an independent, non-profit accrediting
organization for interior design
education programs at colleges and universities in the United States
and Canada
. For more than 35 years, CIDA has pursued the enrichment of the interior design profession through identifying, developing and promoting quality standards for the education of entry-level interior designers, and then accrediting and supporting educational programs to aspire to those standards.
Through a process of program self-evaluation and peer review, accreditation promotes achievement of high academic standards, while making education more responsive to student and societal needs. The Council engages nearly 200 volunteers, all drawn from interior design practice and education, to carry out its work. Nearly 150 interior design programs are currently accredited by the CIDA, serving an estimated 20,000 students.
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is recognized as a reliable authority on interior design education by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA). The CHEA-recognized scope of accreditation is professional level programs in interior design.
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
organization for interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
education programs at colleges and universities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. For more than 35 years, CIDA has pursued the enrichment of the interior design profession through identifying, developing and promoting quality standards for the education of entry-level interior designers, and then accrediting and supporting educational programs to aspire to those standards.
Through a process of program self-evaluation and peer review, accreditation promotes achievement of high academic standards, while making education more responsive to student and societal needs. The Council engages nearly 200 volunteers, all drawn from interior design practice and education, to carry out its work. Nearly 150 interior design programs are currently accredited by the CIDA, serving an estimated 20,000 students.
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is recognized as a reliable authority on interior design education by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA). The CHEA-recognized scope of accreditation is professional level programs in interior design.