Interior Design Course Fees: Compare Degrees, Diplomas and Software Training
TL;DR
- Government polytechnic diplomas are by far the cheapest: about ₹33,918 for three years at Government Polytechnic Ghaziabad.
- Private university degrees cost roughly ₹1.5–2.5 lakh a year: about ₹6 lakh at Pillai University and ₹8.9 lakh at DIT University for four years.
- Design schools cost the most: about ₹15.8 lakh for NID's B.Des and ₹7.3 lakh a year at Pearl Academy, plus one-time fees.
- Master's degrees cost ₹11–13 lakh: ₹11.5 lakh at NID and about ₹12.8 lakh at Pearl Academy.
- Budget 10–20% more than tuition for a laptop, software after student licences, materials, printing, travel and hostel.
- Higher fees do not guarantee better outcomes: compare faculty, studio time, internships and graduate portfolios.
The 10–20% figure is an Augmintech planning rule of thumb, not survey data; see the hidden-costs section for what it covers.
Interior Design Course Fees Compared
| Course and institute | Duration | Published fee | About, full course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diploma in Interior Decoration, Government Polytechnic Ghaziabad | 3 years | ₹33,918 total | ₹0.34 lakh |
| Professional Certificate in Styling for Interiors, Pearl Academy | 11 months | ₹4,44,778 incl. GST | ₹4.45 lakh |
| Bachelor of Interior Design, Pillai University | 4 years | ~₹1,50,000 a year | ~₹6 lakh |
| B.Des Interior Design, DIT University | 4 years | ₹2,07,400–2,42,900 a year | ~₹8.9 lakh |
| M.Des Furniture and Interior Design, NID | 2.5 years | ₹11,50,300 total | ₹11.5 lakh |
| M.Des Interior Design, Pearl Academy | 2 years | ₹5,97,800 a year + ₹85,000 once | ~₹12.8 lakh |
| B.Des Furniture and Interior Design, NID | 4 years | ₹15,82,600 total | ₹15.83 lakh |
| B.Des Interior Architectural Design, Pearl Academy | 4 years | ₹7,32,200 a year + ₹85,000 once | ~₹30.14 lakh |
Published 2026 figures from each institute or from Careers360; "~" totals are our arithmetic before annual increases. Pearl Academy's page also lists a lower B.Des table (₹6,91,200 a year) without naming the campus; ask which applies to yours.
Add Job-Ready BIM Skills
Fees buy you a foundation; BIM skills help on larger projects. Augmintech's PG Program in BIM Architecture teaches building information modelling for architecture. See the course page for the current syllabus, schedule and fees.
Degree Fees: Why the Range Is So Wide
Three kinds of institutes offer interior design degrees, and they price very differently:
What drives the difference: studio size and faculty ratio, workshops and materials labs, campus facilities, industry projects and the brand's network. Some of that genuinely improves learning; some is the cost of a premium campus. Ask what your fee buys, in hours of studio teaching and access to workshops, not just facilities on a brochure.
Read the fee sheet line by line
DIT University's 2026 fee PDF is a good example of what a full fee sheet contains for one four-year B.Des:
| Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition + academic services, Year 1 | ₹2,09,300 | Year 1 |
| Tuition + academic services, Year 2 | ₹2,07,400 | Year 2 |
| Year 3, including ₹25,000 industrial tour | ₹2,42,900 | Year 3 |
| Tuition + academic services, Year 4 | ₹2,28,900 | Year 4 |
| Admission fee (non-refundable) | ₹10,000 | Once |
| Caution money (refundable) | ₹5,000 | Once |
| Transportation (optional) | ₹22,000 | Listed separately |
DIT University, All India category; the PDF labels the batch 2026–30 but the years 2025–26 to 2028–29, so confirm with the admissions office. Hostel fees are listed separately.
Adding the four years and the one-time fees gives about ₹9 lakh before hostel and transport. Every institute's sheet looks different, so build the same table for each course you are comparing.
Diploma and Certificate Fees
Government polytechnic diplomas are the most affordable formal route. Government Polytechnic Ghaziabad's three-year Interior Decoration diploma is listed at about ₹33,918 in total, with admission through Uttar Pradesh's JEECUP entrance exam. Other state polytechnics are similarly low-cost; check your state's polytechnic admission portal.
Private diplomas of one to two years are offered by many design institutes and vary widely in price and quality. Because there is no single regulator for short interior courses, compare them on faculty, studio work, software taught and student portfolios rather than fees alone.
Professional certificates sit in between. Pearl Academy's 11-month Professional Certificate in Styling for Interiors costs ₹4,44,778 including GST, and Pearl says it offers a six-month no-cost EMI plan for its professional certificates through GrayQuest.
Software Training and Licence Costs
Software skills are what employers test first, and they are the cheapest part of an interior design education to acquire. The software itself is free or inexpensive for students:
| Software | Student cost | Commercial cost after you graduate |
|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD, Revit, 3ds Max | Free (Autodesk education plan) | Revit US$3,005/yr; AutoCAD Revit LT Suite US$680/yr |
| SketchUp | US$55/yr | Pro US$399/yr |
| Twinmotion, D5 Render | Free education licences | Paid plans for commercial use |
| Enscape and V-Ray (Chaos) | US$149/yr student bundle | Paid plans |
Autodesk education plan; SketchUp and Revit prices from Render a House (2026); renderer licences as covered in our architecture software roadmap. Education licences are for learning only.
Training is where costs vary. Short software courses range from free tutorials to structured, paid programmes with project reviews. Free tutorials teach buttons; paid courses are worth it when they include real projects, feedback and a drawing set you can put in your portfolio. For BIM, a structured route such as Augmintech's PG Program in BIM Architecture is one option to compare; ask any provider for its syllabus, contact hours and sample student work before you pay.
Hidden Costs Most Students Miss
| Cost | Why you need it | How to keep it down |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | Revit needs at least 16 GB RAM (32 GB recommended) and a dedicated graphics card; rendering needs more | Buy once, from Year 2, to the spec in our software roadmap |
| Software after graduation | Student licences cannot be used for paid work | Join a firm that provides licences; freelance only with commercial licences |
| Materials and models | Model making, material boards and samples every semester | Collect free samples from suppliers; share bulk material buys |
| Printing | Juries, sheets and portfolio prints | Print only finals; present drafts on screen |
| Site visits and tours | Study tours and site visits, sometimes billed separately (DIT lists ₹25,000 for an industrial tour) | Check which are compulsory and included |
| Hostel, food and transport | Often more than tuition in a metro | Compare hostel vs shared rent near campus |
Is a More Expensive Course Better?
Not automatically. Fees reflect brand, location and facilities as much as teaching quality. Judge value on what you actually get:
Fees vs Starting Salary: An Honest Look
Interior design is a rewarding field, but starting pay is modest. PayScale reports about ₹2.5 lakh a year for interior designers with under a year's experience and about ₹3.3 lakh on average across all levels (see our interior designer salary guide). Set against that:
| Course | About, full course | Years of average starting pay it equals |
|---|---|---|
| Government polytechnic diploma | ₹0.34 lakh | about 0.1 years |
| Private university degree | ₹6–9 lakh | about 2.5–3.5 years |
| NID B.Des | ₹15.8 lakh | about 6 years |
| Premium private B.Des | ~₹30.14 lakh | about 12 years |
Augmintech arithmetic: full-course tuition divided by ₹2.5 lakh. It ignores living costs, pay growth and the network a school provides, so treat it as a rough reality check, not a verdict.
The point is not that expensive courses are bad. It is that the fee should match your plans: a premium school makes most sense if you will use its network for competitive roles, while a lower-cost degree plus strong software skills and a sharp portfolio can reach similar first jobs.
Three Sample Study Budgets
To see how choices add up, here are three illustrative routes using the published tuition above. Living costs depend on your city and are left out.
Illustrative combinations by Augmintech; tuition figures as sourced above.
Fees for Working Professionals
If you already work, a full-time degree may not be practical. Part-time diplomas, weekend certificates and online software courses cost less and let you keep earning. Check three things before paying: whether the credential is recognised for what you want to do next, how many hours of live teaching and feedback you get, and whether you finish with real drawings for your portfolio. For a degree you will rely on, confirm the university's recognition directly with the regulator's list, not the brochure.
Ways to Pay for an Interior Design Course
- Institute scholarships. Many institutes offer merit or need-based scholarships; Pearl Academy and Pillai University both mention them. Ask for the criteria in writing.
- Education loans. Most banks offer education loans for recognised courses. Compare interest, collateral and repayment start dates; terms change often.
- EMI plans. Some institutes offer instalments for certificates, such as Pearl's six-month no-cost EMI.
- Earn while you learn. Freelance drafting or 3D work in later years can offset costs, using properly licensed software.
- Start lower, add later. A polytechnic diploma or affordable degree followed by targeted software training can cost a fraction of a premium degree.
Worked Example: Compare the Same Total Cost
The following is a fictional budgeting exercise, not a provider quotation. Suppose a one-year course charges ₹1,20,000 tuition, ₹8,000 compulsory academic charges and ₹12,000 for materials and printing. Local travel adds ₹18,000 and an incremental laptop purchase adds ₹60,000. The study budget is ₹2,18,000 before any applicable taxes, finance charges, accommodation or lost earnings.
If you already own a suitable laptop, the incremental budget becomes ₹1,58,000. This is why a fixed percentage above tuition can be misleading. Use the actual costs of your situation and avoid counting an existing purchase as a new cash expense.
Questions Behind a “Software Included” Offer
Ask whether the fee covers instruction, a temporary lab login, an individual licence or only help applying for education access. Confirm the application edition, licence duration, renewal conditions and whether commercial use is permitted. A learning licence should not be assumed to cover freelance work. Check render plugins separately from the modelling application.
Get the Payment Terms in Writing
Request the full-course fee, instalment dates, refundable deposit, cancellation policy and all compulsory charges. For financed payments, compare total repayment, processing charges and interest, not just the monthly amount. Do not treat advertised placement assistance as a guaranteed salary or a guaranteed way to repay borrowing. Keep the signed quotation and terms with your receipt.
8 Questions to Ask Before You Pay
- What is the total fee for the whole course, including one-time charges?
- How much do fees rise each year? Pearl Academy, for example, states that fees increase annually.
- What is the refund policy if you withdraw in the first weeks?
- Are study tours, materials and software included or charged separately?
- Which campus and academic year does the published fee apply to?
- Is GST added to any part of the fee?
- What scholarships exist, and when must you apply?
- Can you see last year's student portfolios and a list of firms that hired graduates?
Spend Smart on Skills
Before paying for any course, compare what you will be able to produce at the end. Augmintech's PG Program in BIM Architecture is one structured option for BIM skills. Check the course page for the current syllabus, schedule and fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pearl’s current interiors programme page describes a four-year degree. Using ₹7,32,200 per year plus ₹85,000 once gives an illustrative ₹30,13,800 total before fee increases and other charges. Confirm the exact campus and intake quotation.
Sources
- Careers360: NID B.Des Furniture and Interior Design; NID M.Des Furniture and Interior Design; Government Polytechnic Ghaziabad diploma.
- Pearl Academy, Fee structure; Interior design fees FAQ.
- DIT University, B.Des Interior Design fee structure 2026.
- Pillai University, Bachelor of Interior Design.
- Render a House: SketchUp pricing; Revit pricing; Revit system requirements (2026).
- Autodesk, Education plan.
- PayScale India, Interior Designer salary.
This article was last reviewed on 8 November 2026. Fees change every year; always confirm with the institute's official fee notice before paying.
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