Keeping abreast of the changes in skills desired by potential employers is an ongoing challenge in all fields. Gaps in those skill sets can produce a ripple effect in any industry. This study looks at the interior design industry and whether the undergraduate curriculum is keeping up with the skills desired by potential employers who require employees to have a bachelor degree in interior design. Undergraduate interior design program directors want their programs to be well known for the employment-ready graduates they produce, and that their students possess the skills requested by potential employers in the interior design field. This study uncovers the soft skills perceived as most important for new interior design graduates to possess, as surveyed by those that work along side them. This study also uncovers the gaps in non-Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) required soft skills that the new interior design graduates are lacking. Interior design students spend four years learning how to communicate graphically; however, the results have gaps that potential employers feel are not being filled.
","abstract_html":"<p>Keeping abreast of the changes in skills desired by potential employers is an ongoing challenge in all fields. Gaps in those skill sets can produce a ripple effect in any industry. This study looks at the interior design industry and whether the undergraduate curriculum is keeping up with the skills desired by potential employers who require employees to have a bachelor degree in interior design. Undergraduate interior design program directors want their programs to be well known for the employment-ready graduates they produce, and that their students possess the skills requested by potential employers in the interior design field. This study uncovers the soft skills perceived as most important for new interior design graduates to possess, as surveyed by those that work along side them. This study also uncovers the gaps in non-Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) required soft skills that the new interior design graduates are lacking. Interior design students spend four years learning how to communicate graphically; however, the results have gaps that potential employers feel are not being filled.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Guevara, Diane"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Social Work (MSW)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Technology Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Shinming Shyu, Ph.D.","Jiang Lu, Ph.D.","Robert Carpenter, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["Education","Employment","Interior Design","Higher Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1144","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Shinming Shyu, Ph.D.","Jiang Lu, Ph.D.","Robert Carpenter, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Guevara, Diane"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Technology Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Social Work (MSW)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Employment","Interior Design","Higher Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1144"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Keeping abreast of the changes in skills desired by potential employers is an ongoing challenge in all fields. Gaps in those skill sets can produce a ripple effect in any industry. This study looks at the interior design industry and whether the undergraduate curriculum is keeping up with the skills desired by potential employers who require employees to have a bachelor degree in interior design. Undergraduate interior design program directors want their programs to be well known for the employment-ready graduates they produce, and that their students possess the skills requested by potential employers in the interior design field. This study uncovers the soft skills perceived as most important for new interior design graduates to possess, as surveyed by those that work along side them. This study also uncovers the gaps in non-Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) required soft skills that the new interior design graduates are lacking. Interior design students spend four years learning how to communicate graphically; however, the results have gaps that potential employers feel are not being filled.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gaps in soft skills of new interior design graduates and potential employment"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Shinming Shyu, Ph.D.","Jiang Lu, Ph.D.","Robert Carpenter, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Guevara, Diane"],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Keeping abreast of the changes in skills desired by potential employers is an ongoing challenge in all fields. Gaps in those skill sets can produce a ripple effect in any industry. This study looks at the interior design industry and whether the undergraduate curriculum is keeping up with the skills desired by potential employers who require employees to have a bachelor degree in interior design. Undergraduate interior design program directors want their programs to be well known for the employment-ready graduates they produce, and that their students possess the skills requested by potential employers in the interior design field. This study uncovers the soft skills perceived as most important for new interior design graduates to possess, as surveyed by those that work along side them. This study also uncovers the gaps in non-Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) required soft skills that the new interior design graduates are lacking. Interior design students spend four years learning how to communicate graphically; however, the results have gaps that potential employers feel are not being filled.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1144"],"dc:subject":["Education","Employment","Interior Design","Higher Education"],"dc:title":["Gaps in soft skills of new interior design graduates and potential employment"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Technology Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Social Work (MSW)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}