Even though the actual Externship work experience won't take place until your third year of study at Design Institute, your preparation for your externship begins with the very first courses you take. In a college whose mission is to prepare students for interior design practice, classes that provide the sort of experiences that translate seamlessly into professional skills are essential. The presentation boards prepared in the first design studio, the hand lettering developed in the first drafting class and the knowledge gained in the first semester of lectures –whether the topic is History of Interiors or English Composition – offer valuable experiences, skills and knowledge that you will strengthen and use throughout the program and, finally, take with you into the profession.

Once your third year arrives, you'll be eager to register for the Externship course and try your interior design wings! With the support of the Design Institute Externship system, you'll prepare yourself and your creative work for this exciting rite of passage into professional practice. Whether your interest is residential, commercial – or both – you'll experience the day to day activities of a bona fide design firm. With the skills and knowledge you've developed over your years of study and training, you'll join a tradition of Design Institute interns who are involved – first hand – with qualified interior designers, multi-million dollar projects, exciting new materials and a host of professional experiences that can only be had in the real world of interior design practice.

Here are some of the things you can expect to do in a typical externship:

• Build your professional network as you research local design firms for externship opportunities

• Learn about current design resources and suppliers by participating in trade shows, new product presentations and by cataloging materials and finishes in a sample library

• Assist your Externship supervisor in preparing presentation boards, drawings and renderings and other materials used to communicate design concepts to a client

• Watch how interior designers interact with clients, architects, builders and other professionals involved in a design project

• See the wide range of documents and processes interior designers use to manage a project

• Experience an interior environment as it develops – from a set of plans to reality – and the unique role an interior designer plays in this process

• Discover environmental issues that are directly linked to the future of the interior design profession

• Experience a mix of collaborative and independent work experiences that will prepare you for an exciting profession that is becoming increasingly more cross- disciplinary

• Explore new ideas, unconventional approaches and innovative ways to use your imagination to develop effective design solutions

• Enjoy learning opportunities that help you develop the creative and critical thinking skills highly skilled design professionals require to be successful

• Build a network of trade resources and companies that will provide you with the knowledge and products you need in professional practice

• Create a successful future in an industry that requires individuals that can analyze and effectively define functional and visually appealing interior environments

• Imagine yourself as a polished professional; armed with the practical skills needed in today's employment market

• Investigate how people respond to color, light, space, texture and sound to learn how these design elements can be manipulated to create an atmosphere that meets a client's needs

• Envision yourself as a design technician, adept at the latest and best computer programs that allow you to communicate your design solutions quickly and impressively

• Consider how your organizational and multi-tasking skills can enhance your success in a detail-oriented creative office

• Visualize your future as a global thinker who understands that interior design is so much more than making rooms pretty

• Assemble an achievable dream for your future as an environmental specialist who is not only a creative thinker but an individual who is knowledgeable about building and safety codes, ergonomics, building systems and business