If you want to become a registered interior designer in Texas, you must complete the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam. Following this exam, you need to apply for a certificate from the authority. The authority that handles the interior design profession in Texas is the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners (TBAE). It will take a $100 fee.
Once they assess your application and everything, they may run a background check. If everything is all right, they will grant you the certificate for Interior Designer.
Note that you still need to renew it every year. The following sections explain the whole matter thoroughly.
The NCIDQ Exam in Texas
Any interior designer in Texas can take the NCIDQ if they meet certain requirements. Basically, there are certain rules set by the TBAE. Once you meet these requirements, you can sit for the NCIDQ exam.
However, even if you don’t qualify for the certification through exams, you may still take the NCIDQ exam when you meet the TBAE rules. So, that is the most important thing.
The process isn’t that hard. In order to sit for the NCIDQ exam, you need to sign up for it through the official website of TBAE.
The Three Sections of the NCIDQ Exam
The NCIDQ exam has three sections and includes the following-
- Fundamental exam.
- Professional exam.
- Practicum exam.
While each section here has different methods, they focus on the same factors. The main points of these exams are to test the examinee’s knowledge of public welfare, safety, and health.
The Cost of Interior Design at Texas Christian University
One of the most popular institutions to study Interior Design in Texas is the Texas Christian University. You can study here with total tuition and fee of $47,000 as of the time of writing.
The study program involves a Bachelor of Science degree, which runs for four years. After completing it, it still requires the students to finish an internship to graduate.
How Many Questions Are on the NCIDQ IDPX?
There are a total of 175 multiple-choice questions in the NCIDQ IDPX exam format. Among them, 150 will be scored, and the rest 25 won’t be scored. Those 25 are experimental questions and are usually totally unusual and often off-topic.
Hence, you should know what counts as on-topic and what does not properly. The IDPX contains codes, building systems, project coordination, construction rules, and professional practice in its topics.
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Final Note
Being an interior designer requires the proper qualification. Texas and many other states in the USA require anyone to take the NCIDQ exam to get the appropriate certificate. And to sit for this exam, being eligible is a must.