A Survey on the Current State of Lighting Design Education in Interior Design Programs in Turkey and Northern Cyprus

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a 2-phase study conducted in order to understand the current state of lighting design education in interior design departments in Turkey and Northern Cyprus, and to report whether or not there is a need to adopt a different approach to lighting design education. In the first phase, information about undergraduate and graduate courses offered specifically for lighting design and those that include lighting design in addition to other building sciences, such as acoustics and HVAC, was gathered. In the second phase, department chairs were contacted and asked to comment on their approach to lighting design education. The results of the first phase revealed the lack of compulsory courses in the subject, an inadequacy of practical course hours, variations in the weekly hours of courses, differences in the credit values, and a scarcity of graduate programs with courses in lighting design. The results of the second phase, obtained in the statements of respondents, pointed out issues to be addressed regarding the lack of facilities and equipment for practice, the number of compulsory courses, and limited collaboration between industry and universities. In the light of our findings, it is thought that it may be necessary to adopt a different approach to lighting design education in the departments of interior design.

Keywords

• interior design education
• lighting design
• lighting design education.