Future Skills and Interior Design Education

Abstract

The study examines the curricula of interior architecture undergraduate programs in Türkiye based on the Global Skills Taxonomy defined in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 and evaluates the extent to which their learning outcomes align with future workforce skills. While previous research has focused mainly on accreditation processes and structural comparisons, there is a clear research gap in systematically assessing how curriculum-based learning outcomes correspond to globally defined skill requirements Accordingly, the learning outcomes of compulsory courses in six accredited programs were analyzed using content analysis. Each course was evaluated in relation to eight skill areas: ethics, self-efficacy, working with others, cognitive, engagement, management, physical, and technology skills. The findings indicate that curricula strongly emphasize cognitive skills and have the potential to support diverse competencies; however, this potential is not explicitly or systematically structured at the program level. By offering a comprehensive mapping of curriculum learning outcomes to a global skills framework, the study contributes a holistic, program-level perspective that moves beyond fragmented skill-based analyses in the literature. It aims to raise awareness of developmental needs in interior architecture education and provides practical implications for educators and higher education institutions in aligning curricula with evolving labor market expectations.