A Current Curriculum Analysis of Digital Design Methods in Interior Architecture Education: An Evaluation within the Framework of Traditional Design Education

Abstract

The design process is a multilayered structure shaped by cognition, creativity, and representational tools. This study examines the curricular position, instructional structure, and conceptual orientation of digital design courses in interior architecture education, using traditional design and representation methods as a theoretical and pedagogical framework. The research is limited to undergraduate Interior Architecture and Environmental Design programs listed in YÖK Atlas under the Equal Weight (EA) score type in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Treating scholarship, tuition, and language-of-instruction variants within the same university as a single program unit, 49 programs constituted the entire defined study population. Current curriculum and course data were accessible for 47 programs, yielding 52 eligible course records. Structural analyses used these records, while ECTS and textual analyses used a program-balanced dataset of 47 representative courses to avoid disproportionate weighting. Courses were examined by semester, status, European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) value, and theory–practice structure; Textual Pattern Analysis assessed recurring terms, word combinations, and conceptual orientations in course titles. Findings show that courses are concentrated in the second and third semesters, are largely compulsory, and generally have balanced or practice-oriented structures. Textual patterns indicate that CAD, computer-aided drawing, and technical representation are dominant, whereas modeling, visualization, digital production, and advanced digital approaches remain limited. By jointly examining the structural position and conceptual orientation of digital design courses, the study highlights the need for gradual and integrated links between digital tools, traditional representation education, and design studios.