History

Established in 1970, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly known as the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research or FIDER) was established by the leading interior design professional organizations at that time to develop standards for interior design education and to acknowledge the increasing demands of an emerging profession.

During the past 35+ years, the organization has evolved and developed to keep pace with changes occurring within the industry it serves. It has earned a reputation for credibility and value in supporting the continuous improvement and enhancement of interior design education, and thus the profession itself. In the past ten years alone, the number of accredited interior design programs has almost doubled, even though not all programs are successful the first time they seek accreditation.

In January 2006, the organization’s name was officially changed from FIDER to the Council for Interior Design Accreditation in order to explicitly communicate its primary mission: accreditation. In keeping with this name change, the Council is also exploring the development of new services designed to increase the number of programs that successfully achieve accreditation so that students will have a greater choice of quality programs.

Support for the Council comes from fees paid by interior design programs seeking accreditation and by accredited programs. Contributions also come from individual interior designers and/or firms, interior design professional associations, industry suppliers, and the proceeds from events/programs sponsored by interior design trade publications.