ABOUT ASID
ASID is a community of people—designers, industry representatives, educators and students—committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people’s lives. Its more than 38,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1975 with the consolidation of the American Institute of Interior Designers (AID) and the National Society of Interior Designers (NSID), the American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest, largest and leading professional organization for interior designers.
Of the Society's 20,000 practicing interior designers, 6,500 practice primarily in the commercial field with 4,000 practicing primarily as residential designers. The remaining 9,500 work in both commercial and residential design. Professional members of ASID must pass rigorous acceptance standards: they must have a combination of accredited design education and full-time work experience totaling six years and pass a two-day accreditation examination administered by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ).
ASID Industry Partners include more than 2,500 member firms with more than 6,000 individual representatives, uniting the professional designer with manufacturers of design-related products and services.
The Society's membership also includes more than 12,000 students of interior design. ASID has student chapters at colleges, universities and design schools with 2-year and 4-year programs throughout the U.S. and a "virtual" chapter through Rhodec International.
Types of Membership
To encourage involvement from all sectors of the interior design community, ASID offers a range of membership categories. Click on titles below to download appropriate application. (these PDFs are attached)
Professional Membership - The highest level of ASID membership is reserved for practitioners who have completed a course of accredited education and equivalent work experience in interior design, and have successfully passed the NCIDQ examination. Requirements: Proof of passage of the NCIDQ examination. Professional membership in ARIDO (Canada) and CODDI (Puerto Rico) is transferable to ASID upon proof of said membership. Click here for Membership Application
Allied Membership - This level is for practicing interior designers who fulfill the following requirements: a four- or five-year bachelor’s degree with a major in interior design or architecture; or a two- or three-year degree or certificate in interior design. Requirements: Official college transcript and/or technical school records verifying degree obtained. Click here for Membership Application
Educator Membership (Professional) - This level is for educators who are actively engaged as department chairs or full-time instructors in a post-secondary program of interior design education at any university or accredited school of interior design that requires completion of 40 semester credit hours in interior design-related courses, and who have successfully passed the NCIDQ exam. Requirements: Proof of passage of the NCIDQ examination. Professional membership in ARIDO (Canada) and CODDI (Puerto Rico) is transferable to ASID upon proof of said membership, a detailed job description and a letter verifying employment as an educator. Click here for Membership Application
Educator Membership (Allied) - Educators who are actively engaged as department chairs or full-time instructors in a post-secondary program of interior design education at any university or accredited school of interior design that requires completion of 40 semester credit hours in interior design-related courses are eligible.
Requirements: Official college transcript and/or technical school records verifying degree obtained a detailed job description and a letter verifying employment as an educator.
International Membership - This membership is for qualified interior designers whose residence and principal place of business lie outside the boundaries of an ASID chapter.
Requirements: Official college transcript and/or technical school records verifying degree obtained.
Click here for Membership Application
Student Membership - Membership is available to students currently enrolled in an interior design or interior architecture program that requires at least 40 credit hours of design related class work to graduate. Students at schools where an ASID student chapter exists may join as a student chapter member; students at other schools may join as an independent student member. Click here for Membership Application
Eligible ASID Student Members may advance to Allied Membership upon graduation. Click here for Membership Application
Industry Partners Membership - Members include interior design industry manufacturers and their representatives, related trade associations and market centers. Industry Partners provide opportunities for interaction between interior designers and the interior furnishings industry that supplies services and manufactured products. Click here for Membership Application
