International Design School in Spain

Marbella Design Academy:
Study design on the Costa del Sol in the South of Spain with Marbella Design Academy! A state-recognised international design school close to Malaga, we provide 3-year validated programmes in Interior Architecture, Graphic Design, and Fashion Design, taught entirely in English. Students come from all over the world to study at our academy as it has an academic level that competes with the best design schools worldwide. Special needs students (individuals with a physical disability) are also welcome to apply.

Our graduate students have an employment rate near 100%. This is because they graduate as professional designers at a top level.

We are proud to say that the Academy's current programme offers our students an education which meets the high demands required to become a fully qualified professional designer.

We are constantly expanding and improving our curriculum. We have a very high standard of training and our students are often head-hunted by employers before graduation!

This is a great opportunity for students interested in these career fields to study in English in sunny Spain, at a lower cost than in the UK.


3-Year Design Courses, with BA (Honours) Degree Awarded by the University of Bedfordshire, UK: 

• Interior Architecture & Design
• Graphic Design & Media
• Fashion Design & Manufacture

The courses start twice a year. You can enter in January and in September. All classes are held in English, and in small groups. 

As well as all the compulsory subjects taught in each course, students receive comprehensive training in the cutting-edge professional computer programmes used in industrial settings, such as Auto-Cad, 3D Studio Max, Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Premier.

The computer programmes you are taught depends on your chosen course.

Application Criteria:
- The minimum age for applicants is 17 but the students at the Academy currently range between 17 and 40 years of age with an average age of 23
- High school diploma or a similar qualification
- Proficiency in English
- Under exceptional circumstances, students can be considered eligible due to an outstanding artistic talent

2 intakes per year, with courses beginning in June & September. 

Providing an excellent introduction to the world of Art & Design, our intensive 3-month Foundation Course is primarily aimed at students who do not fulfil the entry requirements for the 3-year validated programmes in Graphic Design, Interior Architecture, or Fashion Design.

All the basic design tools are taught at beginner level in order to prepare you to enter your chosen programme. International students can enter on a Tourist Visa, which is valid for 3 months.


Free Spanish Lessons:
Two educations in one! Students have the option of learning Spanish alongside their design course. Free Spanish classes are held twice a week after tuition hours during the academic year in all 3 years. These Spanish classes are voluntary.


Intensive Summer Courses:
Our 2, 3 or 5 week summer courses include: Interior Decoration; Fashion Design; 3D MAX; AutoCad; Illustrator; Photoshop; InDesign; Photography & more. Some courses have been created to include a combination of these aforementioned skills (for example ‘Photoshop + InDesign’ or ‘Photography + Photoshop’).

Marbella Design Academy is state-recognised by the Ministry of Education - Junta de Andalucia in Spain - the only international design school in Spain to achieve this recognition.

This means that the school, its tutors and the education offered are quality-controlled by the Ministry of Education in Spain.

Students come from all over the world to study at Marbella Design Academy. We encourage students to inspire each other and work together on design projects in an international cross-cultural atmosphere.

We also encourage them to experiment with their designs, in either smaller groups or with 1 to 1 tuition sessions with their tutor. Although the work is intensive, everybody collaborates in a casual, warm and informal atmosphere.

All tutors are professionals within their respective fields: architects, graphic designers, interior architects, furniture designers, fashion designers, photographers, web designers, product designers, multimedia designers and artists.

All members of our staff have an academic background and are active designers, and professionals, which ensures practical experience as well as high academic quality. Apart from permanent staff, the Academy invites guest artists and specialist designers on a regular basis.

•  "It's amazing to go to a school where there are so many nationalities. You meet people from all over the world, and I find that this is very exciting because you meet so many different styles in personalities and artwork.

Marbella Design Academy is a creative school, you can easily get inspired by the other students. I like the appearance of the Academy, it´s very beautiful. You learn many different things, you don´t only learn the facts in your own field (fashion graphic and interior) you learn many kinds of computer programmes. I like that."
1st Year Interior Design Student:: Signe Kok Nielsen (Denmark)

•  "I think that the Academy is great for those who want a friendly environment, and whether they are far from home you feel integrated with all students and teachers as everyone treats you equally. The international students also influence each other and allow us to be more open in our creativity. The tranquility within the Academy creates all the inspirations you need."
2nd Year Graphic Design Student:: Ricardo Abrantes (Portugal)

•  "Overall my experience at the Marbella Design Academy is very positive, I have learned a lot and have a very nice time. I am as well pleased with all the tutorials throughout the term.... All the projects are challenging and are giving me satisfaction when I have presented them well."
1st Year Interior Design Student:: Anna Brylka (Poland)

•  "Marbella Design Academy is always a pleasurable place to come and work and learn in. Teachers have been helpful and informative, always knowing what they are talking about when teaching. It's encouraging to be in the Academy with so many creative people. Everyone's ideas are bright, and everyone's opinions are open-minded. Here we can let our creativity roam free.”
2nd Year Graphic Design Student:: Damayanti Blankestijn (Spain/Holland)

•  "What I love the most of the Marbella Design Academy is how close students grow to be. Since classes are really small there's always time for questions. Teachers treat students as people not as numbers and they really care about the students and their future as designers."
2nd year Graphic Design Student:: Laura Facio Lince (Colombia)

We are located in our purpose-built facility in Monda, which is a charming, typically Spanish village only 15 km from Marbella, in Andalucia, in southern Spain.

The building has been approved by The Ministry of Education in Spain, and it complies with all the demands for a new and modern design academy. The academy is only 3 min walk from the town centre.

Monda is surrounded by the beautiful Spanish countryside and has many cosy restaurants and bars. Buses run frequently to the centre of Marbella, a picturesque and cosmopolitan city which is very well known for its nightlife, beautiful mountains and beaches.

A school bus service to and from the academy (Marbella - Monda) is provided. Other neighbouring cities and villages are easily accessible via public transport from Monda.

We welcome special needs students (individuals with a physical disability) to apply to Marbella Design Academy. As our building has been designed according to the latest requirements for a modern design college, it fulfils all the needs of wheelchair users.

Students can easily move around in the building and in the connected restaurant. The building has smooth cement floors, 1 metre wide doors, lifts, ramps, and disabled toilet and car park.


Testimonial from Graphic Design Student with Special Needs: Lisbeth (Denmark)
"My name is Lisbeth, I am 21 years old, have muscular dystrophy and am therefore permanently in a wheelchair. Just over a month ago I moved to southern Spain to study graphic design at the Marbella Design Academy.

The reason for choosing Marbella Design Academy was that I really wanted to travel and I would like to study something creative. In this way I can do both, simultaneously.

Marbella Design Academy is a school where students and teachers are from around the world, but I am the first and only one sitting in a wheelchair. We have different courses that challenge our creativity such as freehand drawing, photography and the various computer programs. The atmosphere at school is very open, all are friendly towards each other, and if we get a problem, there are people who can help us...

...Monda is a real Spanish town where you can really experience the Spanish culture, and where the only tourists are the students from Marbella Design Academy.

Although there as well may be some bumps along the way, I am able to move into town sitting in my wheelchair. Before I left Denmark and came to Spain, there were obviously some practical things to be done, but despite that I'm really glad I took the plunge and went to Spain to study. I hope that there are several in my situation who dare to do the same in the future."