<p>Design students face unique stressors due to the creative demands and iterative nature of their education, making mental health a critical concern. While the benefits of nature on mental well-being are well-documented, design students’ specialized training in aesthetics and spatial awareness may lead to distinct perceptions of restorative environments. Understanding these differences is important because they may impact how future designers include restorative elements in the spaces they create. This study investigates how students from different design majors perceive and respond to various virtual natural environments utilizing EEG, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). The research involved a VR experiment with a diverse sample of design students (<i>n</i> = 70), exposing them to nine different natural scenarios. Physiological responses and self-reported perceptions were recorded to analyze the impact of major-specific knowledge, cognition, and gender on restorative experiences. The restorative effects varied according to students’ cognitive frameworks and discipline-specific knowledge, illustrating how academic backgrounds shape perceptions of virtual environments. Environmental Design students showed more balanced views, likely due to their deeper understanding of landscapes, while Industrial Design students reported lower restorative responses, possibly due to their focus on man-made product designs. Gender differences also emerged, with female students reporting consistently higher restorative experiences, likely reflecting distinct emotional and cognitive processing patterns. These findings underscore the importance of customizing virtual environments to support well-being and cognitive restoration in design education. The results suggest that students’ professional training influences how they will integrate restorative elements into future design practices.</p>