Good design has the power to transform and provide lasting solutions that improve our lives.

Designers apply creative and open approaches to defining and solving problems, leading to high-quality decisions. This enables businesses and industries to overcome rigid or outdated ways of doing things.

Design has applications in the creation and improvement of our cities, buildings, transport networks, furniture, websites, processes, bridges, landscapes and environment. Designers are innovators who enhance the way we live and interact with the world around us.

Be in demand

With job markets evolving constantly, gaining skills that transfer across industries is really important. The ability to apply design thinking is now recognised as a specific and desirable skill.

As technology drives more and more aspects of our lives, designers are playing an important role expanding the potential of the Internet of Things, such as smart homes, smart cities and intelligent transportation.

If you are imaginative, enjoy learning about new fields, and want to play a role in improving the way we live and the places we live in, Design could be a good fit for you.

Learn through making and doing

Design studios, site visits, field trips and interaction with industry practitioners will take you into ‘real life’ situations with industry briefs.

You will study in award-winning state-of- the-art teaching facilities that demonstrate many of the design techniques you will be working to acquire in class.

The work you will do in class uses the same collaborative approaches you’ll find in workplaces, ensuring you are industry-ready from day one. Many of your teachers are also working in industry at the same time, sharing current knowledge and practice directly with you.

The Bachelor of Design allows you to combine the humanities, sciences and visual and performing arts within a single degree. You can further tailor your skills through breadth study and third-year design specialisations, such as Building Image Modelling (BIM), to expand your core program. You can focus on one or two majors, or complete a major and a minor.

Your degree

As a Bachelor of Design student, you’ll use innovative processes to solve problems creatively and determine solutions for a better future. You will develop expert knowledge and skills, and study real projects within the built environment, engineering, technology and performing and visual arts disciplines.

Your connections

The Melbourne curriculum connects students with each other, the University community and the wider world. You will be surrounded by other high-achieving students who will inspire you to take on new challenges and push yourself to a higher level.

We encourage every student to engage with organisations outside the University, through internships with business and community groups, applied research projects and overseas study programs.

Our graduates are in demand: we are ranked 8th in the world for graduate employability.¹ More than 250 Australian and international organisations – consulting and technology firms, government and industry – actively recruit on campus each year.

^{1. QS Graduate Employability 2021}

Please note: There is no portfolio necessary for entry into the course

A portfolio is not required for entry into the course. You will be producing your own designs and learning different design techniques from your very first semester.

Design at Melbourne

The Bachelor of Design fosters new ways of thinking, developing practical skills and theoretical expertise that prepare you for a rewarding career as a design professional.

You’ll produce your own designs and learn different design techniques from your very first semester. Design Studio classes follow the same approach as you’ll find in the workplace, ensuring you are industry-ready from day one.

Course structure

The Bachelor of Design requires the successful completion of 23 to 24 subjects (300 credit points). Full-time students usually study eight subjects each year for three years. Most subjects are worth 12.5 credit points, but some are worth 25 credit points.

Depending on your area of interest you could choose to study:

• One major
• Two majors
• A major and a minor
• A major and a specialisation.

First year

In first year you will be immersed in the world of design and learn new concepts and skills that will carry through for the rest of your degree. You might be helping to bring stage performances to life through the design of space, light and sound, writing code in a computer lab, contemplating design theory and putting it in to practice, or making 3D models.

Second year

By your second year you will deepen your understanding of your chosen design disciplines and finalise your selection of majors, minors and specialisations.

Your major

The Bachelor of Design is your degree; your major is the study area you’ll focus on. You don’t need to know which major you want to do from day one.

In most cases, you’ll be able to try a few different study areas in your first year before deciding on your major in second year. Depending on what you want to accomplish in the Bachelor of Design, you can choose to study one or two majors, a major and a minor, or a major and a specialisation. There are 12 majors to choose from.

In the Bachelor of Design, your major is made up of three to four subjects (50 credit points) at third-year level, building on your first and second-year level subjects.

It is possible to complete a double major within the Bachelor of Design. Undertaking a double major can provide you with more career options at the end of your degree, as well as greater flexibility should you choose to go on to graduate study.

Minors

Minors are a shortened sequence of subjects, taken from the existing majors in the degree. They are made up of four subjects (50 credit points) and provide a complementary course of study without committing to a double major. A minor is also an option when a double major combination isn’t available.

Specialisations

A specialisation is a short sequence of subjects that focuses on a particular theme within the Bachelor of Design. Subjects in specialisations do not form part of any existing major but are distinctive and are complementary to your major. A specialisation could support a research pathway, lead to accreditation with industry bodies or increase your employment opportunities.

Electives

Electives are non-compulsory subjects within the Bachelor of Design. You will usually choose elective subjects that complement your major area of study. Most students take one to two electives per semester.

Breadth

Breadth is a unique feature of the Melbourne curriculum. It gives you the chance to explore subjects outside your core area of study, develop new perspectives, and learn to collaborate with others who have different strengths and interests – just as you will need to do in your future career.

Some of our students use breadth to explore creative interests or topics they have always been curious about. Others use breadth to improve their career prospects by complementing their major with a language, communication skills or business expertise. Many discover new passions through breadth, and some even change their career plans!

‘Breadth tracks’ (groups of breadth subjects taken throughout your degree) could qualify you for graduate study in a field that’s very different to your major.

Design students have more than 1000 breadth subjects to choose from, so the opportunities to expand your knowledge are endless. You must take at least four breadth subjects during your degree.

Technology is set to completely transform how we work, and what jobs we will be doing. Artificial intelligence, robotics, smart homes – the way we live will require a whole new wave of talented designers and creatives.

According to the Foundation for Young Australians, demand for employees with creativity skills has risen over 65% over the past few years. Studying a Bachelor of Design will teach you design thinking that’s in demand across tech, architecture, planning our cities, government, the arts and more.

Careers

Study design if you are interested in working in:

• Architecture and landscape architecture
• Graphic design
• Construction and civil engineering
• Geospatial technology
• Property
• Software design, including games
• Town planning
• User experience
• Virtual reality and augmented reality
• Performance design
• Design for mechanics and robotics.

Further study

Graduate study is an investment in your future. A number of majors offered in the Bachelor of Design set you up to study Masters programs linked to professional accreditation, including:

• Master of Architecture
• Master of Landscape Architecture
• Master of Architectural Engineering
• Master of Civil Engineering
• Master of Environmental Engineering
• Master of Mechanical Engineering
• Master of Spatial Engineering
• Master of Urban Planning
• Master of Property
• Master of Construction Management
• Master of Urban Design
• Master of Design and Production

Bachelor of Design graduates may also pursue further study in law, education, politics, journalism - the range of options allows you to tailor a bachelor + masters package to suit your needs. The University of Melbourne also offers Graduate Degree Packages for high achieving students to enrol in a bachelors degree and a professional entry graduate degree through VTAC.

Find out more about Graduate Degree Packages

Graduate pathways

Once you've completed your undergraduate degree, you can go on to gain employment or begin a graduate degree and work towards a professional qualification such as law, engineering or medicine. Or you could join our graduate research community and contribute to our world-changing research.

Your graduate degree will be internationally recognised, and set you apart from those who study a traditional Australian single or double degree.

Explore the graduate pathways available once you complete your undergraduate degree here.

• Architect
• Urban design
• Property professional
• Construction manager
• Urban planner
• Landscape architect
• Secondary school teacher
• Early childhood educator
• Teacher
• Primary school teacher
• Engineer
• Nurse
• Lawyer

Completed secondary education recently (within the past two years); Completed some or all of a higher education qualification; Completed some or all of a VET qualification; Applicants with wo

TOEFL Internet-based test: total score of at least 79 and scores of 21 for writing, 18 for speaking, 13 for reading and 13 for listening; IELTS: total score of at least 6.5 in the Academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with no bands less than 6.0; Pearson Test of English Academic : overall score of at least 58 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50; Cambridge English, Advanced/Certificate in Advanced English (CAE): Cambridge English Score of at least 176 with no skill below 169; C2 Proficiency (previously called Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) examination): Cambridge English Score of at least 180 with no skill below 180.