Bachelor of Design
Program code
1189
Available at
Nathan
Gold Coast
Mount Gravatt
Logan
South Bank
Online
Offshore
Other
Duration
3 years full-time
Credit points
240
Indicative fee
$31,500.00* per year (more)
* 2022 indicative annual fee
About this program
If you're passionate about contemporary design opportunities and designing for a sustainable future, this degree will equip you with the creative and technical skills and insights to rise to future design challenges. It will prepare you for designing future products, services and systems in a creative and critical way. You will gain an understanding of design thinking techniques, how the world impacts design, and how design shapes the world around us.
In partnership with leading experts and industry, you will gain the skills to tackle real design challenges and devise leading-edge strategies and solutions. Advance your critical and strategic thinking and gain new perspectives on sustainability, while also learning to present your ideas clearly and powerfully.
Majors
Visual Communication Design
Explore many different forms of visual and graphic communication and branding, and understand the social contexts and environmental responsibilities of design. You'll learn to develop design solutions, which inform, persuade, provoke, or entertain your audience. You’ll focus on your passion, but also learn how to effectively present and communicate your ideas within this evolving industry.
Interior and Spatial Design
The interior and spatial design major prepares students for a professional career across a broad spectrum of interior and spatial fields, including residential, commercial, exhibition, installation, theatre and event design.
The major prepares students to focus on diverse spaces and societies that creatively imagines interiors and public urban spaces in every domain and on every scale, from private to public, local to global. With an emphasis on social and environmental justice, designing for sustainability, liveability, diversity and inclusion are core to theory and practice. Students acquire a broad foundation of technical skills across a range of architectural and digital design programs, as well as engaging in theoretical knowledge, design process skills and analysis and critical thought. In the studios, students work on real projects preparing them for all interior and spatial design aspects inherent in professional practice.
Product Design
Can’t wait to get your hands on a 3D printer? The equipment and technology you have the chance to use at Griffith is state-of-the art and this means there are very few limits to what you can create. Undertake a range of creative projects and put our technology to the test, using 3D printing, 3D modelling, 3D scanning, laser cutting and CNC routing equipment.
Immersive Design
If you can imagine it, you can design it! Harness the power of digital software to imagine, design, and construct 3D forms to create immersive experiences in in virtual environments. This technology is being applied to: visualise concepts and data across architecture, health and engineering; create reconstructions in the fields of archaeology and criminology; create virtual and augmented realities for use in gameplay and education.
Interaction Design
Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the interaction design major will develop your technical competency and digital creativity.
Study interactive design methods, electronic audio, visual media, computation and critical thinking. Combine these skills to produce imaginative concepts, functioning prototypes, digital audio-visual artefacts, and technically mediated interaction designs for everyday life.
Industry and expert connections
Work on projects for real clients through our LiveWorm and LiveSpace work integrated learning studios. Take up exciting work placements to build your portfolio and cultivate important industry contacts and networks.
At Queensland College of Art (QCA) we maintain strong links with industry to ensure we develop degrees based on the latest market trends and employer demand. Our industry partnerships and collaborations unlock all kinds of opportunities for students studying at the QCA. Partnerships with large events such as Bleach* Festival, Botanica, and organisations such as Business South Bank offer unique learning experiences and connect you to industry while you're studying.
Graduate outcomes
Our design graduates will have unprecedented opportunity to contribute and lead in vital new forms of social and economic development. Designers work across a range of fields roles, including interior design, product and service design and graphic design as well as interactive and 4D design. Our Bachelor of Design allows you to choose which area you would like to specialise in through a choice of five majors.
Flexibility
Tailor your timetable - Even if you study full-time on-campus, you may still be able to customise your degree to suit your needs. From a range of tutorial times to online access to lectures and other course material, we're here to help you fit study in with your work and life commitments.
Global mobility
An array of inspiring overseas study opportunities, ranging from a few weeks to a year, are available for students in this degree. Visit Go Global Griffith for more information
Attendance information
The Bachelor of Design is offered full-time and part-time on-campus at South Bank and Gold Coast.
Studying amid COVID-19
The University's Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination or Testing policy is under review and consultation and will be suspended from 14/4/2022. Please visit Studying amid COVID-19 for more information.
If you are an International student on a student visa, you must ensure that you enrol in a way that will allow you to complete your enrolment within the expected program duration as stated on your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE).
Work-integrated learning
The Bachelor of Design has a range of high quality work-integrated learning opportunities available to our students in all five majors. These experiences will build your disciplinary knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare you for a career in the design industry.
Courses within this degree include work-integrated learning experiences such as:
- professional practice/work placements with industry partners or in our in-house design studios- LiveWorm and LiveSpace,
- industry projects embedded in the curriculum,
- volunteer work for organisations such as not-for-profit organisations,
- learning activities within virtual and simulated work environments.
To experience this type of learning, you need to enrol in specific courses that may be either core or elective to your degree.
To complement your work-integrated learning, you may wish to undertake work experience. This is normally arranged by you with an employer you select, with approval from your Program Director.
My career opportunities
Graduate prepared to join the ranks of adventurous designers changing the way we interact with our environment and enhancing the way we live. You'll gain the industry experience, networks and knowledge needed to succeed in cutting-edge design fields, opening opportunities for work in the fields of graphic design, interior design, product design, digital web design, design management, design education, film and television, theatre, furniture design, interaction design and immersive design and digital media.
Designers are needed in every organisation and in every industry. Organisations are recognising the value of integrating "design thinking" into their process and employ designers to help problem solve complex challenges in a constantly changing environment. You could be designing a new prototype for a clean energy company, an interior for a new housing typology, communicating information visually across a broad spectrum of media, or designing interactive and immersive experiences in simulated environments. This is a diverse career, which will be guided by your own interests and choice of major.
There is strong growth expected in the number of graphic and web designers and illustrators, according to the Australian Government's Job Outlook. It is a very large profession in Australia and there are expected to be 67,000 people working in this profession by 2023, with around 5,400 job openings each year.
The number of people working as Multimedia Designers (in their main job) has grown consistently, while the number of industrial designers is expected to remain stable with an anticipated 800 job openings each year. Many people in these industries work full time and unemployment is below average.
The number of people working as Interior Designers (in their main job) grew very strongly over 5 years: from 7,800 in 2014 to 9,200 in 2019. There are expected to be 10,900 people working in this profession by 2024.
Product Designer
Key employment sectors
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- Manufacturing
- Retail Trade
- Automotive
- Wholesale Trade
Potential job outcomes
- Industrial/Product designer
Commercial and industrial product development
- Service Design
- Exhibition Design
- UX Design
- Furniture designer
- Glass designer
Graphic and Web Designers and Illustrators
Key employment sectors
- Advertising
- Sign and Logos
- Printing
- Marketing
- Information Media and Telecommunications
- Arts and Recreation Services
Potential job outcomes
- Graphic designer
- Advertising
- Publication designer
- Interactive media designer
- Branding specialist
- Illustrator
- Multimedia designer
- Web designer
- Digital content designer
Interior and Spatial Designer
Key employment sectors
- Architectual/Interior firms
- Engineering services
- Kitchen manufacturers
- Furniture manufacturers
- Construction
- Merchant/Retail
Potential job outcomes
- Commercial Interior Designer
- Environmental Designer
- Residential Interior Designer
- Retail Interior Designer
- Production design
- Theatre/stage design
- Visual and spatial branding
Immersive Designer
Key employment sectors
- Information and Technology
- Film Industry
- Animation Industry
- Marketing and Communication
- Education
- Design and Architecture
Potential job outcomes
- Virtual reality specialist
- Augmented reality Designer
- Visualiser
- Educational designer
- 3D modeller
Interaction Designer
Key employment sectors
- Information and Technology
- Film Industry
- Animation industry
- Marketing and Communication
- Education
- Design and Architecture
- Arts and performance sector
Potential job outcomes
- UX designer
- UX researcher
- Digital experience architect
- Service designer
- Interaction designer
- Product design.
Program accreditation
The Bachelor of Design is recognised by the Design Institute of Australia.
Professional recognition
As a student and graduate, you can apply to become a member of the Design Institute of Australia.
Pathways to further study
Graduates of this program may continue their studies by undertaking the Bachelor of Design (Honours) (2043) or one of the various postgraduate offerings at QCA.
International students
An International student is one who is not:
- an Australian or New Zealand citizen or
- a person who has Australian permanent resident status.
Indicative annual tuition fee
The indicative annual tuition fee is calculated based on a standard full-time study load which is usually 80 credit points (two full-time trimesters).
The indicative annual tuition fee is based on current conditions and available data and should only be used as a guide. These fees are reviewed annually and are subject to change.
Tuition fees
- An International student pays tuition fees.
- Students are liable for tuition fees for the courses they are enrolled in as at the census date.
- The tuition fee for students who commence their program prior to 2014 is charged according to the approved program fee for the trimester in which the student commenced the program.
- The tuition fee for students who commence their program from 2014 onwards is charged according to the approved program fee for the trimester in which the student is enrolled.
Program fees for the Bachelor of Design (1189)
If the fee rate for your program is not displayed above, please contact Student Connect for assistance.
Changing programs
If an International student changes to a different program they will be subject to the approved program fee for the trimester in which they are enrolled.
Permanent resident status
If an undergraduate student obtains permanent resident status in Australia after commencing study in a program, and the student can provide evidence of permanent resident status prior to the census date (of the trimester in which they are enrolled), the student will be provided with a domestic fee-paying place.
The student may then apply for a Commonwealth supported place at the next admission period provided that the student satisfies the conditions for transfer from a domestic fee-paying place to a Commonwealth supported place as set out in the Undergraduate Programs Admission Policy.
If a postgraduate student obtains permanent resident status in Australia after commencing study in a program, and the student can provide evidence of permanent resident status prior to the census date (of the trimester in which they are enrolled), the student will automatically be considered for a Commonwealth supported place (subject to availability) or a domestic fee-paying place as applicable for the program.
If a research student obtains permanent resident status in Australia after commencing study in a program, and the student can provide evidence of permanent resident status prior to the census date (of the trimester in which they are enrolled), the student will automatically be considered for a Commonwealth Government Research Training Program (RTP) Fee Offset or a domestic fee-paying place as applicable for the program.
Further information
Additional fee information
Additional costs
Throughout your program you may be required to pay for the following items:
- 1515QCA - Drawing Kits and Visual Diaries (students purchase via GU Pay).