Bachelor of Digital Design (Accelerated)

The Bachelor of Digital Design (Accelerated) at the Academy of Interactive Technology is a two-year degree for people who want to work in graphic design and digital media. It packs the content of a standard three-year Australian bachelor degree into two years by running more study per semester. You graduate with the same AQF bachelor-level qualification, just sooner. The course sits in the graphic design subject area, and the work is hands-on: typography, layout, branding, digital publishing, motion graphics, interaction design and the software that studios actually use.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are built from units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. You need a fixed total of credit points to graduate, usually 144 for a three-year degree. An accelerated version compresses that total into two years by increasing your load each semester or trimester. Expect full-time study with little room for part-time pacing. Most of your units are core design subjects, with some electives. The final stage is normally a capstone project where you build a portfolio piece from brief to finished work, often for an external client or a simulated industry brief. Assessment is mostly project-based: you present work, get critique, and revise.

Skills you build

You learn to take a design brief apart, research an audience, sketch concepts, and produce finished artwork across print and screen. That means type and layout, colour and composition, brand systems, packaging, web and app interfaces, motion and video, and the Adobe Creative Cloud tools plus whatever else the studio uses. You also learn to talk about your work, take feedback, and manage a project to deadline. Those soft skills matter as much as the software when you are job hunting.

Who it suits

This degree suits school leavers and career changers who already know they want to work in design and want to get there fast. It also suits people who have done some design on their own and want a formal qualification plus a portfolio. The accelerated pace means you need to be ready for a heavy workload. If you need to work long hours alongside study, a standard three-year degree may fit better. International students on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets eligible graduates stay and work in Australia. English proficiency is required for international applicants, commonly IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall for undergraduate courses, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university’s own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. Check the official course page and the CRICOS register for current details on tuition, intake dates, units and English requirements. The CRICOS course code is 086325A.

• Graphic designer, studios, advertising agencies, in-house marketing teams, government and not-for-profits.
• Digital designer, web and app design, digital agencies, product teams.
• Brand and identity designer, branding consultancies, packaging, corporate communications.
• Motion graphics designer, video production, broadcast, social media content teams.
• UI designer, technology companies, software firms, start-ups.
• Publication designer, magazines, book publishers, educational content.
• Freelance designer, self-employed, contracting to clients across Australia.