Bachelor of Interactive Media (Standard)

The Bachelor of Interactive Media is a three-year degree for students who want to build games, apps, websites, digital campaigns and interactive stories. You will spend your time making things: prototyping game levels, designing user interfaces, editing video and audio, writing code for web and mobile, and learning how audiences actually behave online. The degree sits in the mass communication field, so it mixes creative production with the study of how media works, who makes it, who consumes it, and what it does to them.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are made up of units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. A standard full-time load is eight units a year, split across two semesters or three trimesters depending on the institution. Over three years you accumulate 144 credit points (or the equivalent at your provider) and graduate with a bachelor degree at AQF level 7. At the Academy of Interactive Technology, the interactive media degree is built around a core of production and design units, with room for electives so you can lean towards game design, web and app development, or digital media strategy. Most students finish with a capstone project, a major piece of interactive work you pitch, build and present in your final year. Some providers also offer an honours year, which adds a research thesis and takes the total to four years.

What you actually study

Expect a mix of studio and theory. On the production side: 2D and 3D design, interactive storytelling, interface design, motion graphics, sound, and coding for the web and games. On the theory side: media law and ethics, audience research, communication strategy, and the economics of digital platforms. Assessment is mostly project-based, you build a portfolio rather than sit exams. Many units include work-integrated learning, where you take on a live brief for a real client, or a professional placement with a studio, agency, broadcaster or in-house digital team. That placement is often what gets graduates their first job.

Who it suits

This degree suits people who are equally happy in Photoshop and Premiere as they are writing a report on media audiences. If you have ever modded a game, run a YouTube channel, built a website for a friend's band, or just want to understand why some content spreads and some doesn't, you will fit. It is not a pure computer science degree, you will code, but you will also write, design and critique. It is also not a pure communications degree, you will make things, not just analyse them.

Studying in Australia

International students on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. 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 admission, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the visa itself. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 073206D. Check the official page for current unit lists, entry requirements and intake dates.

• Game designer or level designer, Australian game studios in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, from small indie teams to larger mobile and console developers.
• UI/UX designer, tech companies, banks, government digital teams and consultancies that need people who can design and test interfaces.
• Web or app developer, agencies, startups and in-house digital teams building front-end experiences.
• Digital producer or content producer, broadcasters, publishers, streaming services and marketing agencies.
• Social media or digital campaign manager, brands, not-for-profits, political offices and PR firms.
• Motion graphics designer or video editor, post-production houses, advertising agencies and online media companies.
• Interactive media artist or creative technologist, museums, galleries, festivals and public art projects that use digital media.
• Communications officer, corporate, government and community organisations that need someone who can make and manage digital content.