Bachelor of Design

The Bachelor of Design at Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia is a two-year degree built around studio practice. You spend most of your time making things, layouts, type, brand systems, packaging, digital work, and then explaining the thinking behind them in critiques. Graphic design is the core, so expect to work across typography, image-making, print production, screen-based design and brand identity. The exact unit list changes from year to year, so confirm current subjects with the institute before you apply.

Australian bachelor degrees normally run three years full-time, and an honours year adds a fourth. This one is two years, which means it is compressed and intensive. You will typically enrol in units of study each semester or trimester, each carrying credit points, and you need to pass the required number of credit points to graduate. Many design degrees finish with a capstone project, a major body of work you present at an end-of-year show, and Whitehouse is known for that kind of graduate exhibition. Check whether a capstone or industry placement unit is part of your course structure, because not every design degree includes one.

Work-integrated learning is common in design. It might be an internship with a studio or agency, a live brief for a real client, or a placement unit where you work under a practising designer. Ask the institute how placement is arranged and whether it is assessed. The skills you build are practical: typography and layout, colour and composition, design research, software for print and screen, presentation and critique, and the ability to take a brief from concept to finished artwork. You also learn to talk about your work, an underrated skill when you are sitting in front of a client.

This degree suits school leavers who want a studio-based design education rather than a broad arts degree, and it suits people changing careers who already have some visual sense and want to formalise it. It is not a generalist degree. You will be in studios, not lecture theatres, and you will be assessed on the work you produce. English proficiency is required for international applicants, usually IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall for undergraduate study, with TOEFL, PTE and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa, so check both. While studying, a Student visa generally allows 48 hours of work per fortnight, and after graduating you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, depending on your circumstances. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 085283C, confirm fees, intake dates and unit details on the official page.

• Graphic designer, studios, agencies, in-house marketing teams, government communications
• Brand or identity designer, branding consultancies, packaging studios, retail and fashion labels
• Digital designer, web and product teams, social media and content agencies
• Publication and editorial designer, magazines, book publishers, newspapers
• Packaging designer, FMCG companies, design studios, print and production houses
• Art director or studio manager, advertising agencies, creative departments, design practices
• Freelance designer, self-employed, contracting to clients across Australia
• Design roles in cultural institutions, galleries, museums, festivals, arts organisations