Bachelor of Design

at Australian National University

Program Structure:
 

The Bachelor of Design requires completion of 144 units, of which:

• A maximum of 60 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses
• A minimum of 84 units must come from completion of 2000- and 3000- level courses
   

The 144 units must consist of:
 

36 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

• DESN1002 Visual Communication: Design and Production
• DESN1003 Contemporary Design in Context
• DESN1004 The Past as Prototype: History, Ethics and Concepts for Design in the Twenty-First Century
• DESN2008 Design Thinking: Human-Centred Design Methodologies
• DESN3010 Design Studio: Independent Practice
• DESN3011 Design Studio: Engagement and Collaboration
   

A minimum of 6 units from the completion of foundation courses from the following list:

• ARTV1020 Figure and Life
• ARTV1021 Image and Object
• ARTV1033 Hold Everything: Studio Foundation
• DESA1021 Precise Drawing and Model Making
   

A minimum of 12 units from the completion of interdisciplinary concepts and theories courses from the following list:

• ANTH1002 Culture and Human Diversity: Introducing Anthropology
• ANTH1003 Global Citizen: Culture, Development and Inequality
• ANTH2005 Traditional Australian Indigenous Cultures, Societies and Environment
• ANTH2009 Culture and Development
• ANTH2017 Culture, Social Justice and Aboriginal Society Today
• ANTH2025 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• ANTH2026 Medicine, Healing and the Body
• ANTH2132 Food for Thought: Anthropological Theories of Food and Eating
• ANTH2134 States and Citizens: Anthropological Perspectives
• ARTH1006 Art and Design Histories: Form and Space
• ARTH1007 Art and Design Histories: Making and Meaning
• ARTH2043 After the Bauhaus: Design from the Interwar Period to the Age of Climate Crisis
• ARTH2162 Art in the Digital Age
• ARTH2167 Issues in Contemporary Craft and Design
• ARTH2080 Art and Visual Culture of the Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1815
• ARTH2098 Australian First Nations Art and Culture
• ARTH2174 Art, Medicine, Gender from the Renaissance until Today
• ENVS1001 Environment and Society: Geography of Sustainability
• ENVS1003 Introduction to Environmental and Social Research
• ENVS1004 Australia’s Environment
• ENVS1008 Sustainable Development
• GEND1001 Sex, Gender and Identity: An Introduction to Gender Studies
• GEND1002 Reading Popular Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Studies
• GEND2023 Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory
• GEND2034 Going Public: Sex, Sexuality and Feminism
• GEND2036 Excessive Appetites: Sociocultural Perspectives on Addiction and Drug Use
• GEND2057 Relationships, Marriage and Family
• HUMN1001 Digital Culture: Being Human in the Information Age
• HUMN2001 Introduction to Digital Humanities and Public Culture - Tools, Theories and Methods
• INDG1001 Indigenous Peoples, Populations and Communities
• INDG1002 First Peoples' experiences and ways of being: resilience, agency, resurgence and rights
• INDG2001 Indigenous Cultural and Natural Resource Management
• PHIL1004 Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy: An Introduction
• PHIL1005 Logic and Critical Thinking
• PHIL1007 What is Humanity?
• PHIL1008 Introduction to Ethics
• PSYC1003 Psychology 1: Understanding Mind, Brain and Behaviour
• PSYC1004 Psychology 2: Understanding People in Context
• PSYC1005 The Wellbeing Formula: The Science and Practice of Making a Good Life
• SOCY1002 Self and Society
• SOCY1004 Analysing the Social World: An Introduction to Social Psychology
• SOCY1006 Society & Technological Change
   

A minimum of 24 units from completion of design courses from the following list:

• DESN2001 Digital Form and Fabrication
• DESN2002 Foundations of Creative Code
• DESN2003 Creative Data Visualisation: Representing Data in Visual and Material Form
• DESN2004 Dynamic Design and Generative Systems
• DESN2006 Front-End Web: Crafting Online Experience
• DESN2007 Design Fiction: Speculative and Critical Design
• DESN2009 Typography in Context: Digital Typographic Design
• DESN2010 Making Creative and Critical Technologies: Physical Computing for Art and Design
• DESN2012 The Ethics of Making: Design for Reuse and Repair
   

A maximum of 18 units from completion of studio courses listed in the:

• Visual Arts Practice Minor
• 48 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU
   

School of Art and Design studio courses have a limited enrolment capacity. Students are advised to enrol as early as possible to maximise the opportunity of securing a place.
 

Unless otherwise stated, a course used to satisfy the requirements of one list may not be double counted towards satisfying the requirements of another list.
 

Capstone Courses

[DESN3010, DESN3011]

Minors

• Visual Arts Practice
   

Elective Study

Once you have met the program requirements of your degree, you may have enough electives to complete an additional elective major, minor or specialisation.

Admission Requirements

At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis. Therefore, meeting all admission requirements does not guarantee entry into the program.
 

In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors.
 

The University reserves the right to alter or discontinue its programs and change admission requirements as needed.
 

International applicants

Applicants who complete a recognised secondary/senior secondary/post-secondary/tertiary sequence of study will be assessed on the basis of an equivalent selection rank that is calculated upon application. A list of commonly observed international qualifications and corresponding admission requirements can be found here. Applicants must also meet any program specific requirements that are listed below.
 

Diversity factors & English language proficiency 

As Australia's national university, ANU is global representative of Australian research and education. ANU endeavours to recruit and maintain a diverse and deliberate student cohort representative not only of Australia, but the world. In order to achieve these outcomes, competitive ranking of applicants may be adjusted to ensure access to ANU is a reality for brilliant students from countries across the globe. If required, competitive ranking may further be confirmed on the basis of demonstrating higher-level English language proficiency.
 

Additional Requirements

Entry into the Bachelor of Design is based on completion of an Australian Year 12 or equivalent and interview and portfolio. Once an application has been lodged, applicants are required to register for an interview and upload a portfolio on the ANU School of Art and Design website at: soad.cass.anu.edu.au/students/apply.
 

Adjustment Factors

Adjustment factors are additional points added to an applicant's Selection Rank (for example an applicant's ATAR). ANU offers adjustment factors based on performance and equity principles, such as for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. 
 

Selection Rank adjustments are granted in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustment factors and maximum 10 equity-based adjustment factors) can be awarded. 
 

You may be considered for adjustment factors if you have:

• applied for an eligible ANU Bachelor degree program
• undertaken Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate
• achieved an ATAR or equivalent at or above 70
• not previously attempted tertiary study.

The annual indicative fee provides an estimate of the program tuition fees for international students and domestic students (where applicable). The annual indicative fee for a program is based on the standard full-time enrolment load of 48 units per year (unless the program duration is less than 48 units). Fees for courses vary by discipline meaning that the fees for a program can vary depending on the courses selected. Course fees are reviewed on an annual basis and typically will increase from year to year. The tuition fees payable are dependent on the year of commencement and the courses selected and are subject to increase during the period of study.
 

Annual indicative fee for international students

$40,588.00

Employment Opportunities

Graduates of the Bachelor of Design may find careers in fields including object design, visual communication, data visualisation, user experience design, graphic design, web design, interface design, design thinking and strategic design.