single degree

Bachelor of Design

A single three year undergraduate award offered by the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

BDES
  • Length 3 year full-time
  • Minimum 144 Units
Admission requirements
  • Mode of delivery
    • In Person
  • Field of Education
    • Graphic and Design Studies
  • Academic contact
  • Length 3 year full-time
  • Minimum 144 Units
Admission requirements
  • Mode of delivery
    • In Person
  • Field of Education
    • Graphic and Design Studies
  • Academic contact

Program Requirements

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:

18 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


12 units from completion of DESN3010 Design Practice: Engagement, Internship and Entrepreneurship, which must be completed twice with a different topic each time


A minimum of 12 units from completion of foundation courses from the following list:

ARTV1020 Figure & Life

ARTV1021 Image and Object

ARTV1033 Hold Everything: Studio Foundation

DESA1021 Precise Drawing and Model Making


6 units from completion of theory courses from the following list:

ANTH2005 Traditional Australian Indigenous Cultures, Societies and Environment

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

ENVS1001 Environment and Society: Geography of Sustainability

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

HUMN1001 Digital Culture: Being Human in the Information Age

HUMN2001 Digital Humanities: Theories and Projects

INDG1001 Indigenous Peoples, Populations and Communities

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

SOCY1002 Self and Society

SOCY1004 Analysing the Social World: An Introduction to Social Psychology


A minimum of 12 units from completion of design courses from the following list:

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

DESN2001 Digital Form and Fabrication

DESN2005 Form and Fabrication in Context

DESN2007 Design Fiction: Speculative and Critical Design

DESN2008 Design Thinking: Human-Centred Design Methodologies

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 minimum of 18 units from completion of studio courses from the following list:

ARTV1101 Ceramics: Introduction to Clay Forming and Technology

ARTV1102 Ceramics: Throwing & Surface Decoration

ARTV1201 Furniture: Shape/Structure

ARTV1202 Furniture: Elevate/Surface

ARTV1301 Glass Hot Forming Introduction: Fundamentals for Contemporary Practice

ARTV1302 Glass Kiln Forming Introduction: Fundamentals for Contemporary Practice

ARTV1403 Jewellery & Object: Introduction to Precise Miniature Construction

ARTV1404 Jewellery & Object: Maker, Wearer, Viewer, User

ARTV1501 Painting: Introducing Painting

ARTV1502 Painting: Composition & Space

ARTV1601 Hyperanalogue: the alchemy of darkroom photography

ARTV1610 PhotoVideo: Interrogating the Camera

ARTV1611 Expanded Studio Practice: Constructing Worlds

ARTV1612 Video Art: Editing & Montage

ARTV1613 Foundations of Animation

ARTV1614 Post-Digital Photography: bending the image

ARTV1703 Drawing into Print: Etching and Relief

ARTV1704 Drawing into Print: Screen Printing and Stencils

ARTV1803 Supports: conceptual and material

ARTV1804 Place, time, and wood

ARTV1901 Textiles: Plants & Place

ARTV1902 Textiles: Pattern & Print

ARTV2027 Professional Practice: Economies and Ecologies in the Australian Cultural Sector

ARTV2038 Workshop Atelier

ARTV2057 Hands On: Material Language

ARTV2059 Immersive Media

ARTV2060 Contexts of Making: Globalisation and Change

ARTV2061 Contexts of Making: Materiality and Value

ARTV2117 Ceramics: Glaze & Colour Development

ARTV2119 Ceramics: Experimental Methods and Meanings

ARTV2120 Ceramics: Designing for the Table and Home

ARTV2124 Ceramics: Surface, Form and Connectivity

ARTV2125 Ceramics: Moulding, Casting & Digital Technologies

ARTV2206 Furniture: Bend/Curve

ARTV2207 Furniture: Support/Body

ARTV2208 Furniture: Contain/Display

ARTV2209 Furniture: Collect/Treasure

ARTV2313 Glass Kiln Casting for Contemporary Practice

ARTV2314 Glass Blowing for Contemporary Practice: Materiality and Form

ARTV2315 Glass Kiln Forming for Contemporary Practice

ARTV2316 Glass Blowing for Contemporary Practice: Utility and Narrative

ARTV2401 Jewellery & Object: Making with machines

ARTV2402 Jewellery & Object: Utility as Context

ARTV2410 Jewellery & Object: Experimenting with process

ARTV2421 Jewellery & Object: Hollow Construction

ARTV2506 Painting: Approaches to Abstraction

ARTV2507 Painting: Painting in the Photo Digital Age

ARTV2508 Painting: Taking Your Own Direction

ARTV2509 Painting: Approaches to Composition and Colour

ARTV2605 The Photographic Document: Materiality and Form

ARTV2607 Photomedia: Large Format Photography

ARTV2608 Photomedia: Experimental Processes

ARTV2609 Animation and Video: Visual Storytelling

ARTV2610 Animation and Video: Character development

ARTV2613 Animation and Video: Landscape and Environment

ARTV2614 Animation and Video: Non-linear Forms

ARTV2706 Printmedia and Drawing: Drawing Beyond the Line

ARTV2707 Printmedia and Drawing: Extended Etching and Relief Printing

ARTV2708 Printmedia and Drawing: Construct Meaning with Drawing

ARTV2715 Printmedia and Drawing: Typography

ARTV2717 Printmedia and Drawing: The Book as Art

ARTV2723 Printmedia and Drawing: Extended Screen Printing

ARTV2727 Printmedia and Drawing: Lithography

ARTV2801 Socially Engaged Art Practice: Authorship, Dialogue and Community

ARTV2802 Politics of Memory: Video Installation, Sculpture, Documentary and Monuments

ARTV2810 Politics of Bodies: Sculpture, Figure Modelling, Performance and Choreography

ARTV2820 Politics of Spaces: Installation, Sculpture and Spatial Practice

ARTV2821 Posthuman Sculpture Practice with Active Materials: Bronze Casting, 3D Modelling and Bio Art

ARTV2830 Automation and Autonomy: Process, Accident, Sculpture

ARTV2906 Textiles: Approaches to Drawing for Craft and Design

ARTV2907 Subverting Stitch

ARTV2908 Woven Worlds

ARTV2909 Social Fabric: Crafting Communities

ARTV2911 Spatial/Temporal Methods

ARTV2921 Environment Studio: field based research and studio practice in visual arts

ARTV3507 Painting: Open to Influence Studio Research

ARTV3508 Painting: Materiality and Meaning

ARTV3510 Painting: Critical Analysis and Reflection in the Studio

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]

Minors

Elective Study

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

Study Options

Year 1 48 units For study plans, please see following link http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/degrees-and-program-plans - - -
- - - -
Year 2 48 units - - - -
- - - -
Year 3 48 units - - - -
- - - -

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.


Domestic applicants

Before applying for a program, you should review the general information about domestic undergraduate admission to ANU programs and how to apply, and the program-specific information below.

·        Applicants with recent secondary education are assessed on:

o  completion of Australian Year 12 or equivalent, and the minimum Selection Rank (from their academic qualifications, plus any adjustment factors) requirement for this program; and

o  co-curricular or service requirement (applies to applicants who complete secondary education in the year prior to commencing at ANU); and

o  English language proficiency; and

o  any program-specific requirements listed below.

·        Applicants with higher education study are assessed on:

o  previous higher education studies; or secondary education results if completed less than one full-time equivalent year (1.0 FTE) of a degree; or the result from a bridging or preparatory course; and

o  English language proficiency; and

o  any program-specific requirements listed below.

·        Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are assessed on:

o  previously completed VET qualifications at AQF level 5 or higher (i.e. a Diploma or above); or secondary education results if the VET qualification is not completed; and

o  English language proficiency; and

o  any program-specific requirements listed below.

·        Applicants with work and life experience are assessed on:

o  ATAR or equivalent if secondary education was completed; or the Special Adult Entry Scheme (SAES); or work experience; and

o  English language proficiency; and

o  any program-specific requirements listed below.


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.

Further information is available for English Language Requirements for Admission 


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 & Design website at: soa.anu.edu.au/how-apply/undergraduate-applications.

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.

Please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.

Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)

For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees

Annual indicative fee for international students
$39,090.00

For further information on International Tuition Fees see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments/international-tuition-fees

Fee Information

All students are required to pay the Services and amenities fee (SA Fee)

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.

For further information on Fees and Payment please see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Digital + Material

Innovation + Engagement


Combine cutting-edge digital practices with internationally-renowned art and craft studio disciplines in the Bachelor of Design.


Design students will benefit from deep immersion in digital, manual and theoretical studies and a wide overview of creative practices. From coding, to making, to manufacture, students apply hands-on design to digital and physical materials. Students delve into web design, data visualisation, and interaction design, and experiment in studios to develop expertise in the latest digital form and fabrication processes.


This degree prepares students with transferable knowledge and skills required to make their mark on a rapidly changing world.

Career Options

ANU ranks among the world's very finest universities. Our nearly 100,000 alumni include political, business, government, and academic leaders around the world.

We have graduated remarkable people from every part of our continent, our region and all walks of life.

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.

Learning Outcomes

  1. demonstrate skills and knowledge of the practices, languages, forms, materials and technologies in their relevant discipline;

  2. research, develop and evaluate design concepts and processes by thinking creatively, critically and reflectively;

  3. apply skills and knowledge to the creation, visualisation and production of design projects;

  4. work independently and collaboratively on design projects and respond to project demands;

  5. interpret, communicate and present ideas, problems and arguments in modes suited to a range of audiences; and

  6. recognise and reflect on social, cultural technological, environmental and ethical issues of creative practice and design considering local and international perspectives.

Inherent Requirements

Information on inherent requirement is currently not available for this program

Other Requirements

Information on inherent requirement is currently not available for this program

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