Bachelor of Design (Honours)

The Bachelor of Design (Honours) is an advanced one-year design degree offered to students wishing to deepen and extend their knowledge from their undergraduate design studies. Students graduate with skills and expertise in demand from creative industries, the business sector and society. These include strong disciplinary abilities in their field that prepare graduates for high levels of creative and critical practice, as well as qualifying for postgraduate degrees, scholarships and awards. Graduates are also sought-after for their capabilities in design research, project management, communication and design advocacy.

Honours students identify and lead a major design project throughout the whole academic year. This is situated in the relevant design studio for fashion and textiles, product design or visual communication. Throughout this time, honours students apply and consolidate their undergraduate design skills, experiment with new techniques, and establish a unique design style to take into their career.

All students are guided to develop advanced theoretical knowledge of their design area and document their process and findings in an academic research paper or dissertation. This qualifies graduates to enter further PhD and postgraduate training while also establishing critical reflection and writing skills that are highly valued by industry.

Students are supported to realise and communicate their design project to its highest potential by a range of design experts. This includes respected academic and technical experts from the UTS School of Design as well as leading industry mentors. The design domains supported within the Bachelor of Design (Honours) include fashion and textile design, product design, visual communication, photography, motion graphics, AI and AR, social design, service design and strategic design.

The Design Honours degree is an immersive, in-person experience. Classes are run on campus two-days a week through a mix of workshops, lectures, and one-on-one mentoring. Students have access to dedicated studio spaces and state-of-the-art equipment and production facilities.

Students can see showcases of the excellent work from past Honours students here:

• Fashion and Textiles
• Visual Communication and Photography
• Product Design
• Social Innovation Project

Admission requirements

Applicants must have completed a UTS recognised bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline at an appropriate level.

UTS Students – Criteria for a guaranteed offer

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course within the last three years and attained an overall minimum WAM of 72.5 or above are guaranteed entry. International students will need to submit the admission application. UTS above domestic students are not required to submit an application, as you will receive an email with the offer and instructions on how to accept it.

UTS Students - Course completed within the last 3 years

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course within the last three years and attained an overall WAM between 65.0 and 72.49 (inclusive) will need to submit the admission application, and must provide t

he following additional material to be considered for a place:

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process undertaken (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience

UTS Students - Course completed 4 or more years ago

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course four or more years ago AND have demonstrated relevant work experience within the design industry will need to submit the admission application, and must provide the following additional material in order to be considered for a place:

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process undertaken (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience, accompanied by supporting reference/s from related industry employer/s.
• A copy of the academic transcript.

Non-UTS applicants

Applicants with a degree which is equivalent to the UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication and who have attained an overall minimum WAM of 65.0 or above will need to submit the admission application, and must provide the following additional material in order to be considered for a place:

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process you undertook (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience.
• A verified copy of the candidate’s previous academic transcript.

Students must refer to the inherent requirements for all degrees offered by Design and Architecture in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.

Note: Students cannot defer an honours offer. If you receive an offer but want to commence in the following year, you will need to re-apply for entry into this course

The English proficiency requirement for international students or local applicants with international qualifications is: IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall with a writing score of 6.0; or TOEFL iBT: 79-93 overall with a writing score of 21; or AE5: Pass; or PTE: 58-64 with a writing score of 50; or C1A/C2P: 176-184 with a writing score of 169.

Eligibility for admission does not guarantee offer of a place.

International students

Visa requirement: To obtain a student visa to study in Australia, international students must enrol full time and on campus. Australian student visa regulations also require international students studying on student visas to complete the course within the standard full-time duration. Students can extend their courses only in exceptional circumstances.

Applicants must have completed a UTS recognised bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline at an appropriate level.

UTS Students – Criteria for a guaranteed offer

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course within the last three years and attained an overall minimum WAM of 72.5 or above are guaranteed entry. International students will need to submit the admission application. UTS above domestic students are not required to submit an application, as you will receive an email with the offer and instructions on how to accept it.

UTS Students - Course completed within the last 3 years

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course within the last three years and attained an overall WAM between 65.0 and 72.49 (inclusive) will need to submit the admission application, and must provide the following additional material in order to be considered for a place in the Bachelor of Design (Honours):

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process you undertook (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction on completion of the degree.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience

UTS Students - Course completed 4 or more years ago

Applicants with a UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication who have completed the course four or more years ago AND have demonstrated relevant work experience within the design industry will need to submit the admission application, and must provide the following additional material in order to be considered for a place in the Bachelor of Design (Honours):

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process you undertook (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction on completion of the degree.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience, accompanied by supporting reference/s from related industry employer/s.
• A copy of the academic transcript.

Non-UTS applicants

Applicants with a degree which is equivalent to the UTS Bachelor of Design in Photography or Product Design or Fashion and Textiles or Visual Communication and who have attained an overall minimum WAM of 65.0 or above will need to submit the admission application, and must provide the following additional material in order to be considered for a place in the Bachelor of Design (Honours):

• A digital portfolio of 10 x A4 landscape pdfs that display digital files, scans and/or photographs of original design work done by the applicant, which also conveys the design process you undertook (maximum size 5MB).
• A 200-300 word statement addressing the applicant's reasons for undertaking Honours level study in design at UTS, and the specific learning that they are seeking given their intended career direction on completion of the degree.
• A one-page CV in PDF format that clearly articulates the applicant’s design or related experience.
• A verified copy of the candidate’s previous academic transcript.

Students must refer to the inherent requirements for all degrees offered by Design and Architecture in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.

Note: Students cannot defer an honours offer. If you receive an offer but want to commence in the following year, you will need to re-apply for entry into this course

Eligibility for admission does not guarantee offer of a place.