Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Bachelor of International Studies

Note

This course version is for students commencing in 2022 and onwards.

This distinctive degree explores diverse forms of visual communication across design, culture and media. Visual Communication students acquire in depth understanding of the histories, practices and meanings of the visual world. In turn, obtaining the visual knowledge and skills required to negotiate rapidly changing technology, visual media and culture while becoming skilled in apprehending the unprecedented pace at which visual images, visual technologies and information data are produced.

Combined with the Bachelor of International Studies, the course provides students with additional practical skills, in particular those that raise their awareness of the international contexts of design, by providing the opportunity to acquire knowledge and understanding of a language other than English and another culture.

Students immerse themselves in a practice-oriented, studio-based culture, studying a range of interdisciplinary subjects encompassing typography, interaction and image-making. Taught by experts in visual communication, students learn everything from the history and theory of visual culture and technology to producing cutting edge creative work in digital media, interaction design, photography, editorial design, information visualisation, web design, wayfinding, mobile apps, code, machine learning, motion graphics, the internet of things and 3D technologies such as VR/AR and 3D printing. Exploring both traditional and experimental research methods students learn to produce conceptually rigorous and socially responsive work. They graduate with the capacity to work across and between disciplines, to articulate design practices and processes, and to apply them to complex problems. Graduates develop industry experience through the degree's emphasis on addressing real-world issues in collaborative and team-based work.

The international experience enhances career options, making students more marketable to prospective employers.

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Course aims

The degree has a hands-on, studio-based culture that is supported by a strong historical and theoretical component. Academics encourage both innovation and experimentation in research and practice to help students make work that is conceptually rigorous and ethically responsive.

Offering a variety of interdisciplinary subjects, graduates are able to move into their professional lives with the diverse knowledge and skills required to work collaboratively and across disciplines. All students work with industry clients on real-world projects and undertake work experience during their degree.

A further two years of study in the international studies component introduces and consolidates learning a language other than English and about another culture.

Innovation and Transdisciplinary program

Transdisciplinary Electives at UTS Employers tell us the skills our graduates acquire from undertaking a Transdisciplinary Elective sets them apart from the crowd. That’s why we have embedded this program into every undergraduate degree. All you need to do is choose the Elective that inspires you the most. Transdisciplinary Electives integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, allowing you to approach complex problems from a range of perspectives. By combining methods and insights from various disciplines, transdisciplinary learning often leads to breakthrough ideas and creative innovations that may not be possible within the confines of a single discipline. If you find yourself rapt by the world of innovation – you can pair your core degree with a Diploma in Innovation, graduating with two qualifications in the same timeframe. In both instances, you’ll work on a real-world challenge presented by an industry partner organisation – partners who often create career pathways for our graduates. * Excludes students concurrently enrolled in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.

Study plan

The example program below is for a student commencing in Autumn session and undertaking the course with the German Language and Culture major, and completing the Language, Culture & the Professional World pathway or the International Honours pathway.

It is recommended that students who elect to complete the Language, Culture & Global Exchange pathway complete 999781 International Research Methods in Year 3 Autumn, so that they can undertake their Exchange session during Year 4 Autumn.

Please make a selection:

First year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: The Politics of Image and Text	87631	12
VC Design Theory: Critical Approaches to Visual Culture	87100	6
Thinking Through Design	85503	6

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: The Ethics of Image and Text	87632	12
VC Design Project: Symbols, Systems and Visual Play	87222	6
Researching Design Histories	85502	6

December session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
Intercultural Communication	99218	8

Second year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
Contemporary Germany	976421	8
VC Project: Contexts of Visual Communication	87441	6
Select 6 credit points of options:		6
German Language and Culture 1	97601	8

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
German Language and Culture 2	97602	8
VC Project: Typography in Context	87443	6
VC Design Studio: Visualising Experience	87009	12

Third year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: Narrative, Form and Time	87731	12
German Language and Culture 3	97603	8
VC Project: Visual Communication and Emergent Practices	87011	6

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
German Language and Culture 4	97604	8
Select 6 credit points from the following:		6
Designing Social Change	85202	6
The Bio Kitchen	85001	6
Global Studio A	88015	6
Select 6 credit points of options:		6

Fourth year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
International Research Methods	999781	8
Select 16 credit points from the following:		16
Pathway Options (Germany)	cbk92076	40

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
Select 24 credit points from the following:		24
Pathway Options (Germany)	cbk92076	40

Fifth year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: Design Practice	87832	12
Select 6 credit points of options:		6

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Project: Research Through Design	87012	6
VC Design Studio: Socially Responsive Design	87010	12

Honours

The Bachelor of Design (Honours) (C09131) is available to meritorious students with an additional one year of full-time study.

Applications are submitted via the UTS Study website.

First year

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: The Politics of Image and Text	87631	12
VC Design Project: Symbols, Systems and Visual Play	87222	6
Researching Design Histories	85502	6

December session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
Intercultural Communication	99218	8

Second year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: The Ethics of Image and Text	87632	12
German Language and Culture 1	97601	8
Contemporary Germany	976421	8

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Project: Typography in Context	87443	6
VC Design Studio: Visualising Experience	87009	12
German Language and Culture 2	97602	8

Third year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Theory: Critical Approaches to Visual Culture	87100	6
German Language and Culture 3	97603	8
Thinking Through Design	85503	6

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
German Language and Culture 4	97604	8
Select 6 credit points from the following:		6
Designing Social Change	85202	6
The Bio Kitchen	85001	6
Global Studio A	88015	6
Select 6 credit points of options:		6

Fourth year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
International Research Methods	999781	8
Select 16 credit points from the following:		16
Pathway Options (Germany)	cbk92076	40

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
Select 24 credit points from the following:		24
Pathway Options (Germany)	cbk92076	40

Fifth year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Project: Contexts of Visual Communication	87441	6
VC Design Studio: Narrative, Form and Time	87731	12
Select 6 credit points of options:		6

Spring session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Project: Research Through Design	87012	6
VC Design Studio: Socially Responsive Design	87010	12
Select 6 credit points of options:		6

Sixth year

Autumn session	Subject Code	Credit PointsA credit point is the unit of measure of workload for individual subjects.
VC Design Studio: Design Practice	87832	12
VC Project: Visual Communication and Emergent Practices	87011	6

Course fees

For relevant fee information, please choose from the following:

Local student

All students at UTS pay tuition fees to contribute towards the cost of their studies.

In 2024 all offers made to domestic undergraduate students will be for Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP), which means that the Australian government makes a substantial contribution towards the cost of your education, and you pay the balance through student contributions.

The amount you pay depends on your area of study and the number of credit points (cp) in which you enrol. At UTS 48 credit points is considered to be one Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL).

The table to the right shows the amount a student can expect to pay for one year of full-time study (1.0 EFTSL).

Students can choose to pay their student contribution upfront, or if eligible, can defer their fees through HECS-HELP.

In addition to tuition fees, students are required to pay a Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). The purchase of textbooks and other course materials may also result in additional cost.

You can calculate your student contribution as a percentage of the amounts shown on the table. Fee rates are divided into four bands covering broad discipline areas. It is important to note that a particular subject within a course may fall within a different band.

For example, if you are enrolled in a 6-credit point Architecture subject, your contribution would be 6/48 x $9,314 = $1,164.

Student contribution amounts for 2025 commencing students

2025 student contribution - Area of Study	Amount for 48 cp
Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Communications and Society and Culture	$16,992
Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science	$13,241
Allied Health, Other Health, Built Environment, Computing, Visual & Performing Arts, Professional Pathway Psychology, Professional Pathway Social Work, Engineering, Surveying, Environmental Studies, Science and Pathology	$9,314
Education, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics, Statistics, Nursing or Foreign Languages and Agriculture	$4,627

International student

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students can be found using tuition fees search.

Tuition fees must be paid in advance each session and are subject to annual increase. Fees for future year(s) published in fees search, whilst unlikely to change, are estimates only. UTS makes every effort to provide up to date future year(s) fee estimates and to limit any changes, however, UTS reserves the right to vary fees for future year(s) at any time.

For this course, the cost per credit point for 2025 is $974. The total credit points are 240.

All international students should familiarise themselves with the following documents:

Protocol on refund of fees for international students - contains the refund of fees information for international students.
Tuition Protection Service - designed to ensure that students receive the tuition they have paid for

In addition to tuition fees, students may be required to pay a Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). Textbooks and other course materials will also result in additional costs.

UTS Alumni save 10%: alumni.uts.edu.au/advantage

For further information on costs related to your study at UTS, visit the international students' fees information page.

Careers

There are many career options in a range of fields for graduates, such as digital media, publication designer, graphic designer, interaction designer, interactive media designer, web designer, branding specialist, art director, motion graphics designer, advertising, illustrator, and exhibition designer. Graduates are also equipped with the skills to become writers, researchers, editors and critics, and to apply design thinking in a non-design industry business.

Course structure

Course structure explained

Students must complete 240 credit points comprising 108 credit points of core subjects, a 24-credit-point of design studies, 12 credit points of electives in visual communication and 96 credit points in international studies.

In the International Studies component students select the language they will study at the time of enrolment, and either the Language, Culture and the Professional World pathway or the Culture and Global Exchange pathway. Information relating to entry into the International Honours pathway can be found in the Information for Students section.

Overseas study

In the International studies component students have the following options:

Language, Culture & the Professional World: includes an internship and option of a short study abroad experience (2-6 weeks) overseas.
Language, Culture & Global Exchange: includes an internship and a 6-month global exchange at any UTS partner university.
International Honours: includes a full year at a relevant partner university where students complete an honours level research project.

Course completion requirements

Requirement	Credit Points
STM91427 Core Subjects (Visual Communication)	108
STM91882 Design Studies	18
STM91883 Electives Choice	18
CBK92057 Country and Language choice	96
Total	240

Additional information

Course duration

The course is offered on a five-year, full-time basis. Students may study this program part time after consultation with the program director.

Admission requirements

Admission requirements

Applicants must have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification, Australian Qualifications Framework Diploma, or equivalent Australian or overseas qualification at the required level.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building may consider applications based on the results of the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) if students lack academic qualifications but have extensive professional experience. The STAT is conducted through Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

Students must refer to the inherent requirements for all degrees offered by Design and Architecture in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building and for the Bachelor of International Studies offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

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.

Check to see if there are additional admission requirements for this course.

Additional information relating to this course, including the ATAR profile of domestic students who commenced this course in Autumn 2022, is located under UTS' admissions requirements, alongside information relating to the commencing student cohort who were enrolled in this course past the Autumn 2022 census date.
If you don't meet the admission requirements for this course, there may be alternative pathways to help you gain admission.

Inherent requirements

Inherent requirements are academic and non-academic requirements that are essential to the successful completion of a course. For more information about inherent requirements and where prospective and current students can get assistance and advice regarding these, see the UTS Inherent requirements page.

Prospective and current students should carefully read the Inherent Requirements Statement below and consider whether they might experience challenges in successfully completing this course.

UTS will make reasonable adjustments to teaching and learning, assessment, professional experiences, course related work experience and other course activities to facilitate maximum participation by students with disabilities, carer responsibilities, and religious or cultural obligations in their courses.

For course specific information see the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building Inherent (Essential) Requirements Statement.

For course specific information see the Bachelor of International Studies Diploma in Languages Inherent (Essential) Requirements Statement.

ATAR and selection ranks

To find out further information regarding ATAR and selection ranks from previous applicants who received an offer to this course, please visit our Admissions Stats Tool

Assumed knowledge

There are no prior language requirements for the international studies program. During their first year of study students complete a language survey to ensure they commence their language and culture study at the appropriate level.

Year 12 adjustment factor scheme

To see a list of courses where HSC subjects provide adjustment factors, please refer to the Year 12 adjustment factors page.

Scholarships and prizes

Scholarships

For Design, Architecture and Building and International Studies - 2 students

Only for international students

For all domestic students

Only for Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander students

Prizes and awards

For Design, Architecture and Building and International Studies - 2 students

UTS: Handbook

See the Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Bachelor of International Studies in the UTS: Handbook for comprehensive course details.

Information for international students

Find out about support services, the Australian education system, accommodation and more to help you get the most out of your study at UTS.

Part of The Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building

International studies

You can take your studies further and open up a vast choice of job opportunities by combining your degree with international studies.
Design facilities

Excellent production facilities and resources support the students’ creative projects and secure the development of relevant professional skills.
Computer labs

Used by students across the Faculty the computer labs have a wide range of design specific software and hardware to facilitate student production.

Domestic students

Before you apply

Here are a few important things for you to check out before you apply:

admission requirements for this course.
These can be found on the overview tab and there may also be additional entry requirements
required levels of English proficiency for the course you're interested in.
recognition of prior learning guidelines if you've undertaken previous study that might be credited towards your course at UTS.

How to apply

Domestic applicants can apply via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) (opens an external site)

UAC code(s): 609290 (Autumn session)

Make a note of the relevant UAC code before starting the UAC application.

Intake

Autumn Session 2025
Spring Session 2025

Important dates

NOVEMBER 2024
1	Closing date for change of preferences (November Round 1)
8	UAC offers released (November Round 1)
14	Closing date for change of preferences (November Round 2)
21	UAC offers released (November Round 2)
28	Closing date for change of preferences (December Round 1)

DECEMBER 2024
5	UAC offers released (December Round 1)
18	UTS Info Day
18	Closing date for change of preferences (December Round 2)
23	UAC offers released (December Round 2)

JANUARY 2025
2	Closing date for change of preferences (January Round 1)
9	UAC offers released (January Round 1)
16	Closing date for change of preferences (January Round 2)
23	UAC offers released (January Round 2)
30	Closing date for change of preferences (February Round 1)

FEBRUARY 2025
3 - 14	Autumn session orientation
6	UAC offers released (February Round 1)
7	Closing date for change of preferences (February Round 2)
13	UAC offers released (February Round 2)
17	Autumn session commences (main calendar)
27	Closing date for change of preferences (March Round 1)

MARCH 2025
3	Last day to enrol for Autumn session
6	UAC offers released (March Round 1)
20	Autumn census date – last day to withdraw from subjects or apply for leave of absence

Need more information?

Ask UTS

Scholarships, prizes and awards

Scholarships

For Design, Architecture and Building and International Studies - 2 students

Only for international students

For all domestic students

Only for Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander students

Prizes and awards

For Design, Architecture and Building and International Studies - 2 students

International students

Before you apply

Here are a few important things for you to check out before you apply:

admission requirements for this course.
These can be found on the overview tab and there may also be additional entry requirements.
required levels of English proficiency for the course you’re interested in.
recognition of prior learning guidelines if you’ve undertaken previous study that might be credited towards your course at UTS.

You can meet an international student advisor at one of our events worldwide to ask questions and submit an application.

Important dates

Visit the UTS Handbook for full academic dates. Visit essential information for international students for the application closing dates.

How to apply

International applicants can apply to study through UTS International.

International applicants who are currently doing:

an Australian Year 12 qualification in or outside Australia
an International Baccalaureate, or
a New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3

can apply through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) (opens external site).