At Melbourne, the future is yours to create
Study the Bachelor of Design and apply creativity and problem-solving skills to transform the world around you.
The Bachelor of Design opens doors to careers with impact
Bring your boldest ideas to life
You'll have access to industry-grade equipment and technology in purpose-built labs and spaces to enable you to think like a designer and develop your projects end-to-end.
Work with real game changers
You'll be taught by researchers and industry practitioners who are leading public conversations about our cities and regions, shaping policy development and transforming Australian and global practices.
Help solve tomorrow's problems
Design is about communicating our ideas and how we interact with our surroundings. By developing the flexible, cross-disciplinary skills employers are increasingly seeking, you'll play a key role in influencing how societies live, communicate and interact.
Be connected to industry
You'll learn and collaborate in studio-based workspaces to fulfil design briefs and build vital industry connections. Through site visits, field trips, and projects you'll develop your visual communication and technology skills, culminating in a public exhibition showcase, designX.
Build a degree around your interests and strengths
Through the Melbourne curriculum, you'll be able to explore your unique passions all while gaining the expertise and experience to set you apart. With 14 majors ranging across the built environment, design, engineering and IT, plus minors, specialisations and breadth subjects, you’ll have the freedom to structure your degree your way and prepare for the future, whatever you choose to do.
Your major will identify your pathway through the Bachelor of Design to focus on a specific discipline. Importantly, you won’t need to know which major you want to do from day one; in most cases, you can try a few different study areas in your first year before deciding on your major in second year. This flexible approach allows you to keep your options open while you decide the right path for you.
Explore each major in the section below, or the course in detail to discover more.
Minors are shortened sequences of subjects and provide a complementary course of study without committing to a double major. Minors are available in every Bachelor of Design major area except for Civil Engineering Systems and Mechanical Engineering Systems.
Specialisations focus on particular themes relevant across multiple majors within the Bachelor of Design. Some specialisations support a research pathway, some lead to accreditation with industry bodies or expand your employment opportunities, and others open up new areas of interest to explore through graduate study or in your career.
A breadth subject is a subject from outside your major or specialisation that you’re able to incorporate into your degree. You’ll explore diverse fields of interest while being challenged and inspired to unlock new ways of thinking that can enrich your degree and your career prospects. You might, for instance, decide to take breadth in Mandarin Chinese – a great choice for a designer looking to work internationally and help address global issues.
Our Bachelor of Design graduates are guaranteed entry into a selection of masters courses with the Melbourne School of Design. To qualify, students must complete the corresponding undergraduate major and achieve a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 65%. The majors and their corresponding masters include:
- Architecture major into Master of Architecture (200 points)
- Construction Management major into Master of Construction Management (200 points)
- Landscape Architecture major into Master of Landscape Architecture (200 points)
- Property major into Master of Property (200 points)
- Urban Planning major into Master of Urban Planning (200 points).
Domestic students who are eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) will be guaranteed a place if they meet the following WAM requirements:
- 72% WAM for entry into the Master of Architecture
- 70%+ WAM for all other masters courses listed above.
For more information visit guaranteed and flexible undergraduate to graduate degree pathways.
Explore the 14 majors
Civil Engineering Systems
Computing and Software Systems
Construction
Digital Infrastructure Engineering Systems
Game Design
Graphic Design
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture
Mechanical Engineering Systems
Performance Design
Property
Urban Planning
User Experience Design
Bachelor of Design - Overview
Join the Director of the Bachelor of Design, Prof Janet McGaw, as she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at studying design at Melbourne.
Hear from our students
Learn what has inspired some of our next-generation designers.
I wanted to bring together my passion for art and design and integrate how they are seen in our environment. I’ve been able to learn and produce more complex and interesting designs with practical experience.
Isabel Solin
At its core, design is communication. The Bachelor of Design allows me to explore and test different design fields which has helped me create a strong and diverse skillset and knowledge to elevate my design ideas.
Teariki Williams
Two new majors available from 2026!
Interior Design
Engage critically and creatively with the built environment's spatial, material, and social dimensions through theoretical, technical, and studio-based learning, enhancing spatial literacy and material sensitivity.
This major highlights the interior as a site of human and more-than-human experience, strongly emphasising accessibility, equity, and ethical design practice.
Develop an advanced understanding of the material nature of interiors and create sensory, inclusive, and socially responsive environments through iterative design processes and applied material investigations.
Career paths: Interior designer, lighting designer, furniture designer, set design for theatre, TV or film, exhibition designer.
Game Design
Combine creative artistry and technical skills to design, develop and deliver engaging gameplay experiences, compelling narratives and immersive digital worlds.
You will explore the history, evolution, and future of games, through the hands-on creation of innovative digital games.
Blend creative thinking and technical expertise to bring your ideas to life. You’ll create and build games with rich stories, immersive worlds, and engaging play. Explore the history and future of games through hands-on projects and innovative design.
Career paths: Game artist, game designer, level designer, interface designer, concept artist, producer, art director, game developer.
Graduate study pathways
Hone your professional skills and stand out in your discipline. Following the Bachelor of Design, you may choose to specialise your skills with a graduate degree.
The Melbourne School of Design offers graduate programs across a wide range of built environment fields, from architecture to construction management. You may also choose to apply your design skills to engineering or the arts.
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