Diploma of Graphic Design
Blended learning – on-campus and digital learning
Guided by experienced, current industry professionals in a simulated studio environment, build a solid technical skill set grounded in the design concept process. Focus your creative eye in a specialised area of graphic design such as typography, illustration, branding, packaging, animation, UIUX, digital design or environmental graphics. Work on a range of multidisciplinary projects.
Complete this nationally accredited course with a portfolio ready to wow prospective employers along with a solid understanding of current industry practices - including project management, design strategy, presentation, collaboration, and how to respond to a brief. Or take the next exciting step with the Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design.
Join a tight-knit and vibrant community of designers. Find a life of creativity in advertising agencies, graphic design and finished art studios. Or, you could go into the fast-paced world of publishing, retail advertising, film and television production houses. Interested in politics? Not-for-profits? Fashion? No matter your interests, design skills are needed by pretty much every imaginable organisation. From Paris to Berlin to Tokyo, a career in design will take you wherever in the world you want to go. So take the first exciting step with our diploma.
Apply for your place in the tech-rich future
Excited yet? Our industry-leading TAFE certificates and diplomas are your ticket to a tech-rich future that'll be better than your wildest dreams. All the info is at your fingertips, so what are you waiting for?
Find your way.
Duration
18 months full-time
Intakes
Hawthorn (March) - View application and start dates
Study mode
- Full-time
VTAC course code
- 3400278114
Hawthorn (fee type determined by provider)

This is a nationally approved vocational course that is recognised throughout Australia.
Student work

Graduate story
Riding the wave of creativity
What’s even more creative than drawing large pieces of art using the stippling technique? Doing it on upcycled materials. Swinburne Diploma of Graphic Design graduate Jarryn Dower has combined his passion for surf and art by using second-hand surfboards as the canvas for the majority of his artworks – all of which take upwards of 60 hours to create!

I learned how to look at designs critically. My illustrations, and their composition, colour and technique, improved dramatically and I was a finalist in the Australian Good Design Award for student packaging. Now, I’m working as a freelance illustrator and designer in one of the illustration hubs of the world – the UK.
Georgia
Diploma of Graphic Design
Course information in detail
- Course detail, course structure and units of study.
Course description
Course structure
Units of study
Elective units
Careers and graduate outcomes
- Career opportunities, course aims and objectives and graduate skills.
Career opportunities
Aims and objectives

Graduate skills
Pathways and scholarships
- Pathways, credit transfer, recognition of prior learning and scholarships.
Course fees and requirements
- Fees, entry requirements and non-year 12 entry.
Course fees
A VET Student Loan is available for this course – allowing you to defer part of your fees if you're eligible.
The maximum VET Student Loan amount for this course is $16,077. You must start repaying this loan once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold.
Diploma of Graphic DesignEstimated course fees for 2021* |
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For students who are not granted a Skills First government-subsidised place | For students who are granted a Skills First government-subsidised place | Is this a Free TAFE course? | |
You will need to pay this amount if you do not receive a VET Student Loan | $17,240 | $10,950 | This course is not eligible for Free TAFE |
You will need to pay this amount if you do receive a VET Student Loan | $1,163 | Fully Covered | This course is not eligible for Free TAFE |
This course is delivered with state government funding.
You could be granted a Skills First government-subsidised place when you apply for this course. Check your eligibility now.
Concession rates for Diploma and Advanced Diploma programs are also available to Aboriginals or Torres Strait Islanders or Youth Concession students enrolled prior to 1 July 2012 and continuing the same course in 2013.
If you are not granted a government-subsidised place, you will be eligible for the full course fee. Check your eligibility now.
Indicative nominal course hours: 1,045.
Entry requirements
- produce examples of graphic design work that respond effectively to different design challenges
- produce typography that supports the overall design solution
- some knowledge of graphic design industry software
Applicants will be required to present a folio of work and attend an interview.
Skills may have been acquired through personal or work experience, or through formal study.
How to apply
Find out more
Tel: 1300 SWINBURNE
Training Organisation Identifier (TOID): 3059