The Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Bachelor of International Studies (Honours) is an exit-point for students who have completed the International Honours pathway within the Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Bachelor of International Studies (C10309).
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.
The combined Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Bachelor of Arts in International Studies 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.
In the fourth year of the combined degree, International Honours students spend an academic year studying in the local language at a university in the country of their major and also complete an honours level research project under the supervision of a relevant UTS academic.
Entry to the International Honours pathway is dependent on students maintaining a credit average (or higher) in both their International Studies and professional degree in their first three years of study, and on the availability of placements in particular majors.
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, photography, editorial design, information visualisation, web design, wayfinding, mobile apps, code, interaction design, 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.