Overview 2023
Location
This course may not be available to international students. Please see the list of distance courses (i.e. online and taken outside Australia) that are offered to international students
View archived years for this course
For years prior to 2015, please view the Course and Unit Handbook Archive
View the current year's course page
In this course we’ll guide you to work with design thinking and design processes, visual language and form, design for inclusive interactions, and strategies and tools for creative enterprise. By understanding major shifts in how design fields now operate, you’ll gain foundational design knowledge and a framework for identifying opportunities.
Wherever you are, you can apply design skills to your interests in any sector or current role. Designing communications, services, experiences and new business models – with the technical, problem-solving and interpersonal skills valued in workplaces and community – are but a few of the many ways you can apply design.
You’ll be learning by doing with hands-on design activities developing, prototyping and testing ideas, and creating projects through which you can progress your goals. Our practice-based learning approach means your tutors are industry-embedded, guiding you to explore places, cases and practices relevant for you and always connecting people and planet.
You can also develop your design skillset toward a more specialist design role and gain credit towards the Associate Degree in Applied Design. This course expands your learning and offers three stream options: Communication Design, Digital Design and Business Design.
Study without tuition fees
Domestic students commencing the Undergraduate Certificate in 2023 may be eligible to receive a 100% HECS fee waiver. HECS fee waivers will be automatically applied on enrolment.
Please visit our Certificates page for answers to frequently asked questions about the Job Ready Certificates.
Key contacts
| Current student enrolment questions and advice | UConnect |
| Course Coordinator | Mr Jose Vicente Garcia Cesar |
Learning Outcomes
Practical experience
Practice-based, experiential learning and portfolio development is a key component of the Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design.
We help you develop transferable skills by providing an authentic and engaging learning experience with work-based components that you can tailor to your individual circumstances. This means you can contextualise your learning to your personal interests through authentic simulated experiences, or for those already in the industry, you are encouraged to apply and complete relevant assessments within your work environment.
You will be introduced to:
- different methods of, and approaches to, practice,
- how issues such as values, ethics, empathy and leadership are reflected in the workplace and
- the role of reflection and deliberative thinking in developing workplace-based knowledge, skills, attitudes and aspirations.
Career outcomes
The Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design is an introductory course for professional development for those who wish to understand more about design to apply to their current/future work.
The course will give you foundational design skills relevant to various industries and provides a stepping stone for further design study.
After completing the Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design, you can transition into further study with credit towards an Associate Degree in Applied Design and/or the Bachelor of Design.
Course structure
The course structure comprises four core 12.5 credit point units
Core
Design thinking draws on creative, iterative and collaborative approaches to problem-solving, including exploration of potential solutions though idea generation, rapid prototyping and testing. While conventional approaches to problem-solving often rely on the application of highly structured methodologies and process controls,…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
In this unit, you will investigate elements and principles of visual language in art and design, to understand the importance of aesthetics in design and its application to real-world projects. You will also be introduced to the nature of ‘aesthetics,’…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Through this unit you will explore and analyse spaces of interaction that operate on different scales and with different sets of relations, for example human and non-human, analogue and digital. Drawing from diverse design methodologies you will learn approaches to…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
This unit introduces you to the creative industries and the roles of the so-called 'creative class' and creative entrepreneur in shaping communities, urban development and digital economies in recent decades. By delving critically into the discourse of creative entrepreneurship, you…
Credit Points: 12.5
| Location | Study period | Attendance options | Available to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Semester 1 | ||||
| Launceston | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 1 | ||||
| Online | Semester 2 | ||||
Entry requirements
For Domestic students
This Undergraduate Certificate is open to applicants from a broad range of backgrounds.
Domestic Applicants who have recently completed secondary education
- Completed the TCE (or equivalent)
Domestic Applicants with higher education study
- Completed at least one undergraduate unit (equivalent to 12.5 UTAS credit points).
Domestic Applicants with VET / TAFE study
- A completed VET Certificate III or higher
Domestic Applicants with work and life experience
If you have not successfully completed senior secondary, tertiary or TAFE/VET study, but have relevant work and life experience you can complete a personal competency statement. You may be eligible for an offer if you have work and life experiences that demonstrate a capacity to succeed in this course.
Prerequisites Nil
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
If your ability to access or participate in education has been affected by circumstances beyond your control, you can apply for special consideration as part of your application. We will consider a range of factors for special consideration, including economic hardship, a serious medical condition or disability. We can only approve applications for special consideration where we are confident that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in your studies. If your application is not approved, the UTAS admissions team will work with you to find the best alternative pathway to your chosen course. Special consideration is not available for international applicants.
For International students
This course is not available to international students
Credit transfer
Passes in units in other incomplete courses in this University or another approved tertiary institution may be credited towards the undergraduate certificate and a course plan developed to detail the units required by the student to qualify for the undergraduate certificate. The maximum credit granted will be in accordance with the limits as stated in the Student Participation and Attainment Ordinance.
Articulation
Students completing the Undergraduate Certificate in Design will receive advanced standing for four 12.5 credit point units of the Associate Degree in Applied Design
Detailed Admissions Information
Detailed admissions information and advice for all undergraduate courses, including comprehensive, course-level student profiles, is available from UTAS Admissions.
Fees & scholarships
Domestic students
Cost shouldn’t get in the way of you studying.
If you’re a domestic student, you may be eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place in this course. This means your fees will be subsidised by the Australian Government. You’ll only need to pay the student contribution amount for each unit you study within the course.
You may also be able to defer payment of the student contribution amount by accessing a HECS-HELP loan from the Government. If eligible, you’ll only have to pay your tuition fees once you start earning above a specific amount.
Further information is available at Scholarships, fees and costs.
Student contributionStudent contribution amounts are charged for each unit of study. This means that how much you’ll pay will depend on which units you choose. Find out more about student contribution amounts.
Further informationDetailed fee information for domestic students is available at Scholarships, fees and costs, including additional information in relation to the compulsory Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
Scholarships
Domestic students
The Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design is available with 100% HECS fee waiver for eligible domestic students commencing study in 2023. This means you can have NO tuition fees to pay.
Fee waiver details
For domestic students commencing study in 2023, we are pleased to offer this degree with a 100% HECS and SSAF fee waiver.
This waiver is valid for students admitted and commencing this course in 2023 provided the eligibility criteria are met. The waiver will continue to be applicable for units available in 2024, on the condition that students have completed a minimum of 12.5 credit points towards the course in 2023 and remain in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
If you are eligible, the HECS waiver will be automatically applied upon enrolment. The waiver is not available for OUA students.
- You are an Australian citizen or permanent resident (i.e. eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place [CSP]).
- You are enrolled in the Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design and commence study 2023.
- You must be enrolled in a minimum of one unit and must remain enrolled until after the University Census Date relevant to the semester of study. If you are on an approved Leave of Absence (LOA), you are exempt from this requirement for the duration of your approved LOA.
- To retain this fee waiver, you must engage with your enrolled units. If you have not engaged and receive a result of AN (Absent deemed failed) for all enrolled units in a given study period, will not retain the waiver/discount from the following study period onward. You cannot then apply to have the waiver/discount reinstated.
- Not be excluded from the course based on academic progress or misconduct.
For information on general scholarships available at the University of Tasmania, please visit the scholarships website.
How can we help?
Do you have any questions about choosing a course or applying? Get in touch.
- Domestic
- 13 8827 (13 UTAS)
- International
- +61 3 6226 6200
- Course.Info@utas.edu.au
- Online
- Online enquiries