At Sydney Design School we understand your drive to live a creative life, our Educators are all practising designers who bring their passion and industry experience into the classroom.

Our unique ethos focuses on each student’s individual journey, nurturing your individuality and personal style. Studying with us is like joining a practising design studio. You’ll work on real projects with real clients.

Graduate with a relevant, recognised qualification, a professional portfolio and the connections and coaching to pursue your dream career.

When it comes to choosing a course it’s important to consider the outcome – what career path do you have in mind? How much time can you invest in studying? These are questions best answered one-on-one at our free Information Session or Open Day. Find out about our next event here.

Yes. Our partner school Interior Design Online offers the same high quality education you would receive on our Sydney campus, delivered by interactive video tutorials and quality online resources. Click here to visit their site.

It’s important that you chose the right course which is why we encourage you to attend one of our free Information Sessions or join us for our Open Day. Register to join us here.

There are no entry requirements for our Certificate IV course,  just a passion for interiors! You can apply and pay your deposit online here.

If you would like to apply for our Diploma courses you can do so online here but payment will be made after an informal interview with our team to check that this is the best course option for you personally.

For the interview you’ll need to bring a one page motivational statement (tell us about yourself, your passion for interiors and why you want to study at Sydney Design School). We’d ideally like you to show us a portfolio of creative work – drawings, photography or design projects you have worked on but this is optional.

Yes! Sydney Design School is an accredited CRICOS Provider (03759F). Students applying from outside Australia will need to be eligible for an international student visa to apply. Find out more about the accredited career courses available on our International Student home page here.

To study with Sydney Design School you will need a strong command of the English language (verbal, written and comprehension) and, if required, be able to achieve an academic overall score of 6 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test here or an equivalent.

Certificate IV in Interior Decoration and Accredited Short Courses

If required, our team will be in contact by telephone to assess your English language proficiency, prior to an enrolment confirmation being sent. If your application is not successful your deposit will be refunded in full.

Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Interior Design

Your command of English will be assessed by our team during your interview face to face on campus or by video call to ensure that you meet our language requirements.

Yes. Sydney Design School is accredited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). Our course content is constantly refined and based on competency standards set by the interior design industry. You will graduate with a nationally recognised qualification RTO 91446.

Sydney Design School courses are vocational – they focus on preparing students to work in the industry by exposing them to practical real world projects and technology. University courses take a more theoretical approach to design education.

Sydney Design School and UNSW Sydney have partnered to offer graduates of the Diploma or Advanced Diploma of Interior Design direct entry into the Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Hons) saving them 12 months and 18 months of study respectively.

This is a crucial consideration and one we ask students to consider from day one of their studies. Our Careers Coach is on hand to help you determine your unique career path. Whether it be commercial, residential or hospitality design, styling or your own business we are determined to help you to reach your potential. Find out more about our career service here.

We’ve compiled a helpful list of payment methods including VET Student Loans, instalments and low interest loans here. If you’ve got questions we’d love to help, call our team on  +61 2 9437 1902.

We have two main intakes in January (Term 1) and in July (Term 3). Live Online classes start in April (Term 2) and October (Term 4) each year.

Our terms follow the NSW School Holiday term structure.

2024

Term 1  /  Tuesday 30 January to Friday 12 April 2024
(Public holidays Friday 29 March and Monday 1 April)
Term 2  /  Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July 2024
(Public holiday Monday 10 June)
Term 3  /  Monday 22 July to Friday 27 September 2024
Term 4 /  Monday 14 October to Friday 13 December 2024

Note: You may start on a different day of the week depending on your choice of course option.

All Diploma and Advanced Diploma students will need a laptop computer that can be brought to class and used at home. We recommend students use a PC as this computer is compatible with all software used in the course. If you choose to use a MAC you will be using a different interface for AutoCAD and SketchUp and will need to purchase and install Windows to run Revit. Your computer will need a dedicated graphics card. Read more about our Computer Requirements here.

No, exams are not part of our design courses. Most assessments are practical and presented in class. There is also a small component of written research assignments.

We believe everybody can draw. Our patient Educators are passionate about learning. They will teach you the correct techniques to express your ideas through drawing.

We like to keep our class sizes small so that you get lots of individual attention. There is a maximum of 16 people in each class (12 for computer classes).

Our Certificate IV day classes require 4-8 hours of extra study per week. All Diploma and Advanced Diploma classes require 8-14 hours. If you are studying online with our partner Interior Design Online you will need to commit 8-10 hours per week to complete your course within the estimated time frame.

Yes. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the acknowledgement of a person’s competency, skills and knowledge which may have been acquired through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning.

Sydney Design School offers applicants the opportunity to apply for RPL and gain credit towards their course. There is a fee associated with an RPL application, please speak to our Course Advisor for more information.

Sydney Design School offers a Credit Transfer to any applicant who provides suitable evidence that they have successfully completed a unit or module at any Registered Training Organisation (RTO).