Bachelors of Design / Business

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Griffith University Gold Coast Campus

Program Overview

Bachelor of Design / Bachelor of Business – Griffith University

If you love turning ideas into reality and want the skills to make them succeed in the real world, this dual degree is made for you. Over four years, you’ll learn how to create innovative products, spaces, or digital experiences while also gaining the business know-how — from marketing and management to entrepreneurship — to bring your ideas to life. It’s the perfect mix of creativity and commerce.

What You’ll Learn Each Year

Year 1
You’ll start by laying the foundations: honing your design skills, exploring technology, and learning how to approach problems with a creative mindset. At the same time, you’ll dive into core business subjects, discovering how your design ideas can work in a real-world business context. This is where your creativity begins to meet strategy.

Year 2
In your second year, you’ll take on more hands-on, industry-inspired projects in your chosen design field — whether that’s product, spatial, or visual design. Business subjects will broaden your understanding of marketing, entrepreneurship, and international business, showing you how creative work is managed, promoted, and sold. You’ll start seeing the exciting ways design and business intersect.

Year 3
By the third year, you’ll refine your design expertise through complex projects and real-world briefs. On the business side, you’ll dive deeper into decision-making, strategic thinking, and communication skills. This is when your professional portfolio starts taking shape, and you begin carving out your unique identity as someone who bridges design and business.

Year 4
Your final year is all about bringing it together. You’ll tackle capstone projects, combining creative ideas with business strategies — maybe launching a product, brand, or service. Your business studies can be tailored to your ambitions, giving you the skills to lead, start, or grow creative ventures. By graduation, you’ll have a powerful dual skill set that sets you apart in the job market.

Focus Areas

Design: Product, spatial, or visual
Business: Marketing, management, entrepreneurship, international business

What You’ll Take Away
You’ll graduate able to dream up and design meaningful experiences or products — and also understand how to turn them into successful, sustainable ventures.

Why This Degree Matters
This fully accredited dual degree gives you a credible qualification in both design and business. It’s perfect if you want to launch your own start-up, work in design management, or join companies that value creativity paired with strategic thinking. Griffith’s global reputation and strong industry connections mean graduates often find themselves in product design, marketing, creative agencies, branding, or running their own businesses.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

If you choose the Bachelor of Design / Bachelor of Business at Griffith University, you’ll get more than just classroom theory — you’ll build real, career-ready skills by doing actual design work and real business projects throughout your degree. This program blends creative design thinking with business fundamentals so you graduate as someone who can both imagine new ideas and make them work in the real world. It’s a space where you learn “by doing,” preparing you to jump into design-driven industries or business roles with confidence and practical experience.

Here are some of the real experiential-learning opportunities this program offers:

Studio-based design practice — From the first year, you’ll be working in studios and labs where you build using manual and technological tools, exercising design thinking and solving real design problems.
Design + Business integration — While you learn creative studio skills, you simultaneously study business management, giving you a strong foundation in business decision-making, communication, and entrepreneurship.
Work-integrated learning & internships — Through the business side of the degree (via the School of Business), you’ll have access to internships and industry placements — gaining exposure to actual workplaces, building professional networks and developing on-the-job skills.
Professional development and business skills via university-run initiatives — You’ll have opportunities to participate in programs (like business-skills building or BusinessPLUS) that help you cultivate skills employers value: business communication, teamwork, project management, professional etiquette.
Flexible double-degree structure — Because it’s a dual degree, you graduate with both design and business credentials. That gives you the versatility to enter creative industries as a designer or to take on management/entrepreneurial roles — or even combine both.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Most graduates from this program go on to land creative‑business roles that let them draw on both design sensibility and business smarts. Typical jobs include product designer, graphic or digital designer, design/brand manager, creative consultant or design strategist — and of course, roles that combine business‑thinking and design, like entrepreneur, project manager for creative ventures, or design‑oriented business analyst.

Here’s what this means for you:

You get access to Griffith’s career support infrastructure (through their design + business programs), including career counselling, mentoring and work‑integrated learning — which helps you build a portfolio and real workplace experience while you study.
Because the program is a dual degree, you graduate with both design and business credentials — that makes you versatile: you’re not limited to “just design,” but can also take up business‑side roles (management, marketing, operations, entrepreneurship) if you choose.
The business side of Griffith is accredited internationally (e.g. the business majors are recognised by relevant professional bodies), and the design side is recognised by the professional design association — so your degree holds weight globally, not just locally.
You’ll be prepared to enter start-ups, creative agencies, corporate design divisions, or even launch your own venture — the training combines creative thinking + practical business management.

Further Academic Progression:
If you want to continue studying after this bachelor's, you could go for honours or postgraduate studies — either in design (e.g. more advanced design or creative‑media fields) or in business/management. Since Griffith offers a full suite of business and research‑oriented postgraduate degrees, this dual‑degree gives you a solid foundation for advanced coursework in areas like design management, entrepreneurship, marketing, or even research-oriented business or design studies.