Although our courses may not seem very long they have been refined over the years in order for you to get the most out of every single hour. The combination of learning the software, understanding the theory and principles of design and working on typical briefs to realistic industry deadlines in a studio environment has been extremely successful in preparing students for their first industry role or furthering the career of those already working as designers.

Not necessarily. When employing a junior designer, most employers would initially look at an applicant's portfolio to see what their work was like. If their work was poor it is unlikely they would ask that person in for an interview regardless of their academic achievements. At Shillington College your portfolio is created from the briefs that you work on during the course. Each piece of work would have been created using the design software and within realistic timeframes. Refer to our employers section of the website for more information.

Shillington College was established due to a gap in the education system whereby new graduates were not being taught the necessary software skills needed to produce commercial work. Other courses can either be very lengthy; teaching students a lot of theory but not enough practical / commercial skills or are short courses that focus on teaching the software alone. At Shillington College we strike a balance between learning the theory and principles of design but also knowing how to use design software to produce commercially viable work. Our studio environment prepares students in a realistic design environment enabling them to 'hit the ground running' as soon as they finish the course. Its success has allowed Shillington College to become world class, with three campuses in Australia and two in the UK.

As you may have read in the about us section, Shillington College started life as a graphic design studio in 1989. The first course was run in Sydney in 1997 and since then it has gone from strength to strength, opening it's first international college in 2008. The course is always being refined whilst continuously evolving in-line with the design industry and will continue to do so as it is one of the main reasons for the college's success.

You do not need to sit an interview or show us a portfolio of work in order to enrol on the course. We just want you to be passionate about learning design. We do ask that you have excellent English skills if English is not your first language. You do not have to have used a Mac before and we don't expect you to have used the Creative Suite design programs. If you are studying part-time we do ask that you have access to a computer and the software out of college hours.

We can't ever guarantee that but what we can say is that, if you apply yourself throughout the course, listen to the advice of the teachers and build strong relationships during your time here you will leave with the best chance of finding work afterwards. Refer to our graduates section of the website for more information.

Being able to source opportunities and apply for them independently is an important step to entering the workforce and is something that we encourage. However, we are regularly approached by studios who are looking for talented designers and are always happy to recommend graduates. We have a blog and a facebook group where job opportunities, internships and projects are posted and past-students have successfully obtained employment through these resources. We are also fortunate to have a large network of students and teachers here and many people learn of roles through ex-classmates and past lecturers.

The majority of our students go on to work in the industry after graduating. We cannot provide an exact number as we have to rely on graduates informing us when they have work. We follow-up past-students in order to obtain testimonials from them for our graduates section. We can confidently say that if our students didn't find work after the course the college wouldn't have the great reputation that it has and our courses wouldn't continuously fill.

The two courses are effectively the same, just structured slightly differently to allow for students to work as well as study if they need to. Part-time students are asked to have access to a computer and the design software out of college hours as they are encouraged to do more work in their own time and to practice what they have learnt between classes.

The majority of work can be done during college time although it is beneficial if students use their own time at weekends or between classes in order to research / prepare for briefs. Students are also to keep a Visual Diary throughout the course. Towards the end of the course, when pieces are being finalised for the portfolio, students may have to use their own time in order to complete pieces of work. The recommended homework hours for part-time students is up to five hours per week but this would vary from week to week depending on the current brief. At the end of the day the majority of students complete this course as they want the best possible chance of obtaining a design role when they graduate. Therefore what you put into your work you will get out in the long run.

The lecturers at Shillington College are all passionate professionals who are keen to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of creative talent. The majority of full-time lecturers continue to freelance in their spare time and our part-time lecturers all have full-time roles in the industry. All are exceptional designers and great mentors. There are two lecturers per class and we occasionally swap the teachers around so that students experience lecturers from our other colleges. We also invite guest lecturers to share their knowledge and experiences of the Graphic Design industry.

To be a Graphic Designer you don't necessarily have to be a good artist in the traditional sense. During the course you will need to do some rough sketches (thumbnails) in order to develop your concept before you start working on the computer but your drawing ability will not be scrutinised.

Our course is primarily a print-based graphic design course. We have introduced a 'designing for web' component as we acknowledge the shift to online design and the importance of understanding how to design a web interface using InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.

We always have a number of students who are already working as graphic designers or who have studied at other design colleges, TAFEs or Universities. Their reasons for studying vary. Some are self-taught in the software or studied a long time ago and feel that they need to up-skill, some feel that they need to get the edge back into their commercial work, some feel that their portfolios are lacking and others may feel that their previous courses haven't taught them the real essentials of being a working designer. Whatever the reason, these students benefit enormously from studying the Graphic Design Course at Shillington College even with prior design experience. We also run a Masterclass for working designers so that may be another option for you.

Please request more information and you will be emailed the application form for your chosen location. This contains information on the fees and instalment plans available. All fees are in Australian Dollars.

Additional costs during the course are minimal. At the start of the course you will need an A4 sketch book for your Concept Diary, an A3 sketch book for your Visual Diary, a notebook and pen and an A4 file with plastic sleeves for the college handouts. You will also require a USB or some CDs for backing up your work. At the end of the course your work will need to be professionally printed for your portfolio (allow approximately $50) and you will also need to purchase the portfolio itself. These range between $50 and $200.

While you're a student it is worth investing in the Creative Suite software as you can save up to $2000 on the standard package and up to $2500 on the premium package.

You will not need to buy any books as the colleges have extensive libraries of design books and magazines for your use during college hours.

A home computer is a worthwhile investment for both during and after the course and you may be entitled to a discount on computer hardware while you're a student with us. You will have access to your own computer during college hours but if you are a part-time student you will be required to have access to a computer and the Creative Suite (CS) programs outside of college hours. However, full-time students will also find it beneficial to have a computer out of hours, particularly during the last few weeks of the course.

At Shillington College we teach using Mac computers and you will find that the majority of the industry use the same. However, if you already have a PC at home you can purchase the PC version of the CS programs. There are minimal differences between the Mac and PC versions of CS and you may have an issue with the fonts but there are ways to work around this

The course is Austudy approved if you study with us full-time. You will need to contact Centrelink for more information. Our RTO number is 3527.

We do not have credit card of EFTPOS facilities available at the colleges. Payments are to be made by cheque, money order or cash. We will only allow bank transfers to pay the $980 deposit if you are located outside of Australia or if you are paying for the course in full along with the deposit. Please contact the Studio Manager for more information.

Unfortunately we cannot provide accommodation for you but you may find the links below useful:
Gumtree Sydney / Gumtree Melbourne / Gumtree Brisbane
Flatmate Finders
Domain
Real Estate.com
City Hobo

We usually have a few international students on each course. Your fees will be the same as the local students but you cannot obtain a student visa through the college. Therefore you will need to ensure that you are able to legally remain in the country for the duration of the course. You will need to liaise with your local Australian embassy in order to see if you are eligible to obtain an appropriate visa such as a three month tourist visa or a one year working holiday visa. It is also expected that, if English is not your first language, your English skills are excellent. You will need to have scored at least 5.5 in the IELTS test or have had a verbal interview with the Studio Manager before enroling on the course.

There are 22 places on each course and applications are taken on a first come first served basis. If you are wanting to enrol it is best to get your application in as early as possible. There may sometimes be availability a couple days before a course starts but usually courses fill a month or so in advance so get in quick. We can't enrol you without a completed application form or the deposit. If you wish to go on a waiting list please email the Studio Manager stating the course and location. You will also need to include a contact number. Please note that being on the waiting list does not guarantee you a place on the course but means that if you have missed out but someone cancels or transfers, you may still be able to enrol.

Great! If you request more information you will be emailed an application form. You will need need to print the application form (or wait for the hardcopy that accompanies the brochure in the post), complete and post it to the Studio Manager, L3 50 Margaret Street, Sydney NSW 2000, along with the deposit of AUD980 made payable to Shillington College. Please ensure you read the terms and conditions on the application form.