The School of Design Studies is an integral part of the College of Fine Arts in the University of New South Wales. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in design.

Design, at the beginning of the 21st Century, stands as an activity and a profession on the edge of a challenging future. Ecological, ethical, economic and social concerns demand their appropriate integration with design's traditional focus on aesthetic form and functional utility. The pressure to integrate these concerns, previously considered peripheral to the manufacturers' ( and therefore the designers' ) principal goal of profit, is profound. Achieving this comprehensive goal is becoming more and more dependent on the way in which designers are able to conceive and develop responsible, appropriate and exciting solutions to the many and varied new design problems facing humanity.

The multi-dimensional nature of these design problems demands an inter-disciplinary approach that transcends the traditional design disciplines. Such an approach requires the education of designers who can meet the challenge to be flexible.

Reflecting this interdisciplinary approach the School adopts the principle of 'design as the discipline' rather than any particular area of design practice (ie: Graphic Design or Product/Industrial Design, Jewellery Design, Ceramic Design, Textile Design or Interior Design). Such an approach analyses the problem-solving processes in those design disciplines for the common, fundamental principles and strategies that may be creatively applied to a broad range of design challenges.

Room F1Q6, 1st Floor, F Block
College of Fine Arts
Cnr. Oxford Street & Greens Road, Paddington.