590 study hours over the duration of the course.

It’s the same whether you study
• 3 months full-time on-campus (486 campus hours + 8 hours of homework per week).
• 9 months part-time on-campus (280 campus hours + 8 hours of homework per week).
• 9 months part-time online (350 live online classroom hours + 6 hours of homework per week).

You can stay up to date with Shillington’s ongoing approach and response to Covid-19 at our dedicated Shillington Updates for our 6 campuses page.

Over the past 20 years we’ve developed an innovative approach to help students achieve amazing results in a seriously short amount of time. Ask our graduates—it’s completely different to any other course or classroom! Our intensive, fast-paced course isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a go-getter who wants to learn quickly and efficiently, Shillington’s right for you.

Absolutely. Our student work speaks for itself and Shillington graduates build incredible creative careers. Our graphic design course is expertly planned to teach technical skills, cover design theory and ingrain creative principles to help you create a well-rounded portfolio. Read more on the blog in Learn Graphic Design Fast or Fast, Good or Cheap. And if you want to hear it straight from our graduates, check out 21 Unbiased Shillington Reviews.

Yes! Our part-time graphic design course is now available online.

Shillington prepares you for a wide variety of creative careers. Upskilling in design helps you put your best foot forward on the job hunt. You could work in digital design like Louise at either a small or large agency, focus on publishing like Kelly or packaging like at a boutique studio like Roo. There’s even opportunities to take on freelance clients or even build your own business like Ina. The list is endless! Learn more about potential design careers in What is Graphic Design? or scroll through our graduates’ profiles on LinkedIn.

If you study at Shillington in Australia, you will receive a Certificate IV in Design RTO Code 3527 and a portfolio showcasing your best work. We run a Certificate IV course because it allows greater flexibility with our course content. It means we can focus on teaching what is practical and relevant.

If you study at Shillington in New  York, you will receive a certificate of completion and create portfolio showcasing your best work. We are licensed by the United States Department of Education.

In the United Kingdom and for our Online course, you will receive a certificate of completion and create portfolio showcasing your best work. In the UK and Online, we teach a commercially-driven portfolio course which prepares you for working in the graphic design industry. We are not educationally accredited.

When employing a graphic designer, most employers will look at your portfolio before they look at your qualifications. Your portfolio shows the quality of your work, level of technical skill and your practical knowledge more than a certificate can. For more, read Checklist to Become an Employable Graphic Designer and What Creative Recruiters Really Think of Shillington Graduates on the blog.

We encourage students to tackle their job hunt independently, but provide assistance along the way. During the course we make sure students are confident presenting their portfolio for future interviews. Students who give 100% to their studies are in an excellent position to land their first design job. We have a Jobs Board for employers seeking Shillington graduates and frequently share career advice on the blog.

Totally up to you! It depends on your availability and learning style. Full-time is an immersive 3 months (Monday to Friday, 8:00am—5:00pm). Part-time is 9 months, there are three options: Online three nights a week, In person two nights a week or Sundays (New York and London only), and a good fit for students who work full-time or have other major commitments. But apart from the duration, the full-time and part-time curriculum is identical—students create the same high quality work and get similar jobs after graduation.

Please apply at least 1 month before classes start to secure your spot.

Contact us for last-minute applications.

There’s no prior design experience required. Basic computer skills are a must for all of our courses globally. To ensure you succeed in the course, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the tools—Zoom, Slack and Gmail (Google Drive).

Additionally, US students need to provide an official copy of their High School Diploma/Transcript (or the equivalent) and confirm language proficiency since our fast-paced course is taught in English.

We can accept students in London and Manchester who are Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) Visa holders, European Union (EU) members, European Economic Area (EEA) members and Swiss citizens. Find out more about studying design abroad!

We can accept students in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane who are Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) eVisitor (Subclass 651), Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417), Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462), Electronic Travel Authority (Subclass 601) Visa) holders or New Zealand citizens. (Please note: Shillington is not CRICOS registered.) Find out more about studying design abroad!

For the online course, there’s no design experience required! Our curriculum suits learners at every level. We just need to confirm language proficiency since our fast-paced course is taught in English and will require basic computer literacy.

Yes! We offer the M-1 Student Visa at our New York campus in the United States. Find out more about studying design abroad. You can also check out videos from Chrystal Christie, who travelled from Sydney to New York to study. Watch her experience exploring NYC as a design student!

Our fast-paced course is taught in English, so we need to confirm all students’ language proficiency before the course starts. We’ll contact you for a quick verbal interview.

We’ll send a list of suggested supplies once you’ve enrolled, but students should expect to have a working computer (Mac preferred with Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma installed), general school supplies (sketchbook, pens, USB drive) and budget for portfolio and poster printing at the end of the course.

Membership to The Guide is included for all students enrolled at Shillington. After graduating, continuing access is available for a small monthly cost.

We typically offer half scholarships for our September intake across all six campuses. For future scholarship announcements, sign up for our e-mail list and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to be the first to know!

Yes! Check out this full list of awards won by Shillington students and graduates.

Yes! We’re proud to partner with Plenti for a simple, flexible, gimmick-free loan option for our full-time and part-time courses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Learn more.

Unfortunately financial aid is not available to our students in the United States.

Yes. All of our teachers are practising graphic designers and we regularly welcome industry guest lecturers to share insights and experience. Check out industry connections and our Industry Interviews on the blog.

Visit Info sessions and Graduation to find out about upcoming Shillington events.

Definitely! You can check out our campus at an Info Session. If you can’t make an Info Session, contact your desired campus directly and we’ll schedule the best time for a one-on-one meeting and campus tour

Totally! You can check out our campus at an Info Session. And if you can’t make an Info Session, contact your desired campus directly and we’ll schedule the best time for a one-on-one meeting and campus tour.

Creativity never sleeps, so you can expect to work outside of classroom hours. We set the minimum homework requirement as 8 hours per week for the on campus classes and 6 hours a week for the online class, but you’ll find that some weeks might not have much homework. It ebbs and flows! But we definitely recommend allowing more time towards the end when you’re finishing off your portfolio—it will definitely pay off.

Our course is intensive, so you’ll need to commit to missing no more than four days if studying full-time, six nights if studying part-time in-person or 9 nights if studying online.

Course fees vary between our six international campuses. Visit course dates and fees to learn more.

Love travel and design? Consider studying abroad! Check your exchange rate and visa options—significant financial savings are possible depending on your currency.

Our course curriculum and teaching methods are identical across all six campuses. Course fees vary between campus due to cost-of-living

If a student withdraws prior to course commencement, their deposit will be refunded. All requests for withdrawal must be made in writing.

Our terms and conditions are different for each country: Shillington New York Terms & Conditions, Shillington United Kingdom Terms & Conditions, Shillington Australia Terms & Conditions and Shillington Online Terms & Conditions.

We’ll take you through the creative process from beginning to end—integrating idea generation, technical knowledge, design theory and studio skills at every step. Visit our course and approach to learn more.

Our course has a focus on digital design across platforms like mobile, tablet and web. We teach students Figma, run in-class workshops on UI and UX design and keep our course up-to-date with industry standards. Read more about how we keep our finger on the pulse in Decades of Digital. We don’t teach code but don’t worry—most studios outsource this kind of work to developers. In graphic design, it’s the user interface that matters. We cover this in our curriculum. Find out more in our course and approach.

Our graphic design course is ideal for current creatives to revive software skills and enhance their understanding of the design fundamentals. If your software skills are self-taught, we’ll teach you how to work smoothly and efficiently across the Adobe Creative Suite. Or if your current portfolio isn’t up-to-scratch, we’ll help you craft a collection of your best work, showcasing an ability to work across a wide range of briefs. Meet 20 Inspiring Designers Who Studied at Shillington After Creative Degrees or Diplomas.

Throughout the course, you’ll take 10 quizzes on topics like typesetting, quick keys and design terminology. They’re quick and painless, and your teachers will give plenty of notice to prepare.

We recommend the use of Mac computers since it’s the design industry standard. A minimum of 8GB RAM is recommended to keep things running nice and fast. Depending on your budget, we recommend either a MacBook Pro or an iMac.

If you do not have access to a Mac computer—please note that, as a student, you are are required to have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma and a computer that supports these programs outside of the classroom, for the duration of the course.

You need to purchase a subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat). Unfortunately Shillington students are not eligible for a student discount in the United States.

You will also need to download Figma, a digital design app, and Slack, an industry relevant communication tool. These are both free. During class time, we also utilise Google Drive to back up work—meaning you can open your work at home. This, in turn, means you’ll need to have your own Google account.

Not at all. During the course you will need to do rough sketches in order to develop ideas, but your drawing ability will not be judged. Design is about conveying ideas effectively, not creating artistic masterpieces. We’ll guide you through what you need to know.

Shillington course fees are the same for domestic students and students from overseas. Find out more about studying design abroad!

At this time, Shillington students are not eligible for student discounts on their subway fees. Students commuting from New Jersey via the NJ Transit are eligible for a discounted monthly rail pass. Student applications can be found at your local train station.

We don’t provide student housing, but in New York we recommend researching options on Airbnb, Craigslist, 92Y Residence, EHS Student Living, Behomm and Homestay.