AU · Bachelor's
Torrens University Australia (Billy Blue College of Design)
Bachelor of Interior Design (Residential)
Torrens University Australia (Billy Blue College of Design)
Deadline detail: Rolling — apply 4 months ahead
Course Overview
Billy Blue College of Design is the design faculty of Torrens University Australia, and it runs the Bachelor of Interior Design (Residential) over three years full-time across the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane campuses. It is worth being precise about the name: Billy Blue does not offer a generic 'Bachelor of Design' with specialisations — each design discipline is its own separately titled degree, and this is the residential-interiors one. A separate Bachelor of Interior Design (Commercial) covers workplace, hospitality and retail interiors at the Sydney campus.
The degree is studio-led. Students work through 24 subjects covering spatial design and planning, colour and materiality, lighting, technical documentation and construction detailing, CAD and 3D visualisation (AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit and the Adobe suite), sustainable and adaptive design, and the professional practice of running a design project with a client and a budget. Assessment is portfolio-driven rather than exam-driven, and the final year is built around a major project that becomes the graduating portfolio piece.
International tuition is AUD 37,500 a year — AUD 112,500 across the three years on Torrens' published 2026 international fee schedule, at a standard subject fee of AUD 4,688. That is mid-range for an Australian bachelor's degree and materially below the Group of Eight universities, which is the trade Billy Blue asks you to make: a vocational, portfolio-first design education with strong industry contact rather than a research university's name. Sydney and Melbourne living costs are the larger part of the total budget.
One condition matters for visa holders: Torrens delivers many of these degrees in both on-campus and online modes, but a student visa allows no more than one third of subjects to be taken online. That has to be managed at enrolment each term, not assumed. For Sri Lankan applicants coming from an art, design or technology stream at A/L, or from a diploma at AOD, Raffles Colombo or a similar institution, this is one of the more accessible routes into an accredited Australian design degree.
Entry Requirements
Academic
- check_circle An Australian senior secondary certificate or an equivalent senior secondary qualification — Sri Lankan Cambridge or Edexcel A-Levels, GCE A/L, or the IB Diploma are assessed against that standard.
- check_circle Alternatively, completion of at least 0.25 EFTSL of study at AQF Level 6, or 0.5 EFTSL at AQF Level 5 or above — which is the route for applicants holding a design diploma from AOD, Raffles Colombo or a comparable institution.
- check_circle No specific subject prerequisites are published for entry, but a portfolio of drawing, spatial or visual work strengthens an application and is worth assembling regardless.
- check_circle Mature-age and prior-learning routes are assessed on approval of prior study or an assessment of relevant experience.
- check_circle As an international student you must not enrol in more than one third of your subjects online — this is a student-visa condition, not a Torrens preference, and it has to be managed each study period.
English Proficiency
- check_circle IELTS Academic: 6.0 Overall with no band below 5.5.
- check_circle Equivalent scores in TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic or Cambridge English are accepted; Torrens publishes the equivalences on its English requirements page.
- check_circle Entry is also possible through assessment or approval of prior study conducted in English, which is assessed case by case rather than granted automatically.
- check_circle No blanket medium-of-instruction waiver is stated for Sri Lankan schooling, so plan to sit IELTS and confirm any exemption in writing before skipping it.
- check_circle Torrens offers English language pathway programmes for applicants who fall short, which extend the timeline and must be factored into the visa plan.
Estimated Cost of Study
| Expense Category | Amount (AUD) | Approx. LKR |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fee (per year, international) | AUD 37,500 | Rs. 7,875,000 |
| Accommodation in Sydney / Melbourne (12 months) | AUD 18,000 | Rs. 3,780,000 |
| Living Expenses, Food & Transport (12 months) | AUD 11,000 | Rs. 2,310,000 |
| Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) | AUD 750 | Rs. 157,500 |
| Student Visa, Materials & Software | AUD 2,600 | Rs. 546,000 |
| Total Year 1 Investment | AUD 69,850 | Rs. 14,668,500 |
*LKR conversion based on current bank rates. Subject to change.
Career Outcomes & PR
A completed Australian bachelor's degree qualifies graduates to apply for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) in the Post-Higher Education Work stream, which grants two years of full work rights — subject to the age limit and the other criteria in force at the time of application. Billy Blue names Vogue Australia, BVN Architecture and the designer Sibella Court among the destinations its interior-design graduates have worked with, and states that 95% of its interior-design graduates are employed within twelve months of finishing. Typical roles are interior designer, interior decorator, spatial and styling consultant, design documentation specialist, and studio or project coordinator with residential architecture and building firms. Sri Lankan returnees route into residential and hospitality interiors practices in Colombo, the design and fit-out arms of the large construction groups, the interiors teams serving the hotel sector, and the furniture and homewares brands — an Australian portfolio-based design degree is well recognised in that market.
Related Programs
Bachelor of Architectural Design
RMIT University
Bachelor of Design (Architecture Major)
University of Melbourne (Melbourne School of Design)
Bachelor of Design
Monash University (Monash Art, Design and Architecture)
Ready to Start Your Journey?
Our counsellors have helped hundreds of Sri Lankan students secure placements in AU. We handle everything from applications to visa processing — and it starts with a free, in-person visit to one of our three offices.
ඔබට සුදුසු විශ්වවිද්යාලයක් තේරීම, අයදුම්පත් යොමු කිරීම, SOP සකස් කිරීම සහ වීසා ලබා ගැනීම ඇතුළු සෑම පියවරකදීම, ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් සියලුම වගකීම් විශ්වාසවන්තව අප භාර ගනිමු.
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- location_on Rajagiriya (head office) 8th Floor, Jana Jaya City Mall, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
- location_on Jaffna 158 Hospital Road, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- location_on Matara No. 474 New Tangalle Road, Matara, Sri Lanka
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