Graduate Diploma of Education (Commonwealth supported)

With the ability to choose your specialisations, you can explore your passion for Education and Teaching in so many ways with a Graduate Diploma of Education. It can be helpful to reflect on your professional experience and what you are passionate about when trying to choose your specialisation.

Guidance & Counselling - Extend your current teaching career by developing basic counselling skills and an understanding of the key issues faced by students and how to support them.

Special & Inclusive Education- Enhance your current teaching skillset and develop the specialised knowledge needed to work with students with disabilities and additional learning needs.

When you study Education and Teaching at UniSQ, you are choosing an important stepping stone for your career in education.  Get in touch with one of our iconnect support staff to talk though your Graduate Diploma of Education study options. 

Make the practical choice for your education career and choose a postgraduate Diploma in Education with UniSQ:

• Learn from the best – UniSQ's expert lecturers model the latest teaching approaches ensuring maximum support for face-to-face or online learning.
• We are rated 5/5 stars in Education* for:
  • graduate starting salary
  • overall experience
  • social equity.
  • Our Guidance & Counselling specialisation qualifies you for associate membership to the Queensland Guidance and Counselling Assocation (QGCA) and allows for articulation into the Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling).

By studying a postgraduate Diploma in Education you will enhance your key transferrable skills such as communication, planning, leadership and teaching, opening up career opportunities in a variety of sectors and fields.

^{*Good University Guide, 2024.}

A Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) is a place in a higher education program where the Australian Government shares the cost of your study by paying part of your fees directly to the University. Students in a CSP pay a reduced fee called a “student contribution” and eligible students may defer this portion of their fees to a HELP loan.

Your letter of offer to study a grad dip in Education will indicate if you have been offered a Commonwealth Supported Place. Commonwealth Supported Places are only available to eligible domestic students.

If you don’t qualify for entry into a CSP program, you may qualify for entry into the Graduate Diploma of Education (Full Fee Paying). 

The entry requirements to study a Grad Dip in Education will vary depending on the education provider you choose. At UniSQ you need to have completed an Australian university bachelor's degree, in an education-related discipline.

For further information please view the entry requirements section of this page. 

The main difference between a graduate certificate and graduate diploma is the time it takes to complete each qualification. Compared to the four-five months it takes to finish a graduate certificate, it takes up to 12 months of full-time study to complete the eight units required in a Grad Dip in Education. In both the certificate and diploma, you can opt to study part-time which does increase the time in which it takes to complete the degree.

A Graduate Diploma of Education usually incorporates the same course options as a graduate certificate in the same discipline area but builds on your knowledge from the certificate and advances your skills further. It also has similar coursework subjects as a master's degree in the same study field, but the flexibility of not having to commit to a full master's degree. 

Once you finish your Grad Dip in Education you'll be equipped and in demand for a variety of roles in different settings, including:

• schools
• TAFE
• universities
• government agencies
• disability
• training
• human services
• community based government agencies. 

In today's world, study must be flexible, fitting into your life while not sacrificing the quality of your learning experience and that has been the cornerstone of UniSQ's approach over the past decade. Our postgraduate Diploma in Education is available to study online, giving you the freedom to choose where and when you study. The choice is yours!

• Over 80% of our postgraduate students study online
• Learn from the online experts – benefit from 40+ years of experience delivering distance learning in a dynamic and supportive way.
• As an online student, you’ll receive the same level of support as an on-campus student.