Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies
Overview
Strengthen your leadership expertise and get a professional advantage in your chosen area of education.
This program is suitable for practising teachers, administrators and other educational professionals, as well as professionals in other areas wishing to gain expertise in education. It can be completed in six months full-time — and most fields of study can be completed part-time in one year.
Specialise in one of seven fields of study: Behaviour Management; Curriculum; Guidance, Counselling and Careers; Leadership; Psychology Education; Science of Learning or Supporting Diverse Learners. Depending on your area of specialisation you can choose to complete all aspects of a practicum that focuses on advanced research and teaching interests.
Some pathways offer specific qualifications, while others offer significant professional advantage to educators interested in career advancement or broadening their career options.
Program highlights
- Strengthen your leadership expertise in educational practice, policy and theory.
- Obtain the knowledge and skills required for specialised fields of work.
- Gain qualifications that enhance career advancement and options.
- Improve your research skills by engaging in an extended research-based project.
Fields of study
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
- Behaviour Support
- Curriculum
- Guidance, Counselling and Careers
- Leadership
How you'll learn
Your learning experiences are designed to best suit the learning outcomes of the courses you choose.
- Lectures
- Tutorials
- Work placements
- Overseas study
- Research experience
- Fieldwork
- Seminars
What you'll study
At UQ, degrees are called 'programs' and subjects are called 'courses'. Here's a sample of the courses you could study in this program:
- Foundations in Global Education for International Students
- Foundation of the Science of Learning
- Indigenous knowledge and education
- Contemporary Theories of Development and Learning
Career possibilities
Postgraduate study can take you anywhere. Depending on which field you choose, here are some of the careers you could be on your way to:
- Behaviour management counsellor
- Special needs teacher
- Curriculum planner
- School curriculum adviser
- Career development practitioner
- Guidance counsellor
- Educational administrator
- Multicultural teacher
- School principal
Stories
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Entry requirements
Entry requirements
To be eligible for entry, you'll need:
- a bachelor¿s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline, or
- have completed post-secondary study, plus 2 years full-time professional work experience in a relevant or comparable education setting (see below).
You must have a grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 on a 7-point scale in your previous qualification.
- a bachelor¿s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline, or
- have completed post-secondary study, plus 2 years full-time professional work experience in a relevant or comparable education setting (see below).
You must have a grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 on a 7-point scale in your previous qualification.
Related programs
Depending on your previous qualifications and current goals, you might want to consider
one of these related programs:
English language requirements
IELTS overall 6.5; reading 6; writing 6; speaking 6; listening 6. For other English Language Proficiency Tests and Scores approved for UQ
TOEFL iBT (including Paper Edition) - Overall 87, listening 19, reading 19, writing 21 and speaking 19.
PTE Academic - Overall Score of 64 and 60 in all sub bands.
BE - A minimum overall grade of 4 plus a minimum grade of C in all macro skills.
CES - Overall 176 and 169 in all sub bands.
OET is not accepted.
There are other ways to meet the English language requirements. For some programs, additional conditions apply.
Student visas
International students who are accepted into full-time study in the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies are eligible to apply for an Australian student visa (subclass 500).
There are a number of requirements you must satisfy before a visa is granted, including the Genuine Student (GS) requirement.
Additional application information
Additional application information
Fields of study
Fields of study
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
Develop your knowledge and skills in:
- contemporary, evidence-based practices in behaviour support
- assessment and understanding of the functions of challenging behaviours
- developing and implementing strategies for behaviour interventions across a range of environments
- monitoring and evaluating behaviour support strategies.
This field of study enhances the skills and knowledge of teachers and other professionals in supporting children and young people with challenging behaviours.
It explores contemporary issues associated with curriculum in schooling and education. The field considers priority areas in the Australian curriculum and also offers students the opportunity to study in a core learning area.
This specially designed program of study allows you to develop competencies as a professional guidance counsellor and/or career practitioner for employment in schools, TAFE colleges, agencies, or as a private practitioner. The program focuses on:
- Developing counselling competencies.
- Understanding career development and education across the lifespan.
- Linking assessment practices to instructional interventions.
- Understanding ethical behaviour and practices.
- Developing comprehensive guidance programs.
In such an increasingly complex and uncertain future, transformative leadership competencies encompassing distributive and collaborative domains have become essential.
This field of study is designed for individuals committed to undertaking transformative leadership roles to improve their respective workplaces and make an impact through your professional practice informed by research. It provides leading-edge knowledge and understandings about leadership and management that inform your practice within educational institutions (including schools, colleges and TAFEs), government departments and other organisations.
The field focuses on the skills, knowledge and attitudes required by leaders in our discontinuously changing world, and challenges students to develop as critically reflective, flexible and ethically collaborative change leaders of learners and thinkers.
You'll be provided with opportunities to develop the appropriate content and pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies for a professional learning pathway into senior secondary psychology teaching.
Students with backgrounds other than teaching will develop skills to prepare them for potential employment opportunities and/or subsequent studies aligned with the field of psychology education.
With a focus on school-aged learning, this field of study will strengthen your understanding of the principles of cognitive science across the learning lifespan.
This field is designed for teachers and educators at all stages of their career. You will develop capabilities to critically engage with both research and practice-based evidence to understand effective teaching and learning practices.
Graduates are equipped to consider, translate, apply and evaluate the impact of this science to develop meaningful learning experiences for their students inside the classroom and in other educational contexts.
It develops the skills, knowledge and values for you to teach students with a range of diverse abilities and needs, from those with developmental disabilities to those who may have difficulties in learning, as well as those at risk of school failure or disengagement.
The field focuses on understanding individual, contextual, and systematic factors that affect learning and behaviour for individuals with learning or special needs including issues associated with assessment, curriculum, pedagogy and whole-life learning.
Fields of study
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
Develop your knowledge and skills in:
- contemporary, evidence-based practices in behaviour support
- assessment and understanding of the functions of challenging behaviours
- developing and implementing strategies for behaviour interventions across a range of environments
- monitoring and evaluating behaviour support strategies.
This field of study enhances the skills and knowledge of teachers and other professionals in supporting children and young people with challenging behaviours.
It explores contemporary issues associated with curriculum in schooling and education. The field considers priority areas in the Australian curriculum and also offers students the opportunity to study in a core learning area.
This specially designed program of study allows you to develop competencies as a professional guidance counsellor and/or career practitioner for employment in schools, TAFE colleges, agencies, or as a private practitioner. The program focuses on:
- Developing counselling competencies.
- Understanding career development and education across the lifespan.
- Linking assessment practices to instructional interventions.
- Understanding ethical behaviour and practices.
- Developing comprehensive guidance programs.
In such an increasingly complex and uncertain future, transformative leadership competencies encompassing distributive and collaborative domains have become essential.
This field of study is designed for individuals committed to undertaking transformative leadership roles to improve their respective workplaces and make an impact through your professional practice informed by research. It provides leading-edge knowledge and understandings about leadership and management that inform your practice within educational institutions (including schools, colleges and TAFEs), government departments and other organisations.
The field focuses on the skills, knowledge and attitudes required by leaders in our discontinuously changing world, and challenges students to develop as critically reflective, flexible and ethically collaborative change leaders of learners and thinkers.
You'll be provided with opportunities to develop the appropriate content and pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies for a professional learning pathway into senior secondary psychology teaching.
Students with backgrounds other than teaching will develop skills to prepare them for potential employment opportunities and/or subsequent studies aligned with the field of psychology education.
With a focus on school-aged learning, this field of study will strengthen your understanding of the principles of cognitive science across the learning lifespan.
This field is designed for teachers and educators at all stages of their career. You will develop capabilities to critically engage with both research and practice-based evidence to understand effective teaching and learning practices.
Graduates are equipped to consider, translate, apply and evaluate the impact of this science to develop meaningful learning experiences for their students inside the classroom and in other educational contexts.
It develops the skills, knowledge and values for you to teach students with a range of diverse abilities and needs, from those with developmental disabilities to those who may have difficulties in learning, as well as those at risk of school failure or disengagement.
The field focuses on understanding individual, contextual, and systematic factors that affect learning and behaviour for individuals with learning or special needs including issues associated with assessment, curriculum, pedagogy and whole-life learning.
Fees and Scholarships
Indicative annual fee
Approximate yearly cost of tuition (8 units). Your fees will vary according to your selected courses and study load. Fees are reviewed each year and may increase.
$2,300
2024
Fee information for 2025 is not yet available. Fee information displayed is for 2024.
$2,300
2025
Approximate yearly cost of tuition (8 units). Your fees will vary according to your study load. Fees are reviewed each year and may increase.
AUD $21,600
2024
Fee information for 2025 is not yet available. Fee information displayed is for 2024.
AUD $21,600
2025
Additional costs
- Students are responsible for the cost of transportation and accommodation to attend residential schools or practicals.
Government assistance
Financial aid
As an international student, you might be eligible for financial aid – either from your home country, or from the Australian Government.
HECS-HELP
Domestic places in the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies are Commonwealth Supported. This means the cost of your education is shared between you and the Australian Government.
Instead of tuition fees, Commonwealth Supported students pay what are called student contribution amounts.
HECS-HELP is an Australian Government loan scheme to assist eligible students with the cost of their student contribution amounts.
Centrelink support
The Australian Government offers a number of income-support payments to eligible Australian university students.
Scholarships
You may be eligible for more than 100 scholarships, including:
How to apply
Applying online
All international applications should be submitted to UQ. If you prefer, you can use an approved UQ agent in your country.
The program code for the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies is 5448.
Find out more about applying for postgraduate coursework study
Applying online
All domestic applications should be submitted to UQ.
The program code for the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies is 5448.
Find out more about applying for postgraduate coursework study
Important dates
The closing date for this program is:
- To commence study in semester 2 - May 31 of the year of commencement.
- To commence study in semester 1 - November 30 of the previous year.
To learn more about UQ dates, including semester start dates, view the Academic Calendar.
Important dates
The closing date for this program is:
- To commence study in Semester 1 - January 31 of the year of commencement.
- To commence study in Semester 2 - June 30 of the year of commencement.
To learn more about UQ dates, including semester start dates, view the Academic Calendar.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants
For support with applying – or if you have any questions about university life – get in touch with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit.
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