Diploma of Performing Arts (Comedy)

The Diploma of Performing Arts (Comedy) at Collarts is a one-year, full-time course for people who want to write and perform comedy, not just study it. You spend your time doing the things working comedians do: generating material, workshopping it in front of an audience, rewriting, and getting back up to do it again. Expect classes in stand-up, sketch and improvisation, alongside writing for stage, screen and online. You'll also look at the business side — how to book gigs, record a set, build an audience and manage the money that comes in.

The diploma runs over 40 weeks and is structured the Australian way, with units of study and credit points across the year. Assessment is practical: live performance, written scripts, recorded material and collaborative projects. You'll perform in front of real audiences as part of your assessment, often in Melbourne's comedy rooms and at Collarts' own performance spaces. There's group work too, because comedy is rarely a solo job — writers' rooms, sketch teams and festival line-ups all depend on people who can take a note and give one.

This is an AQF diploma, which sits below a bachelor degree. It's a hands-on qualification, and if you want to keep going, many students use it as a pathway into a degree with credit for what they've already done. The skills you build are specific: joke structure, timing, stagecraft, microphone technique, character work, improvisation, and the discipline to write when you don't feel funny. You'll also learn to give and take feedback without falling apart, which is half the job.

It suits school leavers who've been doing open mics, people changing careers who've always wanted to try comedy, and performers from other fields — theatre, music, broadcasting — who want to add comedy to what they do. International students should note the English requirement: IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the usual standard for courses at this level, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and Collarts' own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa. While studying, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight, and after graduating you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register — check the official page for current fees, intake dates and entry requirements.

• Stand-up comedian
• Sketch writer and performer
• Improviser
• Comedy writer for television, radio and online
• Podcast host or producer
• Social media content creator
• MC or host for live events
• Voice actor
• Comedy festival performer or producer
• Roles in the Australian live performance, broadcast, streaming and advertising industries