Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

The Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is a one-year postgraduate qualification for people who want to lead learning and development inside organisations. It sits at graduate diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, which means it comes after a bachelor degree or equivalent experience and usually takes one year of full-time study. At Rhodes International College you study a set of units of study, each carrying credit points, and you need to pass the required credit points to graduate. The course code is 113736J and the CRICOS register lists the tuition and other details.

What you actually study

The subject area is curriculum and instruction, so the focus is on how adults learn and how to design and run training that changes what people can do at work. You look at learning theory, how to write curriculum and assessment, how to manage a training function, and how to use data to judge whether a programme worked. Assessment is typically a mix of written work, projects and practical tasks. Because this is a graduate diploma, you are expected to read, write and argue at a postgraduate level, and to bring your own workplace experience into the classroom.

How the qualification is structured

Australian graduate diplomas are made up of units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. The year is usually split into semesters or trimesters, and you enrol in a certain number of units each study period. Some courses include a capstone unit where you pull the whole degree together, often by designing a learning programme for a real organisation. Where the field uses it, work-integrated learning or a professional placement can be part of the course. Confirm the exact unit list, study periods and any placement requirement on the official page before you apply.

Skills you gain

You learn to analyse a performance problem, work out whether training is the right answer, and design a programme that fits the workplace. You practise writing learning outcomes, building assessment tools, facilitating groups, and evaluating results. You also pick up the management side: budgeting a training function, leading a small team, and reporting to senior managers. These are the skills that learning and development teams use every day.

Who it suits

This course suits trainers, HR staff, team leaders and managers who already work with learning and development and want a postgraduate qualification without committing to a two-year master's. It also suits people changing into the field from teaching, operations or human resources. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while you study, and after you finish you may be able to apply for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. English requirements are published by the college; the common coursework-postgraduate standard is IELTS Academic 6.0 to 6.5 overall, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the college's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself.

• Learning and development manager, leading the training function in banks, insurers, retailers, government agencies and large not-for-profits.
• Training coordinator, organising programmes, schedules and providers across an organisation.
• Instructional designer, writing curriculum, e-learning and assessment for corporate, government or vocational education providers.
• Corporate trainer, delivering face-to-face and online training in fields such as compliance, safety, customer service and leadership.
• Human resources officer with a learning focus, linking training to performance, capability and workforce planning.
• Training consultant, advising organisations on learning strategy, either in-house or through a consultancy.
• Vocational education and training (VET) trainer or assessor, teaching and assessing in registered training organisations, subject to the separate requirements of that role.
• Education administrator, managing programmes and quality in schools, colleges and training providers.

Australian employers in government, health, mining, banking, retail and community services all run internal learning teams, and the VET sector is a large employer of people with curriculum and instruction skills. Confirm current requirements for any role you are targeting, especially where registration or a specific training qualification is needed.