Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

The Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is a one-year qualification for people who lead learning 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 is shorter and more applied than a master's. At Brisbane College of Horticulture you study how people learn as adults, how training is planned and assessed, and how learning programs are managed and improved. The subject area is curriculum and instruction, so the focus stays on the design and delivery of teaching rather than general business management.

What you study

You work through units of study on adult learning principles, curriculum design, assessment and validation, and the management of learning and development functions. Credit points attach to each unit, and you need to pass the required set to graduate. Teaching is delivered across the institution's academic calendar, which may run as semesters or trimesters, and full-time study over one year is the standard pattern. Assessment is largely practical: designing learning programs, evaluating existing training, and building the evidence an organisation needs to show its training works.

How the qualification is structured

As a graduate diploma, this course sits between a bachelor degree and a master's on the AQF. A bachelor degree is normally three years, an honours year adds one, and a master's is one to two years. The graduate diploma is a focused one-year step that can stand alone or lead into further postgraduate study. Where the course includes a capstone project, it is your chance to apply what you have learned to a real learning problem in an organisation. Work-integrated learning or a professional placement may form part of the course where the field uses it, giving you supervised experience in a workplace setting.

Who it suits

This course suits trainers and assessors who want to move into learning management, HR and organisational development staff who own training budgets, and people from industry who are responsible for bringing new staff up to speed. If you already hold a bachelor degree or can show relevant professional experience, you can apply. International applicants need to meet the English requirement published for the course; the common coursework-postgraduate standard is IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the institution's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. While studying, a student visa generally allows work of 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 under course code 119450H. Confirm all details, including entry requirements and course structure, on the official page.

• Learning and development manager, leading training strategy in private companies, government agencies and not-for-profits.
• Training coordinator, organising and scheduling learning programs across an organisation.
• Curriculum developer, writing and reviewing course materials for registered training organisations and corporate academies.
• Instructional designer, building online and face-to-face learning experiences for education providers and industry.
• Organisational development consultant, helping organisations improve how they build staff capability.
• Vocational education and training (VET) teacher or assessor, delivering and assessing nationally recognised training, subject to the requirements of the relevant regulator.
• Human resources manager with a learning focus, overseeing induction, compliance training and professional development.

These roles appear across Australian industries including education and training, health and community services, government, retail, hospitality, mining and professional services. The qualification also gives you a pathway into further postgraduate study if you want to specialise in adult education or management.