Graduate Diploma in Management

The Graduate Diploma in Management at Ozford Institute of Higher Education is a one-year qualification for people who want a grounding in how organisations run without committing to a full MBA. You'll study the core areas of business administration: managing people and teams, marketing, finance and budgeting, operations, and the legal and ethical context Australian organisations work in. Assessment is typically a mix of assignments, case studies, group projects and exams rather than one final test.

How the qualification works

As a graduate diploma, this sits at AQF level 8, above a bachelor degree, below a master's. It's usually made up of eight units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, delivered over trimesters or semesters across the year. Some institutions build in a capstone unit where you work through a real business problem, and many offer the option to move into a master's afterwards with credit for the units you've already passed. Check the official course page for the exact unit list, credit point values and study periods.

What you'll learn

By the end you should be able to read a set of financial statements, put together a marketing or business plan, manage a project and a small team, and explain your decisions to a board or client. Group work is common, partly because that's how Australian workplaces operate, and partly because employers ask about it at interview.

Who it suits

This suits three groups: graduates from a non-business field who want business skills on their CV, people already working in industry who need formal management training, and international students who want an Australian qualification without the two-year time and cost of an MBA. International students on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, confirm your own eligibility with the Department of Home Affairs. English requirements for international applicants are IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall for coursework postgraduate study, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 107424J.

Graduates typically move into roles such as:

• Team leader or supervisor
• Operations coordinator
• Business development officer
• Project officer
• Account or client manager
• Retail or hospitality manager
• Administration or office manager

These roles sit across banking and finance, professional services, retail, hospitality, logistics, health administration, government and not-for-profits. Many graduates use the qualification to move from a technical or frontline job into a management track, or to formalise experience they already have.