Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

The Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is a two-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 is a shorter, more applied qualification than a master's degree. You study units of management, adult learning, instructional design, assessment and evaluation, and you build a portfolio of work that shows you can plan, deliver and review learning programmes in a real business setting.

The course is structured around units of study, each carrying credit points. Most Australian institutions run postgraduate coursework across two or three trimesters a year, and you enrol in a set number of units each trimester. The two-year duration reflects the full sequence of units, including any work-integrated learning or professional placement component. Where the field uses it, placement gives you supervised hours in a workplace, and you keep a log of your practice and a reflective journal. Credit for prior study is described in units of study and credit points, and you apply for it through the institution's credit transfer process.

You learn how to write learning outcomes, choose assessment methods, design face-to-face and online materials, and use data to judge whether a programme worked. You also cover the management side: budgets, stakeholder engagement, compliance with Australian vocational education and training standards, and leading a team of trainers or educators. Group projects and case studies are common, and you present to peers and industry panels. The final part of the course often includes a capstone project where you solve a learning problem for a real organisation.

This qualification suits trainers, HR professionals, team leaders and teachers who want to move into learning and development management or educational leadership. It also suits people changing careers into corporate training or vocational education. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and after you finish you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. English entry is commonly IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall for coursework postgraduate study, though teaching, nursing, medicine, law and social work ask for 7.0–7.5. TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the institution's own English programmes are accepted as equivalents, and the Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register. Check the official page for current unit lists, placement requirements and intake dates.

• Learning and development manager, leads training strategy and teams in banks, insurers, retailers, government agencies and professional services firms.
• Training coordinator, schedules and runs training programmes in large organisations, hospitals, councils and not-for-profits.
• Instructional designer, builds online and blended courses for education technology companies, universities and corporate academies.
• Vocational education and training (VET) trainer and assessor, delivers and assesses competency-based programmes in registered training organisations and TAFE.
• Human resources business partner with a learning focus, connects training to performance and workforce planning in mining, construction, health and public administration.
• Education manager or programme coordinator, runs a department or programme in private colleges, community education providers and corporate universities.
• Consultant, advises organisations on learning design, capability frameworks and compliance training.