Diploma of Marketing and Communication

The Diploma of Marketing and Communication is a one-year qualification for people who want to work in marketing, advertising, public relations or communications. You study how customers behave, how to write copy that sells, how to plan campaigns across digital and traditional channels, and how to measure whether any of it worked. Assessment is practical: you build campaign plans, write social media and content pieces, present pitches, and work through briefs like the ones you would get from a client or an employer.

The diploma sits at the diploma level of the Australian Qualifications Framework, below a bachelor degree and above a certificate IV. It is delivered over one year, and like most Australian courses it is structured around units of study, each carrying credit points. You complete a set number of core units plus electives, and if you later go on to a bachelor degree, many institutions will give you credit for the units you have already passed. Confirm the exact unit list, credit point values and any pathway arrangements with WIN College before you enrol.

Teaching mixes classroom work with industry-style projects. Where the course includes work-integrated learning, you may spend time on a placement or work on a live brief with a real organisation, which is common in marketing and communication qualifications because employers want to see what you can produce. You finish with a portfolio of work you can show at interviews. The skills you come out with are the ones the job ads ask for: writing for different audiences, planning a campaign from brief to evaluation, using analytics to read results, and managing social media and content.

This course suits school leavers who want a fast, practical entry into marketing rather than a three-year degree, career changers moving into communications, and people already working in admin, sales or small business who need formal marketing skills. It also works as a stepping stone: complete the diploma, then use credit towards a bachelor degree if you want to go further. International students should check the official CRICOS listing and the WIN College page for current tuition, intake dates, English requirements and visa conditions. The Student visa generally allows you to work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, depending on the course and visa rules at the time.

• Marketing assistant or coordinator
• Digital marketing assistant
• Social media coordinator
• Communications officer
• Public relations assistant
• Content writer or copywriter
• Advertising account coordinator
• Market research assistant

These roles sit in advertising and media agencies, in-house marketing teams, not-for-profits, government communications units, retail and e-commerce businesses, and professional services firms across Australia. Some graduates use the diploma as a pathway into a bachelor degree with credit for prior study.