Graduate Diploma of Business Administration

What you will study

To earn the Graduate Diploma of Business Administration, you must successfully complete units totalling 8 credit points, as detailed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is worth 1 credit point.

Core units

• Strategy and Innovation Management: Managing Value and Risk
• Financial Decision Making
• Creating Value for Sustainable Business Practice
• Marketing, Consumers, and the Marketplace
• Enterprise Optimisation and Transformation
• Leading People in Organisations

Open elective units

Students must also complete 2 credit points from eligible postgraduate level 7 electives available across Deakin University, subject to availability and meeting any prerequisites.

Alternatively, eligible students may combine approved 0.5-credit-point Deakin Stackable Short Courses. Up to four approved Stackable Short Courses may be combined to complete the 2-credit-point elective requirement. Any Stackable Short Courses used for credit must collectively equal a whole number of credit points.

Open electives may also include eligible Work Integrated Learning units, subject to availability and any applicable participation or student-check requirements.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

To be eligible for this course, applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:

• Successful completion of a bachelor’s degree in any discipline, plus at least three years of relevant work experience, or part-time equivalent.
• Successful completion of a graduate certificate in a related discipline, plus at least three years of relevant work experience, or part-time equivalent.

For either admission pathway, the relevant work experience must include at least two years in a managerial or professional role involving decision-making responsibilities. These may include budgetary oversight, staffing and management, strategic planning and development or operational implementation.

The university considers applicants’ academic history, work and life experience and individual circumstances. Meeting the minimum academic and English language requirements does not guarantee admission.

Supporting documents

Applicants must provide:

• A current CV clearly demonstrating relevant professional or managerial experience.
• Current contact details for two referees who can be contacted regarding their work experience.
• A one-page statement explaining how their professional experience would contribute value to their peers in the course.

English language requirements

Applicants must provide evidence of at least one of the following:

• A bachelor’s degree completed in a recognised English-speaking country.
• An IELTS overall score of 6.5, with no individual band score below 6.0, or an accepted equivalent.
• Other accepted evidence of English language proficiency.

Contact the university for further information.

Recognition of Prior Learning

You may be eligible for recognition of prior learning if you have previously studied or have relevant work experience. This will help reduce the number of units you need to study to finish your course. Contact the university for more information.

Outcomes

Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental business principles and concepts, integrate own business expertise to develop insights into complex, contemporary business issues and apply this to address emerging global business trends and challenges.
• Demonstrate high-level communication skills to articulate various business concepts and their application.
• Use digital technologies to obtain, organise and disseminate complex business information.
• Critically analyse and evaluate business data and information, complex ideas and theories and their application in an organisational environment.
• Apply problem-solving skills to analyse, develop and recommend solutions for complex business issues.
• Demonstrate an understanding of global business issues and social and cultural contexts that influence them.

Career outcomes

Graduates may pursue opportunities across:

• Strategic management and planning
• Organisational transformation
• Financial planning and management
• Corporate governance
• Human resource management
• Marketing

Fees and FEE-HELP

Indicative annual fee in 2026: $40,000 (Full-fee paying place)

Indicative annual fees are based on your first year of study.

A student’s annual fee may vary by:

• The number of units studied.
• Choice of units.
• Credit from previous study or work experience.
• Eligibility for government-funded loans.

Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.