Universities in Australia

The following qualifications are offered through universities:

Bachelor degree:
This is the main undergraduate program. It is the basic requirement for most professions and takes three to five years of full-time study. Students may opt to study an additional Honours year. A Bachelor degree is essential if you wish to pursue postgraduate studies.

Graduate Certificate/Postgraduate Certificate:
These programs give you a qualification in a chosen field or expand your existing knowledge and experience. It takes around six months of full-time study and is coursework-based.

Graduate Diploma/Postgraduate Diploma: 
These programs may help you extend your knowledge or move you into a field of expertise different to your undergraduate studies. They may also fulfil pre-requisites for a Masters degree, and they take around one year of full-time study to complete. They are coursework-based.

Masters degree:
These programs allow you to extend your study in a field beyond an undergraduate and honours level. They take between 18 months and three years to complete. Masters may be taken as either coursework or research, or a combination of both.

Master of Philosophy:
These programs develop your independent research skills. They take between 18 months and three years to complete, and are research-based.

Doctorate:
These programs are designed for professionals returning to study to improve their professional practice. They take between two and four years of full-time study to complete and are generally coursework-based.

Doctor of Philosophy:
These programs provide you with the opportunity of advanced study in a specialised field of research. They take between two and four years of full-time study to complete, and are either research-based or are a combination of research and coursework.