Graduate Certificate in Public Health

What you will study

To earn the Graduate Certificate in Public Health, you must successfully complete units totalling 24 credit points as detailed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is worth 6 credit points.

Core units

• Understanding Public Health
• Systems Thinking in Public Health
• Research Methods for Public Health

Electives

• Epidemiology and Statistics
• Global Public Health
• Social Innovation and Health: Human-Centred Design Thinking
• Communicable Diseases
• Foundations of First Nations Peoples and Communities Wellbeing in Public Health
• Culturally Informed Public Health Practice
• Foundations of Emergency and Disaster Management
• Environmental Health

Entry requirements

To be eligible for entry into this course, applicants must supply:

• A completed Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Bachelor's degree or higher equivalent qualification.
• Or a completed AQF equivalent Diploma with at least one year of relevant employment experience in health care, wellbeing or social work settings.
• Or a completed Certificate IV from a health, wellbeing or social services Training Package, with a minimum of two years’ employment experience within a relevant field such as health care, wellbeing or social work settings.
• Or a minimum of three years’ employment experience within a relevant field such as health care, wellbeing or social work settings.

Employment experience must be demonstrated as an official letter of employment, presented on company letterhead and signed and dated by a delegated authority. Please ensure that the letter contains your full name, position title, duties performed, employment start date (mm/yyyy) and end date (mm/yyyy) or stating you are still employed, if applicable.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

Suppose you were not born in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa or the United States of America. In that case, you must meet the English Language Proficiency requirements set by the University. Applicants are required to provide evidence of completion of:

• A secondary qualification (Year 11 and 12, or equivalent).
• An Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) diploma-level qualification.
• Bachelor's level qualification study for at least 2 years full-time with a minimum overall GPA of 4.0.

completed within Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland or the United States of America, which will meet the English proficiency.

If you do not satisfy any of the above, you will need to undertake an English language proficiency test and achieve the following scores:

• An International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic) overall band score of at least 6.0 with a minimum 5.5 in each subset.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Requires 550 or better overall and a minimum TWE score of 4.5 (Paper Based Test), or 75 or better overall and no score less than 17 (Internet Based Test).
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) - Requires an overall score of 54 with no sub-score less than 46.
• An Occupational English Test with a Grade of C in each of the four components.

English test results remain valid for no more than two years between the final examination date and the commencement date of study. They must appear on a single result certificate.

If you are an International Student, you can visit our International Students webpage for more information.

Each student will be assessed individually.

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

Career outcomes

The Graduate Certificate in Public Health prepares graduates for work in community-based and community-led services and organisations. You can also work on projects for government and non-government organisations relating to a number of health fields including health promotion and health administration.

Fees and CSP

Estimated first-year tuition fee in 2026: $4,768 (Commonwealth Supported Place).

Estimated first-year tuition fee in 2026: $15,078 (domestic full-fee paying place)

All costs are calculated using current rates and are based on a study load of 24 credit points (normally four units) per year.

A student’s annual fee may vary by:

• The number of units studied per term.
• The choice of major or specialisation.
• Choice of units.

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

Commonwealth Supported Places

The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.

If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you only need to pay some of your tuition fees. The student contribution amount is the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.

Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.

Your student contribution amount is:

• Calculated per unit you're enrolled in.
• Dependent on the study areas they relate to.
• Reviewed and adjusted each year.

HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.

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