D0501 Diploma of Higher Education

This course consists of two parts: Part A. Foundation studies and Part B. Discipline studies within the area of study corresponding to your chosen stream.

Part A. Foundation studies

The two foundation knowledge units will provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to be an independent learner who can succeed at university studies. You will develop enhanced writing and critical reading skills and learn how to produce essays and reports that present a critical argument and adhere to the conventions of academic presentation. You will also learn how to get the most out of lectures, tutorials and learning materials and understand the expectations of university studies.

Part B. Discipline studies

You will complete six specialist discipline knowledge units. These units will introduce you to foundation mathematical principles and applications (if required for your destination course), the fundamentals of your chosen stream and will ensure you have the knowledge and skills necessary to take the next step in your higher education studies.

Course progression map

The course progression maps provide guidance on unit enrolment for each semester of study.

The course comprises 48 credit points structured into two parts: Part A. Foundation studies (12 credit points) and Part B. Discipline studies (36 credit points) from your chosen stream of study.

Units are 6 credit points unless otherwise stated.

Part A. Foundation studies (12 credit points)

You must complete:

• EDF1010 Learning in a university context
• EDF1011 Knowledge and context or EDF1012 Mathematics for tertiary study *

* EDF1012 is a compulsory mathematics unit for students enrolled in the education stream and the learning design and technology stream.

Part B. Discipline studies (36 credit points)

You must complete the units listed in your chosen destination stream.

Arts

Arts discipline knowledge (36 credit points)

You must complete one of the following sequences and the associated units listed:

Arts (36 credit points)

Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts streams

You must complete six units, comprising:

• Two level 1 units (12 credit points) selected from a Faculty of Arts major*
• Two level 1 units (12 credit points) selected from any remaining Faculty of Arts major* or minor*
• Two level 1 units (12 credit points) selected from any remaining Faculty of Arts course or area of study^

*May include: Anthropology; Archaeology and ancient history; Behavioural studies; Chinese studies; Communications and media studies; Criminology; European languages (includes: French; German studies; Italian studies; Spanish and Latin American studies); Film and screen studies; Gender studies; Global Asia (includes Chinese; Indonesian; Japanese; Korean language units); History; Health humanities; Geography and sustainable societies; Human rights and social justice; Indigenous studies; Indonesian studies; International relations; Japanese studies; Jewish studies (minor only); Journalism; Korean studies; Linguistics and English Language; Literary studies; Music; Philosophy; Politics; and Sociology, Theatre and performance studies (minor only). For more information visit the Faculty of Arts, Areas of Study handbook entry.

^enrolment is subject to meeting any pre/co-requisite requirements

Criminology (36 credit points)

• ATS1420 The global crime problem
• ATS1421 Understanding crime
• ATS1422 Crime prevention and crime control
• ATS1423 Criminal justice in practice
• Two level 1 units to be selected from any Faculty of Arts course or area of study

International Relations (36 credit points)

•  ATS1056 Geopolitical security in the Indo-Pacific
•  ATS1071 Introduction to politics
•  ATS1873 Introduction to international relations
•  ATS1945 Issues in Australian politics and government
•  Two level 1 units to be selected from any Faculty of Arts course or area of study

Media Communication (36 credit points)**

**If you choose this stream, you are required to attend Caulfield campus for a minimum of two units

Core studies (12 credit points)

• ATS1206 Media challenges
• ATS1119 Communicating in the digital era

Foundation studies (24 credit points)

You must complete two units (12 credit points) from two of the following listed specialisations.

Journalism (12 credit points)

• ATS1089 Fundamentals of journalism
• ATS1090 Practice of journalism

Media (12 credit points)

• ATS1279 Media and culture
• ATS1280 Understanding the media

Screen (12 credit points)

• ATS1304 Introduction to television studies
• ATS1305 Introduction to film studies

Public relations (12 credit points)

• ATS1125 Public relations foundations
• ATS1060 Celebrities, influencers and promotion

Business (Not offered in 2027)

You must complete:

a. Five of the following units (30 credit points):

• ACF1001 Accounting fundamentals or ACF1100 Introduction to financial accounting
• BTF1010 Business law
• BFF1001 Foundations of finance
• ECF1100 Microeconomics
• ETF1100 Business statistics
• MGF1010 Introduction to management
• MKF1120 Marketing theory and practice
• MTH1010 Functions and their applications*

* If you do not meet the mathematics prerequisites of your destination degree you must complete this unit.

b. One level-one unit from one of the following majors (6 credit points):**

Accounting

Banking and finance

Business law

Business management

Economics and business strategy

Human resource management

International business

Marketing

Sustainability and responsible management 

Taxation

** The choice of unit lays the foundation for the major in B2000 Bachelor of Business.

Commerce (Not offered in 2027)

You must complete:

a. Five of the following units (30 credit points):

• ACC1001 Accounting fundamentals or ACC1100 Introduction to financial accounting 
• BTC1110 Commercial law
• ECC1000 Principles of microeconomics
• ETC1000 Business and economic statistics
• MGC1010 Introduction to management
• MKC1200 Principles of marketing
• MTH1010 Functions and their applications*

* If you do not meet the mathematics prerequisites of your destination degree you must complete this unit.

b. One level-one unit from one of the following majors (6 points):**

Accounting

Behavioural commerce

Economics

Finance

Management studies

Marketing science

Sustainability and responsible management 

** The choice of unit lays the foundation for the major in B2001 Bachelor of Commerce.

Education

You must complete the required level 1 units from one of the following destination specialisation options (24 credit points):

Primary and secondary education:

You must complete the following units (36 credit points):

• EDF1023 Secondary professional experience 1L (0 credit points)
• EDF1058 Learn to learn, learn to teach
• EDF1059 Fostering classroom culture
• EDF1079 Digital technologies
• EDF1084 English and literacies 1
• two level-one discipline units (in sequence)* (12 credit points) 

* This pair of discipline units will determine the subject area you will go on to qualify in to teach at secondary school level once you are a registered teacher. Discipline sequences can be chosen from a range of study areas, including: English as an additional language (EAL), English, humanities (e.g. accounting, business management,  economics, geography, health, history, legal studies and social education), languages, media, music and science (e.g. biology, chemistry, general science, psychology, physics).

Primary education double degree courses:

You must complete the following units (36 credit points):

Note: students progressing through this pathway may take longer than the standard 4 years course duration.

• EDF1022 Primary professional experience 1L (0 credit points)
• EDF1058 Learn to learn, learn to teach
• EDF1084 English and literacies 1
• two units to commence a major sequence**  (12 credit points) 
• two units to commence a minor sequence**  (12 credit points) 

** Major and minor sequences of study are chosen from the partner degree course in the destination double degree, i.e. from arts, business, or science.

Credit of up to 48 cp for the following destination courses:

• D30021 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Education and Bachelor of Arts
• D30051 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Education and Bachelor of Science
• D30071 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Education and Bachelor of Business

Note: Extended majors are not available in the Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Education and Bachelor of Science.

Secondary education double degree courses:

You must complete the following units (36 credit points):

Note: students progressing through this pathway may take longer than the standard 4 years course duration.

• EDF1023 Secondary professional experience 1L (0 credit points)
• EDF1058 Learn to learn, learn to teach
• EDF1059 Fostering classroom culture
• two units to commence a first discipline***  (12 credit points) 
• two units to commence a second discipline***  (12 credit points) 

*** The two pairs of discipline units will determine the two subject areas you will go on to qualify in to teach at secondary school level once you are a registered teacher. Discipline sequences of study are chosen from the partner degree of the destination double degree from the following areas: accounting, biology, business management, chemistry, drama, economics, English as an additional language (EAL), English, general science, geography, health, history, information and communication technology, languages, legal studies, mathematics, media studies, music, physics, physical education, psychology, social education, and fine art.

Credit of up to 48 cp for the following destination courses:

• D30022 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Arts
• D30052 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Science
• D30072 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Business

Note: Extended majors are not available in the Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Science.

Information technology (Not offered in 2027)

You must complete:

a. Four or five of the following units (24 or 30 credit points):

• EDF1012 Mathematics for tertiary study or MTH1010 Functions and their applications*
• FIT1045 Introduction to programming
• FIT1047 Introduction to computer systems, networks and security
• FIT2119 Computing in practice: Professional practice

* If you do not meet the mathematics prerequisites of your destination degree you must complete one of these units.

b. two or three units selected from the following majors (12 to 18 credit points):**

Agentic software engineering

Applied artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence algorithms and models

Cybersecurity

Business AI systems

Computer science

Data science

Games and immersive media

Software development

**The choice of unit(s) lays the foundation for the major in the Bachelor of Information Technology.

Note: For the Artificial intelligence algorithms and models major, you must have Year 12 or foundation studies in mathematics, or have completed MTH1010 (Functions and their applications) in a. above.

Learning Design and Technology

You must complete:

• EDF1070 Understanding students as learners
• EDF1401 Foundations of learning design and technology
• EDF1402 Designing for socially inclusive learning
• FIT1050 Web fundamentals
• FIT1059 Artificial intelligence: Concepts and tools for impact
• DGN1303 The language of graphic design*
• OHS1000 Introduction to art and design health and safety^ (0 credit points)

*completed at Caulfield campus

^OHS1000 Introduction to art and design health and safety (0 credit points) (online) must be completed before commencing MADA units.

Science

You must complete six level 1 science units as follows:

a. SCI1000 Science communication to influence change (6 credit points)

b. One of the following mathematics units (6 credit points):

• MTH1010 Functions and their applications
• MTH1020 Analysis of change
• MTH1030 Techniques for modelling
• MTH1110 Foundations of mathematics
• SCI1020 Introduction to statistical reasoning
• SCI1022 Introduction to scientific coding
• STA1010 Statistical methods for science

Note: Refer to the information about mathematics and statistics units on the Faculty of Science's Level one science units page. You should consider the strength of your mathematical background before selecting mathematics units, e.g. if you have done VCE Specialist Mathematics Units 3 and 4 with a score above 30, you would be considered to have a strong mathematical ability. If you did not complete Specialist Mathematics, you may need to undertake additional private study beyond the normal workload requirements to successfully complete the mathematics units. You are advised to discuss your mathematics options with the course leader or program director.

c. Two level 1 approved science sequences (24 credit points), from the following list:*

* Usually, the units in a level 1 sequence are required for the completion of a related minor or major. The choice of level 1 sequences will influence the choice of level two and level three units and will lay the foundation for the chosen major in the Bachelor of Science.

Biological sciences:

One pair of:

• BIO1011 Blueprints for life and BIO1022 Life on Earth
• BIO1011 Blueprints for life and BIO1042 Life in the environment

Chemistry:

• CHM1011 Chemistry 1 and CHM1022 Chemistry 2 **

** If you have achieved excellent results in Units 3 and 4 VCE Chemistry, you can enquire about advanced options.

Computational science:

• FIT1045 Introduction to programming and MAT1830 Discrete mathematics for computer science

Earth, atmosphere and environment:

• EAE1011 The Earth system: From the core to the atmosphere and EAE1022 The Earth system: Changing environments and climates

Physics*

• PHS1001 Foundation physics and PHS1002 Physics for engineering

* If you are considering completing physics in your destination degree, you should choose the most suitable mathematics unit based on your mathematics background (VCE or equivalent).