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

Units are 6 points unless otherwise stated.

Part A. Foundation studies (12 points)

You must complete:

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

* EDF1012 is compulsory for all students enrolled in the education stream and is the mathematics prerequisite for entry into the destination degree course in education.

*EDF1012 is compulsory for all students enrolled in the learning design and technology stream

Part B. Discipline studies (36 points)

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

Arts

Arts discipline knowledge (36 points)

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

Arts (36 points)

Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts Pathways

You must complete six units, comprising:

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

*May include: Anthropology; Archaeology and ancient history; Behavioural studies; Bioethics (minor only); 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; Human geography; 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 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 points)

•  ATS1056 Geopolitical security in the Indo-Pacific
•  ATS1071 Political theory in a changing world: Concepts, issues and debates
•  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 points)**

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

Core studies (12 points)

• ATS1206 Media challenges
• ATS1119 Communicating in the digital era

Foundation studies (24 points)

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

Journalism (12 points)

• ATS1089 Fundamentals of journalism
• ATS1090 Practice of journalism

Media (12 points)

• ATS1279 Media and culture
• ATS1280 Understanding the media

Screen (12 points)

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

Public relations (12 points)

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

Business (Not offered in 2026)

You must complete:

a. Five of the following units (30 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 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 2026)

You must complete:

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

Primary and secondary education:

• EDF1023 Secondary professional experience 1L (0 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)*

* 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 and secondary inclusive and special education (Not available in 2026)

• EDF1023 Secondary professional experience 1L (0 points)
• EDF1058 Learn to learn, learn to teach
• EDF1084 English and literacies 1
• EDF1087 Foundation to inclusive education
• EDF1088 Understanding behaviour in classrooms and schools
• two discipline units (in sequence)*

* 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:

• EDF1022 Primary professional experience 1L (0 points)
• EDF1058 Learn to learn, learn to teach
• EDF1084 English and literacies 1
• two units to commence a first discipline**
• two units to commence a second discipline**

** 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.

Secondary education double degree courses:

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

*** These 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.

Information technology (Not offered in 2026)

You must complete:

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

• EDF1012 Mathematics for tertiary study or MTH1010 Functions and their applications*
• FIT1045 Introduction to programming
• FIT1047 Introduction to computer systems, networks and security
• FIT1049 IT 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 points):**

Applied cybersecurity

Business information systems

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 Business information systems 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 AI for everyone
• DGN1303 The language of graphic design*

*completed at Caulfield campus

Science

You must complete six level 1 science units as follows:

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

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

• MTH1010 Functions and their applications
• MTH1020 Analysis of change
• MTH1030 Techniques for modelling
• 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 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 FIT1008 Fundamentals of algorithms

Earth, atmosphere and environment:

• EAE1011 Earth, atmosphere and environment 1 and EAE1022 Earth, atmosphere and environment 2

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).