Different types of postgraduate study
From diplomas to doctorates, get your head around the different postgraduate options and what they involve.
At a glance
| Qualification | Time frame (full-time*) |
Specialisations | How much research is involved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate diploma |
1 year
|
All taught courses (May be able to include a small research |
|
| Honours | 1 year
|
Mixture of taught courses and a small research project | |
| Masters (taught and research options) |
1 – 1.5 years
|
|
Mixture of taught courses and a research project
Different masters vary on the size of the research project |
| Doctorate |
3 - 4 years
|
Research |
*All programmes can be studied part-time except for the Master of Creative Writing. The Doctor of Education, Master of Communication and the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Linguistically Diverse Learners are designed to be studied part-time.
What’s right for me?
Postgraduate diploma
Postgraduate diplomas are a good choice if: You want to do further study in an area you’re interested in without doing a research project, honours degrees aren’t recognised in your country, you’d like to study part-time over a longer period or you want a more flexible route to enrol in the one-year masters degree.
We also offer a number of career-orientated postgraduate diplomas designed to provide a foundation for entering the professional field or to upgrade your existing skills and knowledge. These can all be studied part-time.
Honours
Honours degrees are usually studied after completing your bachelors degree and is a good choice if you want to further explore an academic area you’re passionate about, deepen your specialist knowledge, or hone your research and analytical skills. It’s also a pathway to enrol in a masters degree in your chosen discipline.
Masters
A masters degree offers a range of options and is a good choice if you want to dive deep into a specialist area, contribute to knowledge in your field, or upgrade your skills and expertise.
The majority of our masters programmes – including the Master of Arts – offer both a taught pathway (more classes, smaller dissertation research project) and a research pathway (larger thesis research project).
Some of our masters degrees, including Counselling, Social Work (Professional), Public Policy and TESOL are specialised qualifications, providing the skills for you to enter these industries or accelerate your career if you’re already working.
Doctorates
A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) gives you the opportunity to take on independent and original research, supervised by academic experts and research leaders. You’ll network and collaborate with a wide range of figures in your field, and it can be the beginning of an academic research career path.
The EdD (Doctor of Education) is designed to be studied part-time over four to six years. It is a cohort-based doctoral programme where students work with cohort lecturers for the first two years and then with their own research supervisors.
The DocFA (Doctor of Fine Arts) is an advanced studio-based research degree involving both writing and practice.