Program Overview

Graduate Certificate in Data Science

Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Data Science is designed to equip professionals with the skills to turn data into insight and make decisions that drive organisational impact. This course covers core topics such as data mining, modelling, and visualisation, helping students clearly communicate insights.

Course Structure

• The course is delivered entirely online over six months.
• It offers flexible entry pathways and prepares students for roles in data analysis and decision support.
• Graduates can also continue into the Master of Information Technology with credit for completed units.

Entry Requirements

• A completed bachelor's degree (or higher qualification) in any discipline.
• A completed diploma (or higher qualification) in any discipline, with at least two years (full-time or equivalent) professional experience in biomedicine, information technology, or mathematics and equivalent disciplines.
• Five years (full-time or equivalent) professional experience in biomedicine, information technology, or mathematics and equivalent areas.

Course Outcomes

• Produce evidence-based visualisations of data to inform leadership decisions and organisational initiatives.
• Demonstrate advanced ICT strategies to analyse business practices and system functionality to optimise business performance.
• Evaluate business practices and investment strategies to solve complex problems in business improvement projects.
• Analyse and interpret complex data sets to produce clear, evidence-based conclusions that support organisational decision-making and optimise business performance.

Skills and Tools

• Data visualisation
• Reflect on social and ethical data science issues
• Business analysis expertise
• Employ appropriate data science methods to derive insights from data
• Data-driven decision-making
• Communicate professionally in oral and written form
• Utilisation of tools such as Visual Studio, Microsoft Azure, Jupyter Notebook, Anaconda, R, and RStudio.

Potential Career Opportunities

• Business Analyst: Analyse and evaluate existing business practices, and develop ICT-centric insights that lead to innovative solutions and business optimisation.
  • Average Salary: $115,000
  • Industry Job Satisfaction: 4/5
  • Industry Growth: +23.2% projected job growth in the next 5 years
• Technical Business Analyst: Support business transformation in a cross-functional role that involves administrative duties, data analytics, and overseeing the implementation of new ICT projects and processes.
  • Average Salary: $133,000
  • Industry Job Satisfaction: 4/5
  • Industry Growth: +12.9% projected job growth in the next 5 years
• Actuary: Analyse complex data within a business context, perform actuarial calculations, and visualise data through financial modelling.
  • Average Salary: $93,000
  • Industry Job Satisfaction: 5/5
  • Industry Growth: +11% projected job growth in the next 5 years
• Data Analyst: Analyse and interpret data to help organisations make informed business decisions.
  • Average Salary: $100,000
  • Industry Job Satisfaction: 4/5
  • Industry Growth: +23.2% projected job growth in the next 5 years

Fees

• Estimated Total Fees: AUD $4,500
• Includes 70% off with CSP subsidy.
• Fees are an estimation of total course fees and are subject to change.

Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs)

• CSPs are available for domestic students only.
• Annual fees are subject to change and are dependent on selected units.
• To be eligible for a CSP, students must be an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent visa holder, an eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holder, or a Pacific engagement visa (PEV) holder, and must study at least one unit of their course while living in Australia.

Course Units

• Students must complete a total of 48 credit points.
• Core units include Introduction to Data Science.
• Core option units include Programming Fundamentals and Rapid Web Development with Databases.
• Data Science Option Units include Data Analytics for Strategic Decision-Makers and Introduction to Statistics for Data Science.
• Foundational Data Science Option Units include Machine Learning, Programming Fundamentals, Rapid Web Development with Databases, and Systems Innovation and Design.

Advanced Standing

• Students who successfully complete this award with a GPA of 4 or above (on a 7-point scale) are able to gain entry into the Master of Information Technology with advanced standing for units completed.