Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education

What you will study

To earn the Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education, you must successfully complete units totalling 4 credit points, as detailed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is worth 1 credit point.

Core units

• Pathophysiology of Diabetes
• Diabetes in Social and Psychological Contexts
• Management of Diabetes
• Contemporary Approaches to Diabetes Education

Workshop and clinical placement

The course includes an optional three-day workshop at Deakin University’s Melbourne Burwood Campus during Trimester 2.

Students pursuing the pathway towards becoming a Credentialled Diabetes Educator must complete a 40-hour clinical placement while enrolled. The placement is optional for students not pursuing credentialing and is subject to availability.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

To be eligible for this course, applicants must have:

• Successfully completed a bachelor’s degree in a related health discipline.

Related disciplines may include nursing, midwifery, nutrition and dietetics, pharmacy, exercise physiology, optometry, podiatry, medicine, physiotherapy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice.

The university considers applicants’ academic history, work and life experience and individual circumstances. Meeting the minimum academic and English language requirements does not guarantee admission.

Professional and placement requirements

Applicants undertaking the 40-hour clinical placement must hold current registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency or accreditation with the relevant professional body.

Applicants with another health-related degree may be eligible to complete the course but may not qualify for the pathway to become a Credentialled Diabetes Educator. Contact Deakin or the ADEA to confirm your professional eligibility.

Clinical placement requirements

Students undertaking the clinical placement must provide:

• A police check.
• A Working with Children Check.
• Evidence of required immunisations.
• Evidence of current professional registration or accreditation.

English-language requirements

Applicants must provide evidence of at least one of the following:

• A bachelor’s degree completed in a recognised English-speaking country.
• An IELTS overall score of 6.5, with no individual band score below 6.0, or an accepted equivalent.
• Other accepted evidence of English language proficiency.

Contact the university for further information.

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

Learning outcomes

• Apply diabetes-specific knowledge and understanding of evidence-based practice to diverse clients, populations and clinical settings.
• Communicate complex knowledge and ideas to clients and their families, health professionals and the wider diabetes community, demonstrating understanding of person-centred care, empathy, appropriate language and methods to promote active engagement and empowerment.
• Utilise and evaluate digital technologies to facilitate learning, teach and support diabetes self-management.
• Critically identify, analyse, evaluate and apply research knowledge and skills for all aspects of diabetes education and care.
• Apply diabetes-specific knowledge and skills to adapt diabetes education and management plans to specific client needs and in varied contexts.
• Demonstrate autonomy, well-developed judgement, adaptability and responsibility as a learner and diabetes educator within their scope of practice.
• Apply the principles of collaborative, interdisciplinary practice to work with health professionals and clients to achieve mutually agreeable outcomes.
• Demonstrate understanding and respect for all cultures, diverse populations and perspectives and promote inclusivity and equity.

Career outcomes

Your understanding of diabetes, prevention strategies and management approaches will be highly sought-after in:

• Public Hospitals
• Community Health Centres
• Primary Care
• Private Practices
• Government and non-government Organisations
• Universities
• Health Funds
• Pharmaceutical Companies

Fees and FEE-HELP

Indicative annual fee in 2027: $14,400 (Full-fee paying place)

Indicative annual fees are based on your first year of study.

A student’s annual fee may vary by:

• The number of units studied.
• Choice of units.
• Credit from previous study or work experience.
• Eligibility for government-funded loans.

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

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