Graduate Certificate in Gerontology and Rehabilitation Studies

What you will study

The Graduate Certificate in Gerontology and Rehabilitation Studies requires completing 24 credit points or four subjects successfully. Each subject is valued at six credit points.

Core subject

• Essential Skills for Health Researchers

Gerontology and Rehabilitation subjects

Select two subjects from the list:

• Emotional Intelligence for Leaders
• Policy and Practice in the Care of Older People
• Rehabilitation: Concepts and Practice
• Mental Health in Older People

Elective

Select one subject from the list:

• Health, Law and Ethics
• Effective Leadership and Management in Health
• Digital Innovations in Health

Entry requirements

A recognised professional qualification in a health discipline.

Work and life experience

Admission to UOW is primarily based on your academic qualifications, with work or life experience generally not considered. If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, we recommend exploring recognised pathway programs, such as those offered by UOW College or the TAFE Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC).

English language requirements

All UOW courses are taught in English and require varying levels of proficiency. If English is not your first language, you must meet the University’s English Language Requirements, which differ by course.

Recognition of Prior Learning

If you have completed prior studies or relevant professional experience, you can request course credit or subject exemptions to reduce the duration and cost of your program.

Credit for prior learning evaluates your study or work experience related to your chosen subjects.

UOW values lifelong learning and recognises various types of prior learning, regardless of how or where it was obtained. For more information, refer to UOW's Credit for Prior Learning page on their website.

Outcomes

Learning outcomes

Students graduating from this course will be able to:

• Develop specialised person-centred care knowledge for working with older people and their families, particularly with rehabilitation needs.
• Apply person-centred care knowledge of aged care and rehabilitation practices within interprofessional healthcare.
• Demonstrate skills in critically reviewing, analysing and synthesising evidence to identify and solve complex problems.
• Exercise critical thinking and evaluation to develop a new understanding.
• Communicating knowledge and ideas about theoretical concepts related to aged and rehabilitation practices to a range of audiences.
• Demonstrate independent judgments across various aged care and rehabilitation practice-related functions and contexts.
• Initiate, plan, implement and evaluate broad functions within the aged care and rehabilitation practice context.
• Develop a work-based portfolio of evidence to demonstrate how learning gained addressed the constructs of the Person Centred Framework.

Career outcomes

Graduates from this course are clinical nurse consultants, family carers, medical practitioners, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, registered nurses, social workers, volunteers and other roles in aged and dementia care.

Fees and CSP

Indicative total course tuition fee in 2025: $2,312 up to $2,898 (Commonwealth Supported Place)

Indicative total course tuition fee in 2026: $14,832 (domestic full-fee paying place)

A student’s fee may vary depending on:

• The number of subjects studied per term.
• The choice of major or specialisation.
• Choice of subjects.
• 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.

Commonwealth Supported Places

The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.

If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you only need to pay some of your tuition fees. The student contribution amount is the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.

Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.

Your student contribution amount is:

• Calculated per subject you're enrolled in.
• Depending on the study areas they relate to.
• Reviewed and adjusted each year.

HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.

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