Graduate Certificate of Education (Specialist Inclusive Education)

Course summary for international students

Year	2026 course information
Award granted	Graduate Certificate of Education (Specialist Inclusive Education)
Campus	This course is only offered Online
Length	1 year part-time
Fee paying annual fee - commencing 2026	$19,200 AUD
Level	Postgraduate (Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma)
Deakin course code	E568
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8

Course sub-headings

Course overview

If you’re passionate about creating a more inclusive tomorrow, the Graduate Certificate of Education (Specialist Inclusive Education) is perfect for you. This specialist course will introduce you to the tools teachers use to make learning accessible to students of all backgrounds and abilities, while bringing you up to speed on current industry challenges. Gain the knowledge and skills required to secure support roles in inclusive education, where you will help effect important and much-needed progress to make education across the sectors inclusive for all.

Change starts in the classroom. Are you ready to lead the charge?

This course responds to a growing demand for a more inclusive education system by providing those who work in education with the skills to foster more supportive and accessible environments. It focuses on building your capacities to support teaching and encourages you to reflect on each student’s unique strengths.

Key study areas include:

engaging with and understanding what diversity and intersectionality means
analysing the goals, purpose and challenges of a heterogenous classroom
creating positive learning environments aligned with strong social justice principles.

You will also choose from a range of electives designed to complement your specialist knowledge and skills, such as in supporting gifted individuals, arts-based practices, or in education governance and policy.

Deakin maintains close links with the education sector – including the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) and Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) – to ensure our courses are developed and reviewed with industry and professional input. You’ll be taught by staff with experience in the sector who are recognised as leaders and innovators in their fields, so you can be confident that the skills and expertise you learn at Deakin reflect the cutting edge of industry practice and will be highly valued by employers.

In addition, the course is delivered entirely via Deakin’s premium online learning platform, meaning you can further your knowledge while you work, and simultaneously put your learning into practice by exploring a digitally accessible environment.

Fees and charges

The 'Estimated tuition fee' is provided as a guide only based on a typical enrolment of students completing this course within the same year in which they started. The cost will vary depending on the units you choose, your study load, the length of your course and any approved Recognition of prior learning you have.

The 'Estimated tuition fee' is calculated by adding together four credit points of study. Four credit points is used as it represents a typical enrolment load for a Graduate Certificate.

Each unit you enrol in has a credit point value. You can find the credit point value of each unit under the Unit Description by searching for the unit in the handbook.

Learn more about tuition fees.

Career opportunities

Graduate with the skills to help foster inclusivity across a range of educational settings, including in roles such as a:

disability inclusion facilitator
educational assistant (integration aid)
Koorie engagement support officer
diverse learner hub coach

For more information go to DeakinTALENT.

Course learning outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise inclusive education theoretical foundations and practices, and create and apply specialist pedagogies, curriculum and assessments across a range of educational contexts.
Communication	Critically evaluate and apply a range of accessible communication strategies that effectively supports inclusive partnerships between specialist and non-specialist stakeholders across a range of educational contexts.
Critical thinking	Understand the interrelationship between philosophies, theories and practices of inclusive education to inform strategies that advance equitable access and positive learning outcomes for students and complex learning partnerships.
Problem solving	Identify and apply professional and ethical judgement to implement inclusive solutions to complex teaching and learning problems across a range of learning partnerships.
Self-management	Demonstrate critically reflective practice and ongoing professional learning to support the development of inclusive communities of practice, cross-disciplinary dialogue and scholarship.
Teamwork	Collaborate and contribute to learning partnerships and multidisciplinary teams across a range of diverse contexts to advance the inclusive learning and development of all learners.
Global citizenship	Review national and international inclusive education scholarship relating to legal, ethical and policy frameworks to support the inclusion of First Nations knowledge and perspectives and address issues of equity and social justice across diverse communities in a global context.

Approved at Faculty Board 2023

Course rules

To complete the Graduate Certificate of Education (Specialist Inclusive Education), you must pass 4 credit points. This includes:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
3 credit points of core units
1 credit point course elective

Most units are equal to one credit point.

All students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.

Note:

This course is part-time only

Course structure

Core units

Compulsory 0-credit point units

To be completed in the first trimester of study:

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin

Units

EIE702

Teaching and Learning in the Inclusive Classroom

EIE704

Supporting Communication in Inclusive Classrooms

EEI715

Effective Classroom Management: Positive Learning Environments

Electives

ECP703

Protective Education and Children's Wellbeing

EMP700

The Arts and the Art of Teaching [replaces ECP711]

ESP701

Education and Development of Exceptional Learners

ETR701

Refugee Trauma and Education

ETR703

Trauma and Learning

IND730

Decolonising Teaching and Learning: Recognition, Relationships, and Reconciliation on Unceded Land

ECP711 Creativity and the Arts [No longer available for enrolment, replacement unit EMP700]

Admission criteria

Selection is based on a holistic consideration of your academic merit, work experience, likelihood of success, availability of places, participation requirements, regulatory requirements, and individual circumstances. You will need to meet the minimum academic and English language proficiency requirements or higher to be considered for selection, but this does not guarantee admission.

A combination of qualifications and experience may be deemed equivalent to minimum academic requirements.

Academic requirements

To be considered for admission to this degree you will need to meet at least one of the following criteria:

completion of a bachelor degree or higher in any discipline
completion of an Australian teaching degree (bachelor or higher)
at least two years' relevant work experience (or part-time equivalent).

Examples of relevant work experience include, but not limited to: working in an educational setting (e.g., policy development, implementation and practice; social workers; early childhood education centres; schools; specialist settings; hospital settings), experience caring for and advocating for an individual with particular educational needs.

English language proficiency requirements

To meet the English language proficiency requirements of this course, you will need to demonstrate at least one of the following:

IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 7.0 (with no individual band less than 7.0) speaking and listening 7.5
PTE Academic: minimum score of 65 (with no communication band less than 65) speaking and listening 73

English-speaking education:

completion of a bachelor degree or higher in a recognised English-speaking country or completion of DUELI English for Teaching program, with a WAM of 60

Admissions information

Learn more about Deakin courses and how we compare to other universities when it comes to the quality of our teaching and learning.

Not sure if you can get into Deakin postgraduate study? Postgraduate study doesn't have to be a balancing act; we provide flexible course entry and exit options based on your desired career outcomes and the time you're able to commit to your study.

Further study

On completion of the Graduate Certificate of Specialist Inclusive Education, an entry pathway into the Master of Specialist Inclusive Education is available for students holding existing Australian teaching qualification.

Pathways from Graduate Certificate of Specialist Inclusive Education into other School of Education programs are also be available depending on the program’s entry prerequisites. For example, students who have completed the Graduate Certificate of Specialist Inclusive Education but do not possess Australian teaching qualifications are able to pursue such qualification via entry into the Bachelor of Education or A Master of Teaching. Entry into the Master Teaching (Secondary) is dependent on students having a relevant undergraduate degree to meet the VIT Specialist guidelines to qualify with at least one curriculum area of teaching.

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.