Diploma of Applied Business
Undergraduate | TAS-ABS-DIP | 2024
Get real business skills that unlock opportunities
Prepare for the workforce with essential industry skills and understanding. You’ll explore the main functions of a contemporary business. Cover marketing, decision making, people management, and more. Step up to a new or enhanced business career.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 7 July 2024
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 1 year full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 8
- Price from
- $13,360
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
- CSP available
- Yes
Diploma of Applied Business
About this degree
On successful completion of this program, the student will be able to:
- Apply and reflect on business knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attributes to develop and enhance career opportunities
- Apply and communicate business processes and strategies within the contemporary business environment to analyse business performance
- Communicate proposals for business improvement to a range of audiences
- Analyse the principles of sustainable business practice, resource management, and ethical and professional conduct
The Diploma of Applied Business is for future leaders and managers who want to learn the knowledge and skills required to make it in the modern sustainable business world. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a supervisor looking to step up to the next level, this program is a great stepping stone to a new or accelerated career.
The program combines core business units covering areas such as management, finance, marketing, human resources, with a choice of electives in your areas of interest. The program content has been developed in consultation with industry experts and they are actively involved in its delivery.
This program serves as a foundation year, where you will learn the skills to apply your new business knowledge to a range of situations.
A key feature of the program is the focus on learning, where you will develop knowledge and skills through experiential education opportunities such as optional industry placements, fieldwork, case studies and data-driven decision making. This aims to enhance students’ problem solving, communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership skills by assisting you to ‘learn through practice’. It has been designed to make university study a little less daunting, and a lot more practical.
Recommended study pattern
For students studying full-time, the following study pattern is recommended.
8 subjects including:
- 4 Core Subjects
TAS-ZAA131 Applied Business Foundations
TAS-ZAA132 Managing People
TAS-ZAA133 Financial Decision Making
TAS-ZAA134 Business Marketing
- 4 UTAS Electives
Award requirements
Satisfactory completion of 8 subjects, as required in the schedule, within 1-3 years from commencement.
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
Wherever you are, the University of Tasmania brings its island campus to you through a growing range of online programs across art and design, business, education, health, science, sustainability, technology, and more. It’s never too late to switch things up. Kickstart that career you’ve been dreaming about, or upskill for the one you’re in. You’ll also become a part of the world's leading university on climate action.
Learn more about UTAS.
Explore UTAS courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 20
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 19
Entry requirements
- Partially completed an undergraduate course at Diploma level or higher (or equivalent). You must have completed at least one subject of study (equivalent to 12.5 UTAS credit points), at 100 level or higher and which may include 100 level subjects completed in the UTAS Diploma of University Studies. If you have failed any subjects, your application may be subject to further review before an offer is made; OR
- Completed the UTAS University Preparation Program (or an equivalent qualification offered by an Australian University).
Successful completion of one OUA open access subject of study (equivalent to 12.5 UTAS credit points) at the equivalent AQF level, unless otherwise specified.
Completed the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) or an equivalent qualification
Completed a Certificate III or higher (or equivalent) in any discipline.
Applicants without senior secondary, tertiary or VET / TAFE study can complete a personal competency statement.
Applicants may be eligible for an offer if they have relevant work and / or life experiences which demonstrate a capacity to succeed in this program.
You may be eligible for advanced standing (ie. credit) of up to 50 credit points if you have completed a cognate Undergraduate Certificate or similar course at this university or other approved tertiary institution. Cognate undergraduate certificate courses for Z1B Diploma of Applied Business are: Z0C Undergraduate Certificate in Community Support, Z0D Undergraduate Certificate in Agriculture, Z0L Undergraduate Certificate in Agribusiness, Z0M Undergraduate Certificate in Small Business, Z0N Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Design, Z0P Undergraduate Certificate in Fermentation, Z0Q Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Technologies.
Career opportunities
Graduation from the Diploma of Applied Business can provide an entry opportunity for those who have not worked in business settings, accelerate progression through a graduate's present organisation, or open up new career paths and opportunities.
New to Applied Business and never worked in the industry before?
For those graduates new to Applied Business, this qualification could assist you to gain roles such as trainee positions with managers, team leaders, field officers, and researchers.
Already working and want to fast track or leverage off past experience?
For those graduates already working in Business, an Applied Business qualification may enable you to progress from assistant positions to managerial roles, lead a small team, become specialists, salespersons and liaise better with suppliers or customers.
Potential types of employers:
- Small and medium businesses
- Accountancy firms
- Financial services
- Event organisations
- Sport organisations
- Tourism organisations
- Health and well-being consultants
- Non-for-profit organisations, and
- Project management companies
Career outlook
- Contract, Program and Project Administrators:
- $93K to $120K
- Office Managers:
- $75K to $93K
- Personal Assistants:
- $75K to $93K
Degree FAQs
That's up to you! Because we let you choose when to study online, you can actually pick up and pause study when it suits you. Many universities have a set time you need to complete your degree within. For some this is up to 10 years, and for others there is no limit.
There are some degrees that are stricter about when you can take breaks, and about how many years you can take to complete your degree. Please always check with your uni what the limits are.
As a general guide, Commonwealth supported place students have 10 years to finish their undergraduate degree through OUA, However, if you're studying with Griffith University, there's a limit of 8 years to complete your studies. If you want to take a break that lasts more than two study terms, you'll need to apply for a leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence for up to 12 months, as long as you complete your studies within the maximum time allowed for your degree.
If you're studying with Macquarie University, with the exception of certain degrees, there's no limit to how long you can take. But, please check with Macquarie Student Administration to be sure.
If you're studying with the University of Adelaide, you have up to 9 years to complete your undergraduate degree and graduate.
If you're studying with La Trobe University and want to take a break of minimum 1 study term, you must apply for leave of absence to avoid being inadvertently withdrawn from your degree.
Through OUA, you can study all year round, so it's possible to fast-track and finish up sooner than studying at a traditional uni would allow. That said, you need to spend around 12 hours a week on each undergraduate subject you do, so taking on extra work to finish ahead of time can be challenging.
You may be eligible for a HELP loan from the Australian government, depending on your citizenship status and where you'll be living during your studies. You can also pay upfront with your credit card.
Payment options are explained in Fees, and you can contact a student advisor for more information.
You might find learning through OUA a little different to how you've studied in the past. It can take time to develop the skills you need for independent online study.
We connect you with subjects and degrees that are taught by leading Australian universities. You can complete single subjects, or follow a degree structure to work towards a specific qualification. Subjects are offered in several study terms throughout the year, so you can choose to study part-time or full-time, continuously or with breaks.
We help you find the subjects or degree that's right for you, and we handle your enrolment in uni and some administration. Your uni sends you your study materials and deals with all academic matters. They're also in charge of your assessment and graduation. If you go on to complete a degree, you'll graduate from the uni offering your degree, for example, RMIT University or Griffith University.
Before starting an enrolment, it's important to read the entry requirements for your chosen course to ensure that you're eligible to apply. If you don't quite meet the requirements, we can help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study. Chat with us to find out more.
Our close of enrolment times vary. You can check the cut-off dates for upcoming study terms by visiting Key dates.
There are a lot of reasons to study your course online through us.
You can enrol without entry requirements
We have a unique open-door policy that makes it possible for everyone to enrol in university study, no matter their academic history. If you don't meet the entry requirements for a degree, we'll help you get in through single undergraduate subjects and transition into a qualification from there.
You have total control over how you study
Upskill without committing to a whole degree upfront. Or enrol in a full degree, but take it a subject at a time. We'll introduce you to flexible study options you didn't even know about, so you can fit uni around what matters to you.
You'll graduate with the same qualification as an on-campus student
Once you enrol through us, you'll study online with the university that provides your degree. This means that when you complete your qualification, you'll graduate with the same degree as on-campus students.
We'll help you navigate the university world
Our friendly student advisors will be your guide every step of the enrolment journey. They'll help you compare universities, choose a course, provide documentation and understand your finance options.
Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.
When you've made your choice, click 'Apply now' on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We'll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.
Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.
If you get stuck at any time, reach out to us and we'll talk you through it.
You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions.