Graduate Certificate in Gerontological Healthcare
PostgraduateMUR-GHC-GCE2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Specialist skills in healthy ageing
Grow your health career and care for the ageing population. Build on your health degree with subjects covering dementia and end of life care. You’ll also look at legal and safety factors. Help older people in care or at home. Make a difference.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 9 Feb 2025,
- 13 July 2025
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 6 months full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 4
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
- CSP available
- Yes
Graduate Certificate in Gerontological Healthcare
About this degree
At the completion of this degree students will be able to:
- Display safe, caring, respectful, responsive, and therapeutic relationships with older people during health and illness across a range of healthcare contexts.
- Appraise all available information to make timely, person-centred, evidence based decisions to achieve agreed health goals for older persons.
- Create effective and collaborative interdisciplinary relationships to facilitate implementation of holistic safe health care.
- Design, implement, and appraise health care for older people that ensures quality, safety, and cultural responsiveness.
- Adapt to working in complex health environments whilst always acting within appropriate professional, ethical, and legal frameworks.
The Graduate Certificate in Gerontological Healthcare is designed to reach the healthcare professional who wishes to develop specialist skills in the care of older adults and expand their career pathway in a range of health care settings. The course will aim to develop excellence in contemporary older person’s healthcare care to meet the professional development needs of graduates interested in ageing studies and evidence-based approaches to practice and policy development.
Recommended study pattern
All four core subjects can be studied in any order.
Award requirements
To qualify for the award of Graduate Certificate of Gerontological Healthcare students must complete the following four (4) core subjects:
- SHP501 Safety and Quality in Health Care
- SHP502 Contemporary Issues in Ageing
- SHP503 Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Neurocognitive Disorders
- SHP504 Chronic Disease Management and End of Life Care
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.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative total fee $2,300
The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
This research-based university in Perth has a strong interdisciplinary focus and a reputation for outstanding teaching and ground-breaking research. With more than 25,000 students and 2,400 staff from over 90 countries, and campuses in Dubai and Singapore, Murdoch embraces free thinking, shared ideas and knowledge to make a difference, and Open Universities Australia is certainly part of that.
Learn more about Murdoch University.
Explore Murdoch courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 27
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 26
Entry requirements
This is a restricted degree. Subject enrolment is only available to students admitted into this degree.
A recognised Bachelor Degree (AQF Level 7) or equivalent in a health-related discipline.
Preparation for the course through previous study or professional experiences will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Equivalent of an Academic IELTS overall score of 6.0 with no band less than 6.0.
Find out if you are eligible and apply at Recognition of Prior Learning.
Study method requirements
- Access to adequate library resources and to the Internet is essential for external students.
- Proof of citizenship is not required for admission; however, it is required for access to Higher Education Loan Programs (HELP). Please upload a scanned copy of your birth certificate or Australian passport or citizenship certificate along with your application.
Career opportunities
As a graduate of Gerontological Healthcare, you’ll fulfil the need for skilled healthcare professionals with an understanding of gerontological issues and complex needs of older people. You may provide comprehensive health care in acute, community or residential settings and assist older people to navigate life transitions in either the private or aged care sectors. Career options may include:
- Clinical Nurse
- Nurse Unit Manager
- Clinical Care Manager
- Physiotherapist – aged care or community
- Social Worker – aged care or community
- Occupational Therapist – aged care or community
- Facility manager
Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Aged and Disabled Carers | $60K to $74K | Up 67.4% |
Health and Welfare Services Managers | Over $120K | Up 56.6% |
Welfare, Recreation and Community Arts Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 29.8% |
Degree FAQs
How long does it take to finish an online degree?
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.
How can I pay for my studies?
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.
How does studying through Open Universities Australia work?
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.
How do I know if I‘m eligible to apply for a course?
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. Contact us to find out more.
When is my cut-off date for enrolment?
Our close of enrolment times vary. You can check the cut-off dates for upcoming study terms by visiting Key dates.
Why should I study online through Open Universities Australia?
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.
How do I enrol?
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 a student advisor and we'll talk you through it.
You can also take a look at our online self-service enrolling instructions.