Management & leadership courses

If you’re weighing up these two study areas, it helps to understand what makes them different. While both specialisations will help you become a well-rounded manager, they help you develop in separate areas:

• A business management degree is people-centric and teaches you how to lead teams and influence the culture of an organisation. You will build your understanding of core business areas such as accounting and marketing so that you can confidently build relationships across multiple departments. 
• A business administration degree, on the other hand, covers the operations side of business and focuses on the mechanics of running an organisation. Generally, you can choose to specialise in one area such as finance, marketing, technology or human resource management. You can browse online business administration courses through Open Universities Australia.

It depends on where are in your career—and where you want to be.

If you’re new to study and you’d like to understand the business world, then it’s worth considering an undergraduate qualification like a Bachelor of Business (Management) or a Bachelor of Applied Business (Management). You’ll learn the fundamentals of business before majoring in management, which will equip you to enter the industry of your choice.

If you’d like to upskill so that you can move into a management role, there are several options available. You can:

• Take a short management course to quickly upgrade your knowledge, especially if you want to work on something specific like your presentation skills, decision making or interpersonal skills. 
• Enrol in a general postgraduate management course, like a Master of Management, to develop your leadership abilities across business disciplines.
• Specialise in an area of management such as human resource management, hospitality management or supply chain management. 

Having trouble deciding? Book a free phone consultation with one of our friendly student advisors and we’ll offer our guidance.

Studying management online can benefit your lifestyle and career, especially if you already work full-time in your industry. You can fit study around your professional life and apply what you learn immediately, which can help you progress in your role faster.

Your course will also teach you learn how to build relationships and collaborate on tasks remotely. This will give you an advantage in future leaderships roles, given many managers are now required to lead from a distance.

A business management degree can help you become a leader across a wide range of industries. Depending on the course that you choose, you could explore opportunities in finance, marketing, human resource management, healthcare, hospitality and government, to name a few.

Common roles for graduates include:

• General manager
• Business manager
• Project manager
• Risk manager
• Business development manager
• Management consultant

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.

Please note that enquiries and applications for some courses are handled directly by the university. If this is the case, it will be indicated on the course listing page.  

For more information about enrolment, read our online self-service enrolling instructions. If you get stuck at any time, contact us and we’ll talk you through it.

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 may be able to help you find a pathway into your course through open-entry subjects, which anyone can study.

Chat with us to find out more.

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.