Diploma of Business
Your first step to a business career.
Please note: Due to overwhelming demand for our programs in 2025, UNSW College has paused applications for certain intakes. For the latest information on the status of each intake, please refer to the link above before applying.
What is a Diploma?
A Diploma is a 12-month course that gives you the foundational skills and knowledge in a specific stream. A Diploma of Business will take you straight into Second Year of a Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW Business School.
It’s ideal for international students who need extra support, including those who just missed out on direct entry into their preferred bachelor’s degree, or hold qualifications that aren’t recognised by UNSW Sydney.
Intakes
January, May, August*
Duration
12 months (3 terms)
Weekly class time
Approximately 20-25 hours
Progression
Second Year, Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW Sydney
Delivery mode
On-campus
CRICOS Code
113045C^
*For full details on intakes, please view Key dates.
^Prior to August 2024, this program was delivered as Diploma in Business, CRICOS Course Code 102394F.
Your journey with a Diploma Program
- Overview
- Progress to UNSW Sydney
- Program structure
- Entry requirements
- Key dates
- Fees and scholarships
Who is this program for?
The Diploma Program has been designed specifically for international students. Our Diplomas make it easy to adjust to university, with:
- smaller classes and at least 20% extra teaching time
- additional English and academic skill support
- course material equivalent to First Year courses within the UNSW Sydney degree, and
- access to the same facilities and resources as undergraduate students.
With an innovative First Year curriculum, you will learn how to recognise and analyse current global business challenges and opportunities. Then you will be ready to confidently choose a major from the range of core business disciplines available as you progress into a UNSW degree. You can focus on data, people or global markets.
Why study business at UNSW Sydney?
Manage people, lead change and build lifelong career connections by studying business at UNSW.
UNSW Business School provides world-class education and a career-focused student experience. You will belong to a connected student community with opportunities to expand your network socially and professionally and broaden your skills to become one of the most employable graduates in Australia.
Discover a rich and diverse student life, join our clubs and societies, gain exclusive access to Career Accelerator and learn from leading academics and business experts at a top-ranking business school.
In the Bachelor of Commerce, you can choose from our list of industry-relevant majors and be confident you will graduate career-ready.
Career opportunities
- Accountant
- Brand Manager
- Business Analyst
- Financial Adviser
- HR Executive
- Investment Banker
- Social Media Manager
- Start-up Founder
- Strategist
Your future at UNSW
Once you successfully complete a Diploma (and meet the entry requirements), you will be guaranteed entry into Second Year at UNSW Sydney. UNSW is one of Australia's leading research and teaching universities, ranked in the top 20 worldwide. Boasting a career-focused education, vibrant community and flexibility in study options, UNSW will help you discover the best version of yourself.
Want to know more about specific progression requirements for your chosen UNSW Sydney bachelor’s degree?
The Diploma of Business is designed to provide you with a pathway straight into Second Year of a Bachelor of Commerce where you will have the option to choose a degree major from the following:
Bachelor of Commerce majors
- Accounting
- Behavioural Economics
- Business Analytics
- Business Economics
- Cybersecurity Management
- Finance
- Financial Technology
- Human Resource Management
- Information Systems
- Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
- International Business
- Marketing
- Marketing Analytics
- Taxation
Note: Diploma of Business students must achieve a Satisfactory Grade (equivalent to IELTS 7.0) for the Communication and Academic Literacy course and a minimum pass for all other courses (with an overall average of 60%), to progress to Second Year of the Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW. If you wish to study a major not on this list, you may be eligible to receive credit for courses that are common.
Top 20
Worldwide
QS World University Rankings, 2025.
Most
Employable Graduates
AFR Top 100 Future leaders Award.
Leading
Innovation
#1 Australian uni attended by start-up founders.
Program structure
Diploma students learn the fundamentals required for their future studies in courses that are equivalent to First Year undergraduate courses at UNSW Sydney. (You will notice that the courses listed below are the same across all majors, so you don’t need to compare them.)
The added support that Diploma students receive will equip them with academic and English skills and ensure they are well-prepared for their journey into the Second Year at UNSW Sydney.
For more information on each major, see below.
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What is accounting?
Accounting is not just about crunching numbers. Accountants seek to improve the economic wealth and welfare of shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments and the community with their business recommendations. This major allows you to learn to advise on business performance by identifying, analysing and communicating relevant financial and non-financial decisions.
Accounting Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is behavioural economics?
Behavioural economics is the subfield of economics that applies insights about human decision-making as it departs from classical economic models to individual choices and business and policy scenarios. Behavioural economists are employed in consultancies, governments, and corporations worldwide to understand, model, and predict choices in complex settings. The increasing real-world relevance of behavioural economics is exemplified in the creation of BETA (Behavioural Economics Team in Australia) teams at the Commonwealth and state levels in Australia and similar teams in governments overseas. In this major you will take specific experimental and behavioural courses, and (optionally) courses drawn from other related disciplines, to craft a program of study to suit the applications of most interest to you.
Behavioural economics Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is business analytics?
A major in business analytics enables you to become business problem solver and a key aspect of the decision-making process. You will be equipped with the skills needed to produce and communicate actionable findings and insights from organisational data through descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics. Along with statistical modelling, programming and database management, this major has an emphasis on the ethical and legal issues of data governance, giving graduates a holistic framework to span the bridge between business problem owners and technical experts.
Business analytics Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is business economics?
Business economists study the cause and effect of unemployment and inflation, economic growth and development, income inequality, public policy, and environmental management. Collecting and calibrating data, economists make recommendations to Commonwealth and state government departments, international organisations (such as OECD), or the private sector.
Business economics Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is cybersecurity management?
Cybersecurity Management is designed for undergraduate students in the Business School who are interested in developing a deep understanding of the key principles and practices of cybersecurity management. This major provides students with a broad range of skills and knowledge necessary to address the complex challenges facing organisations in today's rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Cybersecurity management Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is finance?
Finance students study the financial and capital markets as well as working with global banks, multinational corporations or the stock exchange in a career as rewarding as it is challenging. Finance can be a high risk, high reward industry requiring decisive strategy in the face of uncertainty. Determining the value of assets, and making investment and corporate financing decisions, requires sound and confident risk-hedging strategies.
Finance Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is financial technology?
Financial technology (fintech) is used to create, enhance and disrupt financial services, from peer-to-peer lending and robo-advice to decentralised finance, such as Bitcoin. By identifying the demands of industry, fintech sits at the forefront of industry needs, developing highly employable graduates. Over the past few years this field attracted large specialised industry conferences and dedicated sessions in top academic finance conferences. This major is a great way to get in at the ground floor of this industry.
Financial technology Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is human resource management?
Human resource management explores the business of people. Staff are a company's most valuable asset, making the human resources manager a critical position in any public or private organisation. A human resource management major you will develop strategic thinking in employee engagement, employment relations, organisational change, staff learning and development, health and safety, organisational behaviour, and performance management.
Human resource management Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
-
What is information systems?
The information systems major is tailored to students who are interested in business and management aspects of the discipline. As an information systems innovator, you will shape the technology that fuels this economy. Information systems graduates work with social media, business databases, business intelligence systems, networks and infrastructure to support business operations.
Information systems Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is innovation, strategy & entrepreneurship?
Innovation profoundly impacts and transforms business and society. It drives productivity, competitive advantage, differentiation, growth, profitability and sustainability. The innovation, strategy & entrepreneurship major is designed to help you meet the challenges of innovation with tangible leadership skills that you can use to make a difference and shape the future of organisations. In this major, you will learn how to uncover new opportunities, discover actionable insights for innovation, and design strategies for business models that create, capture and deliver value. You will enhance your entrepreneurship skills through the practice of experimentation, persistence, resilience, management and leadership.
Innovation, strategy & entrepreneurship Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is international business?
International business is a rapidly growing field of study dealing with the development, strategy and management of multinational enterprises. In International business you will learn to skilfully manoeuvre through the complex world of highly competitive international markets. You will master the art of managing multinationals as you craft strategies that consider the economic, social, legal, political and cultural contexts of global business. The international business major will prepare you for a career managing the operations of the world’s largest international enterprises.
International business Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is marketing?
Marketing is essential to every business in today’s highly competitive marketplace. It is a dynamic function aimed at creating differentiation and competitive advantage for a company. The marketer’s role is to identify and understand the needs and wants of consumers; determine which sections of a market the business will target; design appropriate products, services and programs; develop communication to promote and publicise the goods and or services of a business; and determine the most effective way to deliver the offerings.
Marketing Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is marketing analytics?
Marketing analytics is the practice of collecting, managing, and analysing consumer and performance data to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing decisions. The Marketing Analytics major at UNSW focuses on the emerging needs of data-driven decision making for marketing optimisation and equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary to collect and analyse consumer data to make informed marketing decisions.
Marketing analytics Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
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What is taxation?
A major in taxation delves into the intricate system of legislation and policy that requires highly shrewd business professionals to navigate its complexity. Every individual, private enterprise and government agency interacts with the taxation system, making tax experts highly sought after in every aspect of our economy.
Taxation Diploma subjects
View an example of the subjects you will be studying in your First Year at UNSW College below.
- Business Decision Making
- Evidence Based Problem Solving
- Collaboration and Innovation in Business
- Financial Management
- Global Business Environments
- Organisational Resources
- Value Creation
- Data, Insights and Decisions
- Communication & Academic Literacy (CAL)
Entry requirements
The Diploma Program is designed specifically for international students as a potential pathway to study at UNSW Sydney - before you start a Diploma, you must meet the required English language proficiency and specific academic entry requirements.
For more information on entry requirements, view the Diploma and UEEC entry requirements - requirements provided should be considered as a guide only and are subject to change.
In addition to academic and English requirements, some Diploma Programs require specific subject minimum grade requirements and assumed knowledge depending on your intended program.
Diploma of Business
Assumed knowledge – Mathematics
If you don’t meet the academic entry requirements for a Diploma Program, you can complete a Foundation Studies program first.
If you need help meeting the English language requirements, you could complete the University English Entry Course (UEEC) before starting your Diploma Program.
Please note: Due to overwhelming demand for our programs in 2025, UNSW College has paused applications for certain intakes. For the latest information on the status of each intake, please refer to the link below before applying.
Academic calendars
The academic calendar consists of important dates throughout your study period such as Orientation, census dates, study weeks, exam weeks and breaks for your program or course of study.
Diploma fees
2024 tuition fees
A$45,030
2025 tuition fees
A$47,760
| Course | 2024 Indicative Fees Per Course ($AUD) | 2025 Indicative Fees Per Course ($AUD) | Courses to complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $4,950 | $5,250 | 8 |
| Communications and Academic Literacy (CAL) | $5,430 | $5,760 | 1 |
Communications and Academic Literacy (CAL) must be completed as part of each Diploma Program.
For additional information on our fees and other non-tuition fees, please see the Fees page.
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The program tuition fee that is quoted on your Letter of Offer is indicative and takes into account a range of factors such as:
- The calendar year in which you undertake your study in the course. For example, you may have commenced your Diploma in 2024, however you may undertake courses in 2025.
- Studying elective courses outside of your main program area. For example you may be enrolled in the Diploma of Business however you may have undertaken an elective unit from the Diploma of Media and Communication.
- Potential course variations to your Diploma studies.
Fees are reviewed annually and may exceed the indicative figures listed, so it’s important to remember that indicative tuition fees shown above are not guaranteed. Any update to fees is effective from the start of each calendar year. The indicative fees listed here are for tuition only – other fees and charges are not included.
When you enrol into new courses in your subsequent study terms at UNSW College, a fee statement will be generated in myUNSW indicating the precise tuition fee amount that you will need to pay.
Scholarships
If you start a Diploma in 2024 or 2025, you may be eligible to receive a scholarship for the duration of your studies.
Ready to apply?
If you’re ready to start your Diploma application, you can apply directly to UNSW.
At UNSW College, every application we receive is carefully considered. When you are ready to start your application, click the button below.
Need help?
If you need help or have questions about the application process, read our guide on How to Apply.
Or you can get advice from one of our certified agents who can help you through the process. Find an agent near you.
Why study with UNSW College?
Your path to a global top 20 university
Successfully complete a Diploma Program and progress directly to Second Year of a Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW Sydney.
Support as you learn
The Diploma Program is designed for international students like you, so you can develop English language and study skills to take the next step with confidence.
Directly connected to UNSW
The program is accredited by UNSW Sydney and provides full access to UNSW’s world class libraries, clubs and societies.
"The diploma program was tailored to be like regular first year in a bachelor’s degree, which made it easier to transition into second year. The program helped prepare me for the rest of the journey."
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Diploma & Foundation Studies
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From 26 August 2024, UNSW College™ will commence delivery of Diplomas under its own CRICOS Provider Code - 01020K and TEQSA Provider ID: PRV13020 (Institute of Higher Education).
From 13 January 2025, UNSW College™ will commence delivery of Foundation Studies under its own CRICOS Provider Code - 01020K and TEQSA Provider ID: PRV13020 (Institute of Higher Education).
Pre-Masters Program & Academic English
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