How to get discounted University Qualifications

Once upon a time, I was a bewildered uni student. I knew that I wanted to do Mathematics, but I spent a whole lot of time (and a whole lot of money) studying other things. I have done courses in Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Astrophysics, Finance, Economics, Management, Education, and probably more that I’m forgetting. 

Long story short - I really like learning. 

I live alone, so I spend lots of my free time at home working on online courses or finding fresh courses to do. Perhaps I should get a more exciting hobby? 

But last night, I came across the Higher Education Relief Package which subsidises online courses through lots of universities in Australia. I’ve heard a little about this in the media, but not that much, so I started gathering extra info for my coworkers, and decided to publish them publicly in this article. 

Long story short- if you have ever wanted to do an online course, now is probably the time to do so. 

The government has subsidised the courses "in fields of national priority":

So there's lots of courses with heavy discounts!

This website seems to be the best place to find courses but the search filtering isn't 100% - If you filter "Course Category" to show "Short Courses" it will make your search a lot easier.

So what can you study?

In no particular order, here are some courses I've found that look good! If you find anything else that looks great, let me know in the comments.

Some of these are Graduate Certificates so they require a Bachelors Degree as a prerequisite, so make sure you check any entry requirements before applying to make sure a course is going to be a good fit for you.

Graduate Certificate in Analytics - RMIT

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Applied Data Science - Charles Sturt University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics - University of Queensland

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $1250

Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics and Cyber Security - Griffith University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Career Leadership and Learning - Queensland University of Technology

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $1248

Graduate Certificate in Cloud Computing and Virtualisation -Charles Sturt University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Computing - The University of Sydney 

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Undergraduate Certificate in Architecture - Curtin University 

Level of Qualification - Bachelors Pass

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Industry Computing - Charles Sturt University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Undergraduate Certificate of Mathematics - Macquarie University 

Level of Qualification - Other undergraduate award course

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $1250

Undergraduate Certificate in Engineering - University of Wollongong

Level of Qualification - Other undergraduate award course

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2188

Undergraduate Certificate in Communication and Cultures - University of Wollongong

Level of Qualification - Other undergraduate award course

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $1250

Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security (Secure Software) - The University of Adelaide 

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Infection and Immunity - University of Sydney

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Infectious Diseases Intelligence - University of New South Wales

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate in Space Operations - University of New South Wales

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate of Data Engineering - Australian National University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

Graduate Certificate of Machine Learning and Computer Vision - Australian National University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

?Graduate Certificate of Science Communication - Australian National University

Level of Qualification - Graduate Certificate

Duration - 0.5 years full time

Indicative Fees for a Commonwealth Supported Place - $2500

How to make the courses even cheaper:

Most universities will offer some sort of "recognition of prior learning" program that can take your prior formal, informal or even volunteer experience/training into account. If you are interested in studying something that's closely related to your educational/work history, then definitely look in to this!

This means that you might not have to do all of the subjects that are normally required to get a qualification, so you may be eligible to study a reduced course load (and in turn, pay less money overall) to get your certificate.

However, this is very different for every subject, faculty, course and university, so it's impossible to know 100% - don't bank on anything, but also be prepared to follow up with the right people to get the right answers for your situation.

I sent lots of emails to various schools yesterday, and across the board it looks like you have to actually apply to the school you're interested in, and then launch your RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) application after this. In some cases, there are tables/databases/portals for matching up credit points for different universities, but these aren't 100% and don't always set a precedent.

Your best bet is to apply for the course and then contact student services from there.

If it really turns bad, you can always exit the course before census date (the lock in date to pay for the course, usually a few weeks into the semester) but hopefully this isn't necessary for you!

What to do when you want to further your education, but can't afford these courses:

Most of the study I do online is free, or nearly free. For example, The State Library of Queensland allows members free access to Lynda (now called LinkedIn Learning) with all memberships (click here) - if you're outside of Queensland, check with your local or state library services to see what sort of e-resources are available.

Additionally, lots of online training providers have made a few courses free during Covid-19 - if you have time to upskill, there are lots of opportunities available for those who want to find them.

Let me know if you end up enrolling or studying in any of these courses, and let me know if I need to add anything to my list!