Graduate Certificate in Sports Coaching

During this course you will:

1. Join the longest-running online sports coaching program in Australia, educating coaches worldwide for 20 years.
2. Enjoy the convenience of flexible, online study and collaboration with your peers, program staff and coaches.
3. Gain an internationally recognised qualification through a program designed by elite coaches, expert academics, and world-leading researchers.
4. Develop your coaching practice through practical, work-based learning approaches that can be tailored to your individual circumstances.

There is high demand for innovative and well-informed sports coaches, with widely recognised qualifications, in all sectors of domestic and international sport.

Elite coaches, expert academics, and world-leading researchers have combined their knowledge and skills in forging this unique and enduring program that offers the latest and most innovative theory and practice in sports coaching. This program provides practising coaches with the opportunity to enhance and develop quality in their professional practice and prepare them for the world of high-performance coaching.

Recommended study pattern

The Graduate Certificate in Sports Coaching is a 1 year course for a part-time student. Each year consists of 2 Study Periods, also known as semesters. The recommended study pattern consists of 4 core subjects, with 2 to be completed in your first study period and 2 in your second.

Award requirements

To qualify for the Graduate Certificate in Sports Coaching, students must satisfactorily complete a program of study consisting of 4 subjects.

Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.

Indicative total fee $13,280

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.

For more than a century, The University of Queensland (UQ) has delivered knowledge leadership for a better world. The most prestigious and widely recognised rankings of world universities consistently place UQ among the world's top universities. UQ has also won more national teaching awards than any other Australian university. This commitment to quality teaching empowers our 56,000 current students, who study across UQ’s three campuses, to create positive change for society.

Learn more about UQ.

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QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

6

Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:

5

To be eligible for entry, you'll need:

• a bachelor's degree and current coaching qualifications endorsed by a recognised sporting body (e.g. a national sporting organisation) or equivalent, and one year's coaching experience. The minimum GPA to be considered for admission into this program is 4.0, or
• a current coaching qualification endorsed by a recognised sporting body (e.g. a national sporting organisation) or equivalent, and five years coaching/high performance sporting experience, comprising:

(a) 150 contact hours per year, and

(b) 450 hours per year in planning, preparation, self-reflection and learning, and continuing professional development.

High-performance sporting experience means experience in performance sport contexts that are primarily focused on peak performances at major competitions. These contexts will typically be characterised by intensive preparation over prolonged periods involving extensive intervention and interpersonal contact.

All applicants must satisfy the UQ English language proficiency requirements for admission.

If you've completed previous study, you may be eligible to receive credit for – or exemption from – certain subjects in a UQ program.