Postgraduate study: your questions answered

When you commit to a postgraduate degree, you can develop new skills and stay relevant to emerging workforce needs and demands.

By expanding your skill set with a specialisation or gaining skills in a new area, a postgraduate degree can unlock additional career opportunities, increase your earning potential and make you a stronger applicant to prospective employers.

It can also enable you to take your career to the next level through promotions or by side stepping into a new profession. Either way, it will expand your career outwards or upwards.

With La Trobe Online you can study anywhere, anytime, with enhanced online support services to help you keep on track.

With all the course material available online, you simply need to develop a flexible learning style that works for you.

The learning outcomes for online students are the same as those achieved through face to face study, and the same highly qualified staff teach both, so you will get the same experience.

You will also benefit from local work placement opportunities and industry network connections.

If you are enrolled but struggling to balance your work, life and study commitments, we have a few support options in place. The first option is to reduce your study load. Most postgraduate courses offer both full time and part time options.

Part time study reduces the number of contact hours per semester. You have the option to complete your degree at a pace that leaves more time for work or other commitments.

You can also explore options like increasing your online study options to work around your commitments, or choose evening classes to avoid clashing with your commitments.

We understand that studying a postgraduate degree is an investment in your future, so we have some supports in place to help manage the costs.

Many La Trobe postgraduate courses offer government subsidised places for domestic students. These are called Commonwealth Supported Places. Securing a CSP will save you a significant amount on course fees. To find out if you are eligible, take a look at Commonwealth Supported Places.

We also have a range of scholarships that can help you reduce the costs associated to studying while rewarding your achievements or helping you with your circumstances.

Online study is particularly suitable for students with family, work and other commitments, or students living in regional or remote locations.

Studying online provides greater flexibility for you to engage when you want, where you want and how you want.

With multiple enrolment intakes throughout the year, you can also begin studying much earlier than you think.

StudyFlex offers the flexibility to add online study to your on campus degree, or the other way around.

La Trobe already offers world class, industry designed, on campus and online learning, but with StudyFlex, you can experience both.

Choosing a StudyFlex subject can shape your degree to balance your commitments, or tailor your study experience with a subject from another study area or campus.

Whether you are looking for extra help with entering an industry or are looking to change into an in demand or secure career, there is a lot of additional support available for postgraduate students.

You can also take advantage of many of our student services. From dedicated career services to childcare, we provide a range of support services to help you thrive.

Our dedicated library team also run regular study workshops to help students with topics like assignment writing, referencing and study skills.

If you are facing personal challenges while studying, our professionally trained counsellors can help you in person or online.

We understand that sometimes life gets in the way. If you are struggling to complete your studies, you have two main options available to you:

• Defer

  If your circumstances are temporary and you need a break, the first option would be to consider deferring your studies. You can defer your studies for up to one year, giving you a circuit breaker to get on top of things.

• Early Exit

  Alternatively, if you are enrolled in a Master’s degree, then you may be able to exit early and receive a graduate certificate or graduate diploma.

Yes. Domestic postgraduate students can take advantage of the study abroad and exchange options to do a short program, term or semester of study in another part of the world.

The locations, universities, programs and subjects available to you will depend on your course, and it is important to plan your study abroad opportunities in advance.

If you are interested, we recommend getting in touch with the Ask La Trobe team to check your eligibility and requirements.