This subject establishes a foundation essential not only for being an effective manager, but also for the remainder of the program. It provides an overview of key areas that need to be managed effectively for an organisation to be successful, and the interconnectedness of those areas. Key areas addressed include strategy, marketing, organisational values and sustainability.    

Accounting is the “language of business” and is used for performance measurement, business contracting and managerial decision-making. An understanding of and the ability to use accounting information will be essential to students' success as a manager. This subject provides students with foundational accounting knowledge useful not only internally for managerial decision-making, but also for more externally-focused judgments (eg: benchmarking an organisation’s strengths and weaknesses).  

Organisations face many adaptive challenges to survive and thrive in a complex and uncertain environment, driven by forces such as globalisation and technology. This subject helps students become leaders in this context. Leadership is particularly important in organisation structures that are flat, flexible, diverse and global.  

Organisations operate within a societal context of diverse stakeholders. Students examine the relationship of the organisation with these stakeholders, as well as their own responsibility to stakeholders. They consider strategies for achieving social responsibility goals such as environmental sustainability, employee satisfaction and societal welfare, taking into account both the ethical case and the business case for such strategies.

Contemporary organisations are awash in data, whether it be about their customers, internal operating processes or financial activities. Harnessing this data allows managers to better understand their organisation, and thus make more informed decisions. This subject addresses fundamental data analytic skills necessary to extract information from data that then can be used to make better managerial decisions.  

Effective management of individuals, teams and organisations requires an understanding of human behaviour. This subject examines human behaviour at the individual, group and organisational levels through a business lens. This subject assists students to better manage themselves, and better manage and lead other people, groups and organisations.

To be successful, organisations need to recognise, create, grow and protect market-based assets that influence demand. This subject focuses on the challenges organisations face in managing demand, and how to address those challenges with optimal demand-side strategies.

Economics is relevant to everything an organisation does, from its operations and performance to its interactions with stakeholders and society more broadly. This subject addresses fundamental economic concepts and analytical skills, providing students with the tools of economic reasoning necessary for developing and evaluating strategic business options and making better decisions.  

To apply for the Melbourne Business School Online Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, applicants must have:

• An undergraduate degree AND at least two (2) years of documented full-time professional work experience, OR 

• A minimum of six (6) years of documented full-time professional experience 

• Meet the University's English language requirements. 

Documentary evidence of meeting the accepted minimum scores within the previous 24 months may be required.   

The minimum accepted scores are: 

• IELTS (Academic) – 7.0 overall, with no band less than 6.5   

• TOEFL IBT – minimum score of 102, with a written score minimum of 24 and no individual score lower than 21   

• PTE - English Academic PTE with a minimum score of 72, written communicative skill of 65 and no other communicative skill below 64 

• Cambridge (CAE) – minimum score of 178, with a written score of 180, speaking score of 187 and no other communicative skill below 168 

• LanguageCert Academic: minimum score of 73, with a written score of 71, speaking score of 76, reading score of 65 and listening score of 62 

• Michigan English Test (MET) – minimum score of 62, with a written score of 64, speaking score of 53 and no other communicative skill below 59.

$5,308 per subject*, a total of $21,232 for the program*.

FEE-HELP is available for eligible Australian citizens.

*Fees listed are for calendar year 2026. Melbourne Business School Online reserve the right to adjust course fees annually.