Diploma of Arts
Ready to seize the day? Get the choice and flexibility to set yourself up for your dream career.
La Trobe's Diploma of Arts is a supported pathway into one of our most varied and flexible degrees, a Bachelor of Arts.
Choose from our wide range of electives – ranging from politics and languages to environmental studies and public health – and focus on the topics you're passionate about straight away. No matter which subjects you choose, you'll build skills in critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration – highly sought-after skills that are vital in today's workforce.
Get a taste of university life as you study side-by-side with Bachelor's degree students. After graduating, you'll be prepared to continue on into a La Trobe Bachelor of Arts – which you can shape to your interests when you choose the majors, minors and electives you want to study. If you successfully complete the Diploma, you could even go straight into your second year of the Bachelor's degree with up to one year's worth of course credit (also called advanced standing).
We'll be with you every step of the way. Receive tailored advice from a dedicated Senior Support Adviser and you can connect with discipline-based peer mentors. We'll help you enrol, choose your subjects and navigate university systems and requirements. You can also access La Trobe's Careers Service to help you shape your future.
You'll learn:
- Critical thinking
- Learn to analyse facts as you delve into complex problems.
- Emotional intelligence
- Understand what drives our decisions and how to connect to others with emotion and intelligence.
- Creativity
- See new possibilities and turn them into reality.
- Communication
- Learn to connect, communicate and collaborate with your university peers and future colleagues.
The qualification awarded on graduation is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) as Level 5 - Diploma.
Sample course structure
Please note, the following course structure is indicative and subject to change depending on your course location, offer year or how you tailor your course with specialisations, majors, minors and electives. Structures for the following year are not normally finalised until October, so the sample provided is based on the most recently approved structure. For more information, please refer to the La Trobe University Handbook.
To qualify for the award of Diploma of Arts, students must complete a total of 120 credit points across 1 year.
Students who are planning to transfer to the Bachelor of Arts should align Humanities and Social Sciences elective choices with majors available for the Bachelor of Arts.
Career outcomes
After graduation, you'll be ready to go on to further study or to work in entry-level positions across a wide range of industries.
Possible roles include:
- Administration assistant
- Support an organisation by monitoring phones and emails, scheduling meetings, monitoring equipment supplies and performing basic administration tasks.
- Marketing assistant
- Help coordinate general marketing activities including scheduling meetings and events, monitoring online promotions and social media, and keeping websites up-to-date.
- Journalist*
- Pitch and write a range of stories relevant to the public. Work with a media organisation or as a freelancer.
*With further study.
