Key facts
Duration
Up to 1 year of part-time study. The course is only available to students on a part- time basis.
Locations
OnlineCourse overview
The Graduate Certificate of Systems Thinking is designed for professionals who want to build the confidence and capability to tackle some of the most pressing health and social challenges of our time. This course equips you with practical tools to understand, analyse and respond to complexity in health and social systems.
You’ll gain hands-on experience in group model building (GMB), a high-impact facilitation technique that brings stakeholders together to create shared understanding and co-design action. Through this process, you’ll learn how to clarify root causes, anticipate unintended consequences and foster collective ownership of solutions. You’ll also explore causal mapping and simulation modelling, using STICKE (Systems Thinking in Community Knowledge Exchange), Deakin’s custom-built digital platform now used by teams and organisations worldwide and Stella Architect.
Are you ready to strengthen your influence, drive systems change and create better outcomes for people and communities?
In this one-year part-time course, you’ll undertake four core units delivered online via Deakin’s premium interactive learning platform, designed to fit around your professional and personal commitments. You’ll also attend a four-day in-person intensive where you’ll practise facilitation techniques and apply systems thinking in a collaborative, real-world environment. This intensive is a cornerstone of the course, giving you the rare opportunity to work side-by-side with expert facilitators and peers from across the sector. Through real-time mapping, reflection and co-design activities, you’ll put theory into action and build the confidence to lead systems change in your own context.
You’ll be introduced to the foundations of systems thinking with a strong focus on system dynamics. Through case studies in areas such as mental health, climate adaptation, food systems, family violence and social inclusion, you’ll learn to map the system structures and relationships that shape complex challenges and identify opportunities for high-impact interventions.
Key techniques such as causal loop diagrams, behaviour over time graphs and simulation modelling will help you visualise complexity, identify leverage points and anticipate unintended consequences. You’ll develop confidence using digital tools like STICKE and learn how to critically engage with technology as part of your systems practice.
Community leadership will be explored as essential elements of systems change. You’ll learn to design and lead participatory workshops that centre community knowledge, build trust and motivate collective action, applying contemporary tools and techniques grounded in equity, inclusion and empowerment.
You’ll also examine how political, cultural and economic forces shape health and social systems around the world. In the unit Comparative Health Systems, you’ll critically analyse a diverse range of systems, including comparing Australia's approaches to health with approaches from the UK, the US, Asia, Africa, and South America. These global perspectives will strengthen your ability to evaluate system performance, equity and policy design in different contexts.
Throughout the course, you’ll deepen your ability to:
- apply systems thinking to health and social challenges, especially those shaped by social determinants and organisational dynamics
- communicate systemic insights clearly to diverse audiences using narrative, data and visual tools
- collaborate inclusively across disciplines and communities to foster shared understanding and action
- critically assess and apply digital technologies to support ethical, evidence-informed decision-making
- integrate equity, power and context into the design and implementation of system responses.
Graduates of this course leave with more than a theoretical understanding of systems thinking. They gain real-world skills, facilitation experience and a mindset that embraces complexity, values collaboration and drives innovation. Many go on to lead cross-sector initiatives, inform policy, and transform how services and programs are designed and delivered.
Whether you work in policy, community programs, research, health promotion, hospitals or health services, this course will prepare you to lead with clarity, collaborate with purpose and contribute to lasting, systemic impact. With growing demand across government, NGOs, and service providers for professionals who can think systemically, this is the ideal time to build your capability and your influence.
Current Deakin students
To access your official course details for the year you started your degree, please visit the handbook
- Award granted
- Graduate Certificate of Systems Thinking
- Year
2026 course information
- Deakin code
- H516
- Level
- Postgraduate (Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma)
- Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition
The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8
See how Systems Thinking prepares you for real-world careers
Deakin's Graduate Certificate of Systems Thinking gives you the tools to untangle complexity, collaborate across sectors, and design practical, community-led solutions.
Course structure
To complete the Graduate Certificate of Systems Thinking, you must pass 4 credit points.
This includes:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in your first study period
- 4 credit points of core units
Most units are equal to one credit point.
All students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.
Note:
- This course is part-time only
Intakes by location
The availability of a course varies across locations and intakes. This means that a course offered in Trimester 1 may not be offered in the same location for Trimester 2 or 3. Check each intake for up-to-date information on when and where you can commence your studies.
- Start date: March
- Available at:
- Online
Intensives Information:
Students must attend HSH736 Community Consultation and Participation on campus at Geelong Waterfront campus. International students who are completing the intensive are advised to obtain a visitor's visa to participate in the mandatory campus based scheduled sessions. Student visas to enter Australia cannot be issued to students who enrol in Deakin’s online courses.
Flexible course delivery
Deakin’s blend of online and on-campus learning means you can balance work, study and personal development. Achieve work-life balance – study with Deakin's dedicated support and flexible learning options.
Course duration
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.
IMPORTANT: Please note that due to Australian Government regulations, student visas to enter Australia cannot be issued to students who enrol in Deakin’s online courses. To participate in the mandatory campus based scheduled sessions, it is suggested that you apply for a Visitor Visa to study for a short period in Australia. Please be advised that Deakin University cannot guarantee that you will be granted a Visitor Visa by the Australian Government.
Explore visa options, including Visitor Visas and other study pathways, on the Department of Home Affairs.
All places offered to international students in this course are only offered via online study mode. Deakin University is not obligated to provide any students with a COE (confirmation of enrolment) to facilitate a student visa application.
Workload
As an online student in the Faculty of Health you will be expected to spend 11-13 hours every week studying, interacting online and completing assessment tasks for each unit in your course. You will also be required to attend an on-campus four-day intensive learning experience in Geelong. Refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information.
Participation requirements
You will be required to attend in person intensives live across consecutive days and will need to take time off work and other commitments to attend.
Intensive workshops are held on campus for the unit HSH736 Community Consultation and Participation across 4 days at the Geelong Waterfront campus.
Entry requirements
Selection is based on a holistic consideration of your academic merit, work experience, likelihood of success, availability of places, participation requirements, regulatory requirements, and individual circumstances. You will need to meet the minimum academic and English language proficiency requirements or higher to be considered for selection, but this does not guarantee admission.
A combination of qualifications and experience may be deemed equivalent to minimum academic requirements.
To be considered for admission to this degree you will need to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- completion of a bachelor degree
- two years of relevant work experience (or part-time equivalent)
Examples of relevant work experience include, but not limited to community and human services (e.g., community development officer); health & wellbeing (e.g., health promotion officer); policy, planning & governance (e.g., urban or regional planning roles); partnership & collaboration (e.g., partnership manager); business & organisational development (e.g., change management roles); and environment & sustainability (e.g., climate adaptation, circular economy, or sustainability coordination roles).
To meet the English language proficiency requirements of this course, you will need to demonstrate at least one of the following:
- bachelor degree from a recognised English-speaking country
- IELTS overall score of 6.5 (with no band score less than 6.0) in each component of test
- other evidence of English language proficiency (learn more about other ways to satisfy the requirements)
Learn more about Deakin courses and how we compare to other universities when it comes to the quality of our teaching and learning.
Not sure if you can get into Deakin postgraduate study? Postgraduate study doesn’t have to be a balancing act; we provide flexible course entry and exit options based on your desired career outcomes and the time you are able to commit to your study.
Fees and scholarships
Fee information
Estimated tuition fee - full-fee paying place
$15,300 AUD
Learn more about fees and your options for paying.
The 'Estimated tuition fee' is provided as a guide only based on a typical enrolment of students completing this course within the same year in which they started. The cost will vary depending on the units you choose, your study load, the length of your course and any approved Recognition of prior learning you have.
Each unit you enrol in has a credit point value. You can find the credit point value of each unit under the Unit Description by searching for the unit in the handbook. Learn more about tuition fees.
Scholarship options
Deakin scholarships recognise your hard work and achievements. Our support can ease the financial pressure of studying in Australia so you stay focused on your success. Numbers are limited, so apply early for the best chance.
Postgraduate bursary
We love welcoming Deakin alumni back to continue their journey with us. If you're starting a postgraduate award course, you may be eligible for a 10% discount on your enrolment fees, applied per unit. It's our way of supporting your next step.
Apply now
Apply directly to Deakin
Applications can be made directly to the University through StudyLink Connect - Deakin University's International Student Application Service.
We recommend engaging with a Deakin Authorised Agent who can assist you with the process and submit the application.
Career outcomes
Deakin’s Graduate Certificate of Systems Thinking equips you with the digital tools, facilitation skills and practical approaches to analyse complexity and drive meaningful improvement in health and social systems. Designed for professionals working in healthcare, policy and community sectors, the course builds your capability to lead change, improve services and collaborate across organisational and disciplinary boundaries.
Apply your systems thinking expertise to:
- strengthen community and human services through deeper engagement and co-designed solutions
- lead innovative health promotion and wellbeing initiatives that address complex challenges
- drive improvement and innovation across hospitals and health services
- shape policy, planning and governance with a systems lens on equity and impact
- lead cross-sector collaboration and partnerships that create lasting change
- support organisational development and change through systems-informed strategy
- build sustainability and climate resilience across environmental and social programs.
This flexible part-time course is designed to complement the expertise you’ve already built, whether through hands-on industry experience or postgraduate study. It strengthens your ability to navigate complexity, lead change and apply systems thinking directly within your current role. For those interested in further study, it can also serve as a stepping stone toward advanced learning or research in health and social systems.
Deakin's graduate learning outcomes describe the knowledge and capabilities graduates can demonstrate at the completion of their course. These outcomes mean that regardless of the Deakin course you undertake, you can rest assured your degree will teach you the skills and professional attributes that employers value. They'll set you up to learn and work effectively in the future.
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Apply systems thinking to analyse and address complex health and social challenges, with an emphasis on social determinants of health and the dynamics of organisational and community systems. |
| Communication | Using systems thinking as an interdisciplinary tool to navigate complex health and social systems data and communicate with diverse audiences. |
| Digital literacy | Critically evaluate and use digital technologies, including specialised systems thinking software, to locate, analyse, and disseminate information. |
| Critical thinking | Apply systems thinking to critically evaluate, synthesise and provide insights regarding complex information, theories, and data in health and social systems. |
| Problem solving | Identify innovative, evidence-based solutions to complex health and social problems by integrating systems thinking, leveraging diverse perspectives, and critically considering contextual factors such as power, equity, and social determinants. |
| Self-management | Demonstrate autonomy, accountability, and critically reflective self-management by applying systems thinking to adapt to new and complex challenges, balancing professional responsibilities with a commitment to ethical practice and lifelong learning. |
| Teamwork | Work collaboratively and inclusively with individuals and groups from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and contexts, using systems thinking to foster shared understanding and navigate complexity. |
| Global citizenship | Engage ethically with diverse communities when applying systems thinking to explore multicultural approaches to understanding and addressing complex health and social challenges. |
*Deakin references data from a range of government, higher education and reputable media sources. For more information, visit our University rankings page.
