Online Graduate Diploma in Digital Product Design

Online Graduate Diploma in Digital Product Design

POSTGRADUATE

Transform your career with in-demand digital product design capabilities and lead the delivery of successful digital products.

Student type:
Learning mode:
Online
Entry score:

See admissions

Duration:
Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years
Fees:

AU$3,600 per course (2024)

Next intake:
January, March, April, July, October
Location:
Online
Learning mode:
Online
Entry score:

See admissions

Duration:
Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years
Fees:

AU$3,600 per course (2024)

Next intake:
January, March, April, July, October
Location:
Online

Overview

Develop the skills to strategically drive business value through design solutions.

Today, it’s virtually impossible to launch or uplift any successful product without understanding the needs of a complex web of people, from users to staff, partners to shareholders — all humans, at every stage of the development process.

The Online Graduate Diploma in Digital Product Design will equip you with the tools, skills, methods, and processes to become a versatile and effective digital product designer. You'll also gain strategic insight into design problems, formulate effective solutions, and drive key product decisions with stakeholders.

Why study the Online Graduate Diploma of Digital Product Design?

Developed by industry specialists with hands-on experience, this program focuses on key areas of Project Management to build a broad skillset.

Become a future design leader

Develop your team leadership skills to drive results and accelerate digital disruptions.

Learn theory and practical design applications

Develop valuable skills, underpinning your ability to strategically create, design, and implement design solutions that’ll drive business value and meet the needs of the user.

Choose your design specialty

This diploma will allow you to tailor your degree with choices from a variety of relevant product and design disciplines.

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Your online experience

The 100% online degree delivers a convenient online program without the requirement for on-campus attendance and commitments. All lecture material and content is delivered directly to you, wherever you are.

Australian Student Visas

RMIT's online Graduate Diploma does not meet Australian student visa requirements. For an Australian student visa, you must have an on-campus place in a program of study.

Details

There is no better time to advance your career by developing bestpractice human-centred design principles, as well as the necessary ethical, business, and technical expertise in digital product design.

By deep diving into every stage of the design process including research, design, and delivery, you’ll learn how to craft and deliver exceptional solutions for new and in-market products.

This certificate will teach you both the theoretical and practical foundations you need to succeed in Digital Product Design.

The 100% online program means your learning – and graduation – is fast-tracked and focused. You can enrol in any one of our four, ten-week teaching terms each year.

You can view online resources and learning activities, access course materials via Canvas, collaborate with lecturers and fellow students, and access your student email account anywhere, anytime.

Our online learning platform is purpose-built and brings authenticity to your learning experience, available using your laptop, tablet or smartphone. Coursework is delivered in an engaging way and easy to follow.

You will also have access to discussion boards, online forums, electronic assignment submission, the library and business journals.

Assessment is ongoing throughout the teaching period and includes essays, reports, presentations, case studies, quizzes and research projects. 

This graduate diploma has been designed in partnership with leading industry experts including Fjord, Canva, and REA Group.

2 years part time, 1 year full time

Students undertaking this diploma can expect 10-12 hours of study per week, per subject, with each term comprising of 10 weeks.

The Graduate Diploma in Digital Product Design will provide you with direct access to best practice human-centred design methods and technical expertise in digital product design.

You’ll gain a foundation for the discovery, design, and delivery of new-to-market and in-market digital products, addressing urgent gaps in the capability market. You’ll also learn how related disciplines, such as UX design, product management, or digital leadership are relevant to a digital designer role.

As part of this diploma, you will complete 5 core program subjects, followed by 3 option subjects. 

Digital Product Design Strategy and Contexts

This subject introduces you to digital products. You will gain an understanding of how they are conceived and designed for local and international markets. Using design thinking frameworks, you will experience the process of new product development (NPD), problem definition, opportunity scoping, and ethical design research.

You will be introduced to the various team and stakeholder roles and capabilities that are required to successfully bring new digital products to market, including the importance of persuasive storytelling and a sound business case.

Design Practice and Leadership

In this subject, you will explore the fundamentals of leadership within a design context. You will determine your leadership capabilities as a designer, not only as an individual, but as a crucial part of a team, an organisation, and society.

This is the designated Work Integrated Learning (WIL) subject for the Graduate Certificate of Digital Product Design.

In the role of course facilitator, industry partners will support and review your work, as well as providing industry relevant case studies and real-world scenarios. This ensures ongoing industry best-practice in both accessing and gaining feedback from the course content.

By developing a deeper understanding of the ways in which design shapes the world, you will be aware of the prevailing conversations, trends and future directions of the roles and impact of design for the economy, society, culture and the planet. You will examine how ethics, skills of team members and culture all contribute to, and constrain current and emerging design practice. You will also critically define your viewpoints, rationales and biases as you grow as a design leader.

Digital Product Design Process and Methods

In this subject, you will design a new digital product using an existing client’s brief. Using industry standard tools and ethical best practice, you will gain hands-on experience of framing a client’s problem.

You will then apply design research to explore the client’s brief and the possibilities for the digital product and move into conceptualising, prototyping and designing a product solution. You will gain a working understanding of digital product lifecycles and explore how products grow and change through industry and user feedback.

By understanding and enacting the roles of various team members, you will have a broad understanding of the responsibilities and expertise required to build a successful digital product, including different interface modalities, user contexts, business constraints, accessibility considerations, and market forces.

User Experience Research

In this subject, you will be introduced to the role research plays within the user experience domain. You will learn how to evaluate and implement research tools and activities to effectively articulate and interpret the ‘problem space’ and shape findings and insights for your client.

You will develop an understanding of how research is used in competitor analysis, user interviews, observations, surveys, testing, and analytics in order to deliver a suitable user experience. Project scoping protocols (including privacy, ethics, and data management) are reviewed to look at how to support your organisation to deliver evaluative and generative modes of research to enhance the user experience.

Product and Business Strategy

This subject covers the fundamentals of product and business strategy, and how this applies to the development of products that meet customer and market needs. You will analyse the success factors for different product types and commercial and risk impacts and learn how to develop and deliver a compelling business case to stakeholders.

You will apply your new skills projects based on real-world examples, including problem statements, product metrics, commercial models and market analysis.

Once you've completed the five core subjects, you will complete three of the following subjects to make up the remaining subjects in your graduate diploma:

  • Product Design and Customer Experience
  • Product Development and Operations
  • Future Skills: Digital Leadership and Digital Marketing Strategy
  • Future Skills: Digital Leadership and Digital Delivery with Agile
  • Service Design in Practice
  • Design Strategy Practice and Principles
  • Service Design Research
  • Service Futures
  • Programming Fundamentals
  • Data and Privacy in the Digital Age
  • User Experience Practice and Principles
  • User Experience Design & Prototyping
  • Future Skills: User Interface Design and Business Analyst Fundamentals
  • Future Skills: User Interface Design and Product Management Fundamentals

Career

Possible job outcomes for graduates include:

  • Mid-senior digital product designer
  • Junior-to-mid design strategist
  • Design lead

Admissions

You must have:

  • An Australian Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent overseas qualification).

If you don’t have these academic qualifications, you may be eligible for entrance into this program if you have a minimum of five years’ professional experience in innovation and start-ups, creative practice, digital design studios, human resources, business analysis, management consultancy, process analysis, or other similar roles.

To have your professional experience considered, you must include in your application a CV and a statement that details your experience.

You must meet the University's minimum English language requirements to be eligible for a place in this program.

If you are a local student, refer to the English requirements for postgraduate coursework programs.

If you are an international student, refer to the English requirements and equivalency information. The program requires a minimum overall score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 in IELTS (Academic).

Pathways

Fees

2024 tuition fees:

  • AU$3,600 per course
  • Total AU$28,800 for eight courses.

Fees apply to 2024 only.

Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide.

In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF) based on your enrolment load, which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student. Eligible local students can apply for an SA-HELP loan to defer payment of their SSAF.

For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.

Some students may be eligible to apply to defer payment of some or all of their tuition fees via the Commonwealth Government’s FEE-HELP loan scheme. 

Visit our HELP loans page for lots of useful information about eligibility, how to apply and payment. You can apply for FEE-HELP once you have enrolled in a program.

HELP loans are not available to international students.

2024 tuition fees:

  • AU$3,600 per course
  • Total AU$28,800 for eight courses.

Fees apply to 2024 only.

Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide.

In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF) based on your enrolment load, which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student. Eligible local students can apply for an SA-HELP loan to defer payment of their SSAF.

For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Looking for answers or more general information?

Use our Frequently Asked Questions to learn about the application process and its equity access schemes, find out how to accept or defer your offer or request a leave of absence, discover information about your fees, refunds and scholarships, and explore the various student support and advocacy services, as well as how to find out more about your preferred program, and more.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.