What is a pathway?

If you want to become qualified for your dream job or your chosen industry, a pathway can help make your career dream a reality. A pathway is a staged learning process, where you can customise your qualifications to your needs.

Why choose a pathway?

Studying at Chisholm is a great way to earn credit towards your bachelor degree.  Often you can achieve multiple qualifications in the same time it takes to complete one.  Plus, no ATAR is required so most students (i.e. VCAL, unscored or low scoring VCE, interstate or international students) have the opportunity to gain a bachelor degree.

Benefits of Chisholm pathways

No ATAR rank required – to enrol in a Chisholm course, you don’t  need an ATAR. Other prerequisites need to be met, for example, attend an interview, complete a portfolio or short test. You can find out more by attending an information session. Or visit our website, search for the course you’re interested in and click on ‘apply now’ then follow the prompts.

Achieve multiple qualifications – while working towards a bachelor degree, you can gain a certificate, diploma and/or an advanced diploma. This means  you'll  finish your degree with more than one qualification, often in the same time it takes to complete a degree.

Get qualified in as little as six months – by completing a certificate first, you can start work in your chosen industry sooner. You can work while continuing your studies, building on your skills, knowledge and employability.

Cost effective – a diploma usually gives you credit points towards your degree, that's equivalent to one full year of study. Usually a first year at TAFE  costs less than your first year at a university so you can save money by replacing a year at university with a year at TAFE.

More confident, more employable - our university partners confirm that many students who have complete a TAFE course before their degree  often excel. This gives students more confidence to become more job ready as it adds many qualifications to a resume. Industry representatives  state this mix of theoretical and practical knowledge is attractive and beneficial for both employee and employer.

A smooth transition – transitioning from high school to university can be challenging. Chisholm offers a staged approach to learning, easing students into study at a tertiary level. Chisholm also has small class sizes similar to what students are used to at high school, often you remain with the same class group throughout your course.

Building your experience and networks – getting a Chisholm qualification helps you start working, earning and networking sooner in your chosen career field . This increases your opportunities to find and secure employment.

Study locally – Chisholm has six locations across south east Melbourne, we also offer online and flexible delivery learning options.  Studying locally may help you save money by reducing your travel or accommodation costs.

How pathways work

Students can enrol in a certificate IV, diploma and/or advanced diploma in a related course or career area. Once completed, the course provides credits into a pathway course or degree.

In most cases students can enrol and complete a diploma, then pathway straight into a degree. In other cases students may be required to enrol in a certificate IV, then a diploma or advanced diploma, then a degree. Everyone has different needs, so it’s a good idea to go to an information session to find out what pathway is best for you.

It’s important to know that after completing any qualifications, our students can choose to defer the next qualification to commence work and return to study again later to continue with their pathway. This can help with gaining employability skills relevant to your chosen career or industry.

Chisholm’s diplomas can be the gateway into other bachelor degrees

Together with options to pathway into our own bachelor degrees, Chisholm has a number of diploma courses that provide opportunities for students to use as a pathway into other university degrees.

We offer:

We have direct pathway agreements to the following La Trobe University degrees:

We also have some examples below of popular pathways students have chosen. We would suggest you contact your preferred university to confirm how many credits you will receive as these can vary between training providers and the course.

Depending on your previous qualifications and/or experience, you may not be required to do a certificate course first. Check the pre-requisites of each course to learn more about course requirements.

Examples of careers and their pathways
Career goal Certificate Diploma Bachelor Degree
Architect Certificate IV in Design - CUA40715 Advanced Diploma of Building Design (Architectural) - 22477VIC Bachelor of Design (Architecture)
Accountant Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping - FNS40217 Diploma of Accounting - FNS50217 Bachelor of Accounting
Business Manager Certificate III in Business - BSB40215 Diploma of Leadership and Management - BSB51918 Bachelor of Commerce
Community Services Professional Certificate III In Community Services - CHC32015 Diploma of Community Services - CHC52015 Bachelor of Community Services
Early Childhood Educator or Primary School Teacher Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care - CHC30113 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care - CHC50113 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Care or, Bachelor of Education (Primary)  
Engineer Certificate IV in Engineering - MEM40105 Diploma of Engineering - 22478VIC Bachelor of Engineering
Exercise Physiologist Certificate III in Fitness - SIS30315 Diploma of Sport and Recreation Management / Diploma of Sport Development - SIS50115/ SIS50319 Bachelor of Health Sciences
IT Specialist Certificate IV in Information Technology - ICT40118 Diploma of Information Technology Support - ICT40215  Bachelor of Information Technology
Lawyer Certificate IV in Business - BSB40215 Diploma of Justice - 22320VIC Bachelor of Laws
Nurse Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance - HLT33015 or, Certificate III in Pathology Collection - HLT37215 Diploma of Nursing - HLT54115 Bachelor of Nursing
Occupational Therapist Certificate IV in Massage Therapy - HLT42015 Diploma of Remedial Massage - HLT52015 Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Outdoor Recreation Facilitator Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation - SIS40313 /Certificate IV in Guiding - SIT40216 Diploma of Outdoor Recreation - SIS50310 Bachelor of Exercise and  Sports Science
Welfare Coordinator or Mental Health Worker Certificate IV in Mental Health - CHC43315 or,  Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs - CHC43215 Diploma of Mental Health - CHC53315 and Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs - CHC53215 Bachelor of Community Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD)

Guaranteed pathways versus credits

Completing a graded /staged diploma usually gives students a guaranteed place into the second year of a degree. In other cases there may be credit arrangement in place where your diploma gives you credit for a full year of study but this may be staged across the first two years at a university. It’s important to do a little research to find out what works  best for you as universities vary. When you decide on your pathway, you need a copy of your transcript or statement of results to see what units or modules are credited.

Most of Chisholm’s diplomas are graded, meaning you have a better opportunity to gain credits into a degree.

How to apply

Search for the course you’re interested in. Click on the ‘apply now’ button and follow the prompts. You can apply to Chisholm by direct entry only so there is no need to apply through VTAC.