Advance your career as a health professional with specialist knowledge and technical skills in designing, managing and evaluating rehabilitation plans within a variety of health contexts.
What to expect
Maximise your professional expertise and extend your knowledge and skills in rehabilitation. In this one-year, full-time (or equivalent part-time) course, students choose from two streams - coursework or coursework and research - to build specialist knowledge, skills, and technical capability across a range of health contexts.
With a focus on tropical, rural, remote and Indigenous communities, you will undertake core subjects and select one of four majors (outlined below).
Students enrolling in this course as a pathway to a PhD must complete the coursework/research stream. Graduates may be eligible for credit towards a Master of Rehabilitation.
View the handbook for a detailed overview of subjects.
Inherent requirements
Inherent requirements are the identified abilities, attributes, skills, and behaviours that must be demonstrated, during the learning experience, to successfully complete a course. These abilities, attributes, skills, and behaviours preserve the academic integrity of the University's learning, assessment, and accreditation processes, and where applicable, meet the standards of a profession. For more information please review the inherent requirements for the Graduate Diploma of Rehabilitation.
Majors
General
Enhance your health professional expertise in the field of rehabilitation across a variety of settings and client populations. Learn how to critically appraise and analyse research publications in the fields of health and rehabilitation and gain greater insight into the application of evidence-based practice.
Occupational Therapy
Extend your occupational therapy and rehabilitation knowledge to enable you to deliver services to people with chronic conditions or disability in a range of settings. You will develop advanced assessment and management skills in relation to rehabilitation and build a greater understanding of the research and theory base underpinning a range of health care domains.
Physiotherapy
Work with some of Australia's most highly regarded physiotherapy and health professionals to expand your existing professional skills and experience. You will explore rehabilitation for people with chronic conditions, as well as specialty areas of practice such as burns, amputees and women's health. Develop advanced assessment and management skills in relation to rehabilitation, whilst applying evidence-based practice across a range of settings.
Speech Pathology
Be equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge and practical skills in the field of speech pathology. Enhance your current professional qualification/s to explore more specialised methods of diagnosing and managing adults and children with complex communication and swallowing disorders. This major will enhance your ability to apply evidence-based practice to optimise functional communication and quality of life.
Career Opportunities
A Graduate Diploma of Rehabilitation from JCU will equip you with recognised professional development that will increase your leadership skills and develop your career in a rehabilitation-related area of healthcare.
Graduates pursue careers in various areas including acute wards and rehabilitation settings with public and private health providers, aged care, private practice, policy development, or research.
You could pursue your specialisation in roles such as clinician, case manager, or researcher.
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please
February 2025
Townsville campus
1 James Cook Dr,
DOUGLAS,
Queensland,
4814, TOWNSVILLE, Australia
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please
July 2025
Townsville campus
1 James Cook Dr,
DOUGLAS,
Queensland,
4814, TOWNSVILLE, Australia
Completion of an AQF level 7 bachelor degree in a relevant health discipline, from this or another university (General major); or
Applicants must have completed at least an AQF level 7 Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy or Speech Pathology at an Australian university or hold an equivalent international entry level qualification in one of these professions (Physiotherapy major, Occupational Therapy major or Speech Pathology major).
IELTS - 7.0 (no component lower than 6.5); TOEFL (internet based) - 94 (no component less than 23); Pearson (PTE Academic) - 65 (no component less than 58).
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
James Cook University (JCU) is ranked among the top 2 per cent of universities in the world (THE World University Rankings 2023).