Online Graduate Certificate in Service Design

Online Graduate Certificate in Service Design

POSTGRADUATE

Transform your career with the service and strategic design skills, knowledge, and tools to deliver exceptional human-centred experiences.

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Student type:
Learning mode:
Online
Entry score:

See admissions

Duration:
Full-time 9 months
Part-time 1 year
Fees:

AU$14,880 (2025 total)

Next intake:
July
Location:
Online
Learning mode:
Online
Entry score:

See admissions

Duration:
Full-time 9 months
Part-time 1 year
Fees:

AU$14,880 (2025 total)

Next intake:
July
Location:
Online

Overview

Service design takes a human-centred approach to the creation and improvement of experiences by examining all aspects of a service ecosystem – its strategies, structures, people, and processes.

This shift in user-centred thinking has seen a rise in demand for service designers, who use empathy and various tools to shape how an organisation delivers its products and services.

Through our Graduate Certificate in Service Design, you will gain service design skills, tools, and knowledge, and a portfolio showcasing your service design strategy and proposed recommendations.

As a graduate of this course, you will be able to:

  • utilise design research methods to identify and investigate contemporary service problems
  • apply skills and knowledge of service design practices and strategy to engage stakeholders, frame problems, and propose innovative solutions
  • articulate your design solutions using various tools such as customer journey maps, service blueprints and service prototypes
  • work autonomously and collaborate with others in diverse contexts, demonstrating cultural, environmental and social awareness, and ethical and reflective practice
  • identify the next steps to develop your professional skills and future learning as a design practitioner.

Australian student visas

RMIT's online Graduate Certificate 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

Through this course, you’ll be equipped with the transformative skillset and tools to enter the field of service design.

You will be able to cement yourself as an emerging design leader with a comprehensive portfolio showcasing your service design thinking, strategy, and proposed recommendations to potential employers.

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The Graduate Certificate in Service Design explores human-centred methods and approaches to define problems and improves the quality of a service experience. By utilising service design tools and processes, you’ll learn how to apply your skills in a real-world portfolio and position yourself as an emerging service designer.

As part of your studies, you will complete four core subjects:

Service Design in Practice

In this subject you will explore the practice and principles of service design and investigate how human-centred design tools and approaches can define problems and improve the quality of a service.

Design Strategy, Practice, and Principles

In this subject, you'll examine the strategies powering the successful delivery of a service experience. You will learn to apply tools, methods, and processes to help align design practices with an organisation’s strategy.

Service Design Research

In this subject, you’ll perform case study analysis, fieldwork, observation and reflection to develop insights into how you can improve a service experience.

Service Futures

This subject will teach you how to synthesise design processes and produce an end-to-end service prototype. Through idea generation and iterative design, you will develop a solution that you’ll reflect and measure the success of.

Receive world-class support with our online facilitators who are the best and what they do.

Being 100% online, get 24/7 on-demand access to the course content, ensuring you don’t have to reduce your work or compromise your lifestyle. Plus, you’ll graduate with a globally recognised postgraduate qualification.

This course is offered full time 9 months accelerated, or part time 1 year.

Students in this course can expect 10-12 hours study per week, per subject.

For each subject in this course, you will complete several assessments, including:

Service Design in Practice

  • Observe and analyse an existing service experience
  • Explore and distill service insights
  • Present potential solutions to your service problem

Design Strategy, Practice, and Principles

  • Analyse a service design case study
  • Propose an ideal service vision
  • Explain your strategy and service solution rationale

Service Design Research

  • Evaluate your design research
  • Complete fieldwork and a service design case study
  • Reflect and report on your recommendations

Service Futures

  • Map the current state of your service experience
  • Extract insights and propose ideation suggestions
  • Present the possible future service experience
  • Reflect and report on your recommendations.

Career

Whether you're new into the field of design, looking to upskill your existing capabilities, or looking to commission service design work, this course will have you job-ready to enter the exciting world of service design.

You will learn how to look at problems with a fresh, human lens, and look to solve customer pain points through empathy, research, and ideation.

Entry requirements and admissions

You must have:

  • Successfully completed an Australian Bachelor degree (or equivalent overseas qualification).

OR

  • Undertaken at least five years of work experience professional practice.

Experience or skills may include working in innovation and start-ups, creative practice, community engagement, strategic and service design, human resources, business analysis, management consultancy, process analysis or other similar roles.

To have your professional experience considered you must submit with your application a CV and a personal statement detailing your experience.

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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

Upon successful completion of the Graduate Certificate in Service Design you may be eligible to continue your studies in the following programs:

Fees

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2025 tuition fees:

  • AU$3,720 per course
  • Total AU$14,880 for four courses.

Fees apply to 2025 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.

Expand all sections

2025 tuition fees:

  • AU$3,720 per course
  • Total AU$14,880 for four courses.

Fees apply to 2025 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 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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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.

More information