Our rankings
We're ranked 28th globally for psychology by the 2022 QS University Rankings by Subject.
Our graduates are ranked 1st in Australia and 4th globally for employability by the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings.
This course is available to be studied in several different study modes, including online or face-to-face. Check study modes offered in the 'course details’ section below.
In response to COVID-19, the University of Sydney has also reviewed the availability of the face-to-face version of this course, and this will be available for students to study remotely whilst the Australian border remains closed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
About this course
Learn to help people improve their performance with a Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology. Providing a solid grounding in theory and practice, this unique course will give you the skills to enhance productivity and quality of life of individuals, organisations and the broader community.
The Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology teaches the applied science of human performance enhancement and coaching. This unique one-year course is a rare opportunity to be part of the fast growing and relatively new field of coaching psychology, which seeks to enhance human performance in work, relationships and life in general.
Coaching psychology is an applied positive psychology course and sits at the intersection of counselling, clinical and organisational psychology. This program provides you with a sound grounding in the theoretical and methodological aspects of coaching psychology and teaches fundamental applied coaching skills and leading-edge training in coaching practice.
Our focus is on coaching in business and organisational settings. The program aims to give you the knowledge to be a skilled coach, capable of coaching in an extensive variety of settings and with a wide range of clients including executive, management and personal coaching.
The Coaching Psychology program comprises the Master course, which offers the full range of subjects, and the Diploma and Certificate courses, which allow students to enrol in a subset of these units.
The Coaching Psychology program at the University of Sydney is the world's first and longest-running of the few postgraduate qualifications worldwide in coaching psychology.
The Coaching Psychology Unit at Sydney is recognised as a world leader in the development of both coaching theory and its real world application. Students receive the best available training, from internationally renowned practising coaching psychologists, and training and management consultants, with extensive experience in their specialised fields.
Program expectations
You can expect to gain both a sound grounding in the main psychological theories and principles that inform coaching practice and a foundation in the core skills of applied coaching.
These theoretical and applied skills include:
Online mode information for Semester 1, 2022
Our new online only offering is available to domestic and international students and will include a combination of live, recorded and alternative activity sessions. The indicative timetable should be used as a guide for students in different time zones.
International student visas are NOT available or required for students enrolling in the online only course. Part time study is available and recommended for all online and face to face students.
For academic requirements check the ‘Admission requirements’ section on this page.
You can apply online via the application portal. When you are ready to apply, select the ‘Apply’ button on this course page. Visit the How to apply page for other important information.
Please note you must supply supporting documentation with your application in order for your application to be considered, including:
You need to scan, upload and attach this supporting documentation to your application. To help the assessment process, we request that you upload no more than 4 attachments to your application. If you wish to submit more than 4 documents for consideration, please consolidate all documents into 1 attachment. All transcripts should be consolidated into 1 attachment.
Applying for a Commonwealth supported place (CSP)
There is no separate application required to apply for a CSP. Once you apply for admission, if you are successful in securing a CSP, you will receive notification via an offer of admission.
A Commonwealth supported place (CSP) is not guaranteed as there are a limited number of CSPs available for postgraduate courses. The number of available CSPs for a course can change each semester/year. CSPs are also not automatically awarded for course transfers and upgrades.
CSPs are awarded for the duration of a course based on academic merit determined by the University and eligibility criteria specified by the Australian Government. Learn more about CSPs. If you do not qualify for a CSP you may be offered a domestic fee-paying place.
Closing dates
Semester 1 – 31 January of the commencing year
We strongly encourage applicants to apply as early as possible, offers are made on a rolling basis and places are limited. Separate scholarship deadlines apply - check the scholarships website for details.
Semester 1 (February)
You can apply online via the application portal. When you are ready to apply, select the ‘Apply’ button on this course page. Visit the How to apply page for other important information.
Please note you must supply supporting documentation with your application in order for your application to be considered, including:
You need to scan, upload and attach this supporting documentation to your application. To help the assessment process, we request that you upload no more than 5 attachments to your application. If you wish to submit more than 5 documents for consideration, please consolidate all documents into 1 attachment. All transcripts should be consolidated into 1 attachment.
Closing dates
Semester 1 – 15 January of the commencing year
We strongly encourage international applicants to apply as early as possible to allow time for visa and travel arrangements. Separate scholarship deadlines may apply - check the scholarships website for details.
Semester 1 (February)
Candidates for the Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology complete a total of 36 credit points made up of three core units of study (18cp) and three elective units of study. The course may be completed on a full time or part time basis.
Full time study can normally be completed over the course of 2 semesters, with 3 units taken per semester. Your individual study plan will depend on the availability of units in a given semester.
View the Coaching Psychology Unit timetable.
Please note this timetable is indicative only.
Degree sample: Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology
Year |
Sem |
Unit of study |
Unit of study |
Unit of study |
|
1 |
1 |
Theories and Techniques of Coaching Psych (Core) | Fundamentals of Coaching Practice (Core) | Applied Positive Psychology | |
|
2 |
Coaching Practice (Core) | Groups, Teams and Systems | Socio-Cognitive Issues in Coaching Psych | |
All times shown in the indicative timetable are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Online students in different timezones are strongly advised to check the suitability of the indicated times of the live components using a tool such as this timezone converter.
View the 2022 Master of Science in Coaching Psychology unit timetable.
Please note this timetable is from 2021 and is indicative only.
Our students are typically mid-career professionals with some coaching experience and prior coach training of some sort. A section of our students are professional coaches seeking to extend their practice and gain a thorough grounding in the psychology of coaching. Another section of our students are managers from a wide range of professions and industry sectors who have used coaching skills in the workplace and have undertaken ‘manager as coach’ training and leadership development programs. We also have a number of human resource and organisational development professionals in the program who typically have been involved in organising or delivering coaching in the workplace.
For admission into this course, you should have either:
You should also have at least three years relevant employment experience.
As entry into this course is competitive, applicants who meet the admission requirements are then ranked according to academic merit and coaching experience. Course numbers are limited and offers will be made to applicants on the basis of rank, subject to a strict enrolment quota. Top-ranked applicants will be made early rolling offers prior to the year of commencement. For all other applicants, the first offer round occurs in mid to late January in the year of commencement. The second and subsequent offer rounds occur throughout February in the year of commencement.
If you do not meet the requirements for admission into the Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology may wish to consider applying for entry into the Graduate Certificate in Coaching Psychology.
As part of the embedded program, upon successful completion of the Graduate Certificate in Coaching Psychology, you may gain entry to the Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology through an internal “upgrade”. In turn, upon successful completion of the Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology, you may gain entry to the Master of Science in Coaching Psychology through an internal “upgrade”.
There are no Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) available in the Graduate Diploma in Coaching Psychology. However, a very limited number of CSP may be available to domestic applicants for the Master of Science in Coaching Psychology from year to year.
The academic requirements that are displayed are applicable to currently available courses only, and are updated annually in October and may be changed without notice. The Handbooks Online and the University of Sydney Calendar are the official legal source of information relating to study at the University of Sydney, and you are referred to those documents.
While there is no generally recognised professional qualification for coaches, the program is consistent with the International Coach Federation (ICF) core competencies. Hence successful completion of the program may contribute toward accreditation in the ICF's portfolio track.
This course is not a pathway for professional registration as a psychologist.
After graduating, you could expect to gain employment in a range of jobs involving:
The staff in the Coaching Psychology Unit come from a wide range of academic and business backgrounds.
The core staff are:
