Graduate Guarantee
This is why we’ve introduced our Graduate Guarantee. It’s a peace of mind warranty that now comes with every undergraduate level CQUniversity degree.
Graduate and land a job in your area, or we will support your continued learning while your search continues with a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) at no cost.
Our Graduate Guarantee
If you’re a CQU graduate and haven’t secured either a part-time or full-time job within your discipline within six months of issue of your degree, you will be eligible to apply for a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) at no cost.
The Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship is self-paced and available entirely online, and if you’re eligible, you will have up to 12 months to complete your free study.
The course provides a general grounding in modern business and leadership practice, units include:
- Disruption, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- People, Leadership and Culture
- Social Innovation
- Strategic Marketing.
International Students
Whilst the information on this page largely applies to both domestic and international students, some information may differ slightly or require further explanation. Visit our Graduate Guarantee - Information for International Students webpage for more details and Frequently Asked Questions.
The Graduate Guarantee is available for both domestic and international students, onshore and offshore.
To apply to study for the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) for free under the Graduate Guarantee, you must:
- have graduated with a CQUniversity undergraduate degree in 2022 or later;
- have studied at least 16 Units with CQUniversity;
- maintain an up-to-date Portfolium / LinkedIn profile;
- have not achieved relevant employment (neither part-time nor full-time) since your official undergraduate degree conferral date;
- apply between 6 and 12 months after graduation; and
- complete your Graduate Certificate within 12 months of commencement.
To apply for this course, you will need to submit an application via CQU's direct application online portal.
“We've done two lots of full-time placements. I loved it. My second placement was at Autism Queensland and I ended up getting a job out of it at the end.
Isabel Woo
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)
Outstanding Graduate Outcomes
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll have a total of three years to finish the qualification, but the free course is only valid for twelve months from when you start. If you don’t quite get there and still want to complete the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42), then you can purchase the remaining units.
A promise is a promise, you didn’t have a job at the six month point and we offered you the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) free of charge. Provided you can fit your study around your exciting new job, and can finish your study within twelve months, we’re happy for you to finish the course (still free of charge).
Yes, as long as the postgraduate component of study was a condition of your graduation, then you qualify for the Graduate Guarantee .
Absolutely. You chose your study area and career path carefully and with an outcome in mind. We want to support your ambition, so we’ll honour your Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) place at no cost.
For domestic students, there is a declaration statement included in the online application for the Graduate Certificate course, simply tick this statement to confirm your declaration that you have been unable to find either full-time or part-time work in your discipline within six months of your degree being conferred (the date on your degree certificate).
For international students, you will be asked to provide a declaration after you have submitted your application.
Yes, provided your conferral date (the date on your graduation certificate) ends in 2022, or later, you are eligible.
Yes, all international students studying on-campus in Australia or online outside Australia are eligible for the Graduate Guarantee. You will be asked to provide a declaration stating that you don’t yet have a full-time or part-time job in your discipline after you have submitted an application.
If you are still in Australia following your original studies, you’ll also have to check your individual visa circumstances to ensure that participating in the Graduate Guarantee course does not affect your visa conditions or eligibility to remain in Australia. You should contact the Department of Home Affairs for any clarification about your visa conditions and confirm.
Employability and job search skills are provided by the CQU Careers and Development team throughout your study. There are services available for recent graduates and alumni outlined on the Careers website. You’ll still be able to access additional materials and resources through MyCQU.
The Graduate Guarantee is only applicable to one attempt of each of the four units within the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42). If you fail and wish to reattempt the unit, then you’ll need to re-enrol and pay course fees.
Given the pragmatic and industry focused design of the majority of CQUniversity courses, establishing what job is within your discipline area will usually be straight forward. If you don’t consider that the job that you have would have been a reasonable outcome of your degree studies, then you are eligible for the Graduate Guarantee – don’t forget to agree to the declaration contained within the application form.
No, once you’ve held a position within the field that you studied for, you become ineligible for the Graduate Guarantee.
On completion of the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42), you will be eligible to apply for the Graduate Diploma of Business Administration (Leadership) (CM07) or Master of Business Administration (Leadership) (CL39), and apply to receive credit for the units you have already completed.
You’ll need to check with Centrelink depending on your individual circumstances. Generally speaking, you need to be studying full-time (or at least a 75% load) to qualify for support. The four units that make up the Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship (CM42) can be completed over 12 months, which would equate to about 50% of a full-time study load (and therefore not qualify).
No. The Graduate Guarantee is designed for undergraduate-level courses only. You may however be eligible to articulate into an undergraduate degree. To discuss your course options, call us on 13 27 86 or Book a Conversation.
