• Completion of an Australian Bachelor degree (or equivalent) in a similar discipline; OR​
• Applicants with a minimum five (5) years approved work experience will be considered for admission to this course.

VU Online’s Graduate Certificate in Economics for Business will foster the key skills required of today’s emerging business manager or leader.

Depending on your career goals and skillset, studying the Graduate Certificate in Economics for Business can open up a number of opportunities. This can include roles in:

Typical job titles

• Consultant
• Senior management
• Supply and demand planning
• Inventory and supply chain
• Project management

VU Online provides you with the support you need, when you need it, during your course. Our support network has a single focus on ensuring you are entirely supported to succeed in your studies.

Our highly experienced academics are responsive and accessible and understand how to deliver a quality online learning experience. You will also be introduced to your very own Student Success Advisor, who provides motivation and one-on-one personalised assistance with non-academic matters throughout your course.

You’ll experience the support of your community through chat, virtual seminars and discussion board activity. Remember, your support network is only a phone call and email away.

Our Graduate Certificate in Economics for Business costs $3,650* per unit. The total cost for all 4 units is $14,600*.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying students with the cost of a university course. This Government loan scheme helps to pay for all or part of their tuition.

*2023 student fees are shown and are subject to change.

For more information on fees and student support, download a brochure.

Studying with VU Online means that you can undertake postgraduate study without having to attend on-campus classes. This makes it easy to fit study around existing commitments including work and family. You will be able to access your coursework, resources, assignment details and individual feedback from facilitators, all from your online learning environment, VU Collaborate.

Chat with fellow students, compare research notes and collaborate on group tasks – it’s all possible with our seamless, community-focused platform.

With VU Online, you will study just one unit at a time under our award-winning Block Model. Learn about our postgraduate online Block Model with this YouTube video.

With VU Online, you can rest assured you will find support from our responsive academics and facilitators, as well as your dedicated Student Success Advisor throughout your study.

VU online has simplified the application process, involving just three key steps.

1. Speak to one of our Student Enrolment Advisors, who will help you determine your eligibility for the program and whether it suits your career goals. Our advisor will keep you informed of all the application requirements and what to expect during the process. They can also suggest flexible study plans for your circumstances.
2. Begin your online application and submit the required documentation. This may include a copy of your CV and academic transcript.
3. Upon completing your application, you will receive a confirmation email or an email letting you know if you need to provide any additional information.

Business success depends on relationships as much as it does on opportunity. Both internal relationships of business units and personnel, and the external relationships with partners and associates are critical components of successful business strategy. This unit delves into the strategy that underlies relationship formation through exploring agency issues, relationships with suppliers and collaborators, and how product strategy affects relationships with competitors.

Students will build their conceptual skills and knowledge in key elements and approaches to sound business relationships including how to: establish clear foundations; nurture relationships; emphasise accountability and metrics; and build relationships that are dynamic and future-focused. Significant exposure to economic theories, industry-based examples and case studies prepare students for complex negotiation environments to assist them to succeed in strategic negotiations and business relationship building.

The success of businesses and economies is fundamentally measured by their competitiveness in a market context. This unit explores economic theories to understand competitive landscapes and how businesses develop differentiation strategies to win market share. Students will undertake an analysis of complex markets, including multi-sided platform markets, to develop the conceptual understanding necessary when undertaking differentiation strategy formulation.

Students will explore static and dynamic competition, market-share analysis, intellectual property trend analysis, and successful techniques to formulate a viable competition strategy. Students will also develop knowledge and skills to analyse competitive landscapes, consider short and long-run outcomes, identify business opportunities and develop strategies for success.

Business and economic forecasting involves methods and techniques aimed at making predictions that can inform business decision-making. This unit introduces students to the application of different forecasting techniques and practical experience in model building. Students will also explore forecasting methods available to senior managers and leaders for business decision-making, including pricing, forecasting, demand analysis, production and cost analysis, and macroeconomic policy as it affects the business environment. The unit also explores techniques for the evaluation of forecasting methods across real-world forecasting applications.

Understanding customer demand is essential to business success, and supply and demand modelling is a cornerstone of economics and business modelling. Determining viable pricing is fundamental to pricing and production decisions. Supply and demand modelling also informs, and is informed by, the decisions of rivals. This unit will critically review how supply and demand conditions influence business decision-making and complex pricing decisions.

Students will learn about supply and demand modelling within diverse markets and industries, including traditional manufacturing, multi-sided platform markets, and service-based industries. The unit will also develop student understanding of fixed and variable costs of production, economies of scale/scope, monopoly/monopsony, substitution effects, complement effects, price elasticity, market externalities and pricing in markets absent of scarcity, and the implications of such concepts for supply and demand analysis and pricing strategy.