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Master of Business Administration (Education Leadership)

Course code O16

New in 2026

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About this Course

The course is designed for education professionals who aspire to accelerate their leadership path within educational institutions.

This coursework-based program equips you with advanced knowledge in management, leadership, and strategic decision-making, tailored specifically for the educational context. Graduates will be able to effectively manage resources, foster innovation, and lead educational teams to deliver exceptional outcomes, positioning themselves as influential leaders in Australia’s evolving educational landscape.

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level

This course has been accredited by ECU as an AQF Level 9 Masters Degree (Coursework) Award.

Course code

O16

Entry requirements

ECU admission and English language requirements apply.

See Course Entry for further information.

Fees

Domestic fee paying - estimated 1st year indicative fee AUD $31,100

See Fees and Scholarships for further information.

Duration

1 year full-time or part-time equivalent

See Course Details for further information.

Availability & Campus

Location Semester 1 Semester 2
City Campus FT PT FT PT
Joondalup
South West
Online
*FT = Full-time study PT = Part-time study ECU City 2026** **ECU City will redefine higher education in Western Australia and will be open to students from February 2026. If you are unsure about how this course is affected, speak to one of our future student specialists.

Timetable

This course has a modified timetable. See Course Notes.

About this Course

The course is designed for education professionals who aspire to accelerate their leadership path within educational institutions.

This coursework-based program equips you with advanced knowledge in management, leadership, and strategic decision-making, tailored specifically for the educational context. Graduates will be able to effectively manage resources, foster innovation, and lead educational teams to deliver exceptional outcomes, positioning themselves as influential leaders in Australia’s evolving educational landscape.

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level

This course has been accredited by ECU as an AQF Level 9 Masters Degree (Coursework) Award.

Course code

O16

CRICOS code

118969G

Entry requirements

ECU admission and English language requirements apply.

See Course Entry for further information.

Fees

International students - estimated 1st year indicative fee AUD $40,050

See Fees and Scholarships for further information.

Duration

1 year full-time

See Course Details for further information.

Availability & Campus

Location Semester 1 Semester 2
City Campus FT FT
Joondalup
South West
Online
*FT = Full-time study PT = Part-time study ECU City 2026** **ECU City will redefine higher education in Western Australia and will be open to students from February 2026. If you are unsure about how this course is affected, speak to one of our future student specialists.

Timetable

This course has a modified timetable. See Course Notes.

Course Entry

Admission requirements you'll need to meet for this course.

  • The following course-specific admission requirements are mandatory and must be satisfied by all applicants. These requirements are in addition to or supersede the minimum requirements outlined within the Academic admission requirements band section below.

    All applicants are required to to have a four-year bachelor honours degree in education

    , and at least five years relevant professional experience, of which a minimum of three years must include education leadership and/or management functions. Such functions may include, but are not limited to, year or program coordinator, head of learning area, deputy principal, principal, education consultant, curriculum coordinator, with equivalents considered.

    Academic admission requirements (Band 7) may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • Bachelor Honours degree in a cognate discipline; or
    • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience.
  • English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • IELTS Academic Overall band minimum score of 6.5 (no individual band less than 6.0);
    • Bachelor degree from a country specified on the English Proficiency Bands page;
    • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at postgraduate level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent);
    • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience; or
    • Other tests, courses or programs defined on the English Proficiency Bands page.

Course Entry

Admission requirements you'll need to meet for this course.

  • The following course-specific admission requirements are mandatory and must be satisfied by all applicants. These requirements are in addition to or supersede the minimum requirements outlined within the Academic admission requirements band section below.

    All applicants are required to to have a four-year bachelor honours degree in education

    , and at least five years relevant professional experience, of which a minimum of three years must include education leadership and/or management functions. Such functions may include, but are not limited to, year or program coordinator, head of learning area, deputy principal, principal, education consultant, curriculum coordinator, with equivalents considered.

    Academic admission requirements (Band 7) may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • Bachelor Honours degree in a cognate discipline; or
    • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience.
  • English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • IELTS Academic Overall band minimum score of 6.5 (no individual band less than 6.0);
    • Bachelor degree from a country specified on the English Proficiency Bands page;
    • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at postgraduate level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent);
    • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience; or
    • Other tests, courses or programs defined on the English Proficiency Bands page.

Course Details

Semester availability

Semester 1: Study full-time , City Campus

Semester 1: Study part-time , City Campus

Semester 2: Study full-time , City Campus

Semester 2: Study part-time at City Campus

Course Structure

Students are required to complete 6 core units.

Core Units
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
FBL5010Managing People and Organisations20
FBL5020Marketing Leadership20
FBL5030Fundamentals of Value Creation in Business20
MAN6210Metrics, Analytics and Performance in Public Administration and Education20
EDU6620Educational Leadership Inquiry20
EDU6610Leading Educational Change: Policy, Practice and Impact 20

O16|1

For more detailed unit information for this course take a look at our Handbook. To organise your life for next semester visit the Teaching timetable.

Student handbook

Course notes

Important course notes

  • Not applicable.

  • No

Course learning outcomes

  1. Embody ethical decision-making with reason, integrity, compassion, and adaptability in education leadership contexts.
  2. Critically reflect on a complex body of knowledge to demonstrate an advanced and integrated mastery of educational leadership and management practice/s.
  3. Deploy an inquiry-based mindset to analyse complex data and concepts and justify evidence-based solutions for challenging education management problem/s and/or scenario/s.
  4. Communicate persuasively salient education leadership information with clarity to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  5. Independently draw on research-informed and inquiry-led practice/s to initiate, plan and execute an education leadership project activity to provide solution/s for real-world issues.

Course Details

Semester availability

Semester 1: Study full-time at City Campus

Semester 2: Study full-time at City Campus

Course Structure

Students are required to complete 6 core units.

Core Units
Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
FBL5010Managing People and Organisations20
FBL5020Marketing Leadership20
FBL5030Fundamentals of Value Creation in Business20
MAN6210Metrics, Analytics and Performance in Public Administration and Education20
EDU6620Educational Leadership Inquiry20
EDU6610Leading Educational Change: Policy, Practice and Impact 20

O16|1

For more detailed unit information for this course take a look at our Handbook. To organise your life for next semester visit the Teaching timetable.

Student handbook

Course notes

Important course notes

  • Not applicable.

  • No

Course learning outcomes

  1. Embody ethical decision-making with reason, integrity, compassion, and adaptability in education leadership contexts.
  2. Critically reflect on a complex body of knowledge to demonstrate an advanced and integrated mastery of educational leadership and management practice/s.
  3. Deploy an inquiry-based mindset to analyse complex data and concepts and justify evidence-based solutions for challenging education management problem/s and/or scenario/s.
  4. Communicate persuasively salient education leadership information with clarity to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  5. Independently draw on research-informed and inquiry-led practice/s to initiate, plan and execute an education leadership project activity to provide solution/s for real-world issues.

Fees and Scholarships

Fees

  • AUD $31,100 - Domestic fee paying estimated 1st year indicative fee 1

Note

1 The 'estimated 1st year indicative fee' is provided as a guide only, based on a typical enrolment of students undertaking the first year of this course. At ECU, you pay for the individual units you enrol in, not an overall course fee, so the total cost of your course will vary, depending on what units you choose. An indicative fee will be provided with your course offer, however you can use our Course Fee Calculator to estimate the actual amount you'll need to pay. ECU fees are adjusted annually.

Some units require the payment of a fee for incidental goods or services required to complete those units. For more information and the full list of incidental fees for courses and units, visit What are Incidental Fees.

Scholarships

ECU has a scholarship program that provides many opportunities each year to students undertaking studies here.

Find a scholarship

Career Opportunities

The course builds on your existing leadership experiences by providing advanced capabilities, knowledge and dispositions for accelerating career progression in the education sector.

Possible future job titles

School Principal, Deputy Principal, Educational Leadership, Education Administrator, Curriculum Coordinator, Director of Education, Assistant Principal, School Operations Manager, Early Childhood Director, Education Policy Advisor, Teaching and Learning Coordinator, School Improvement Specialist, Education Project Manager, Head Teacher, Leadership Coach (Education), Education Program Director, Regional Education Officer, Education Quality Assurance, Teacher Development Officer, School Governance Manager, Education Consultant

Fees and Scholarships

Fees

  • AUD $40,050 - International students estimated 1st year indicative fee 1

Note

1 The 'estimated 1st year indicative fee' is provided as a guide only, and has been calculated based on a typical enrolment of students undertaking the first year of this course. At ECU, you pay for each individual unit you enrol in, not an overall course fee, so the total cost of your course will vary, depending on what units you choose. An indicative fee will be provided with your course offer, however you can use our Course Fee Calculator to estimate the actual amount you'll need to pay. ECU fees are adjusted annually.

Some units require the payment of a fee for incidental goods or services required to complete those units. For more information and the full list of incidental fees for courses and units, visit What are Incidental Fees.

Scholarships

ECU has a scholarship program that provides many opportunities each year to students undertaking studies here.

Find a scholarship

Career Opportunities

The course builds on your existing leadership experiences by providing advanced capabilities, knowledge and dispositions for accelerating career progression in the education sector.

Possible future job titles

School Principal, Deputy Principal, Educational Leadership, Education Administrator, Curriculum Coordinator, Director of Education, Assistant Principal, School Operations Manager, Early Childhood Director, Education Policy Advisor, Teaching and Learning Coordinator, School Improvement Specialist, Education Project Manager, Head Teacher, Leadership Coach (Education), Education Program Director, Regional Education Officer, Education Quality Assurance, Teacher Development Officer, School Governance Manager, Education Consultant

Need some help deciding what to study?

Our future student events include a mix of on-campus and online sessions designed to help you decide what to study at ECU.

Creative thinkers start here

Creative thinkers start here

Quick guide to uni-speak

    • The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national regulator of qualifications in the Australian education and training system. The AQF defines the essential characteristics, including the required learning outcomes, of the different types of qualifications issued across the higher education systems in Australia.

    • ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate university courses in Australia. The ATAR is a percentile score which denotes a student's ranking relative to their state-wide peers upon completion of their secondary education.

    • CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. A CRICOS code is allocated to education institutions (like ECU) who are approved to recruit, enrol and deliver education to overseas students. Courses with a CRICOS code are available to international students who meet the entry requirements.

    • A major, or unit set, is your chosen area of in-depth study in an undergraduate course. It usually involves 8 units of study, or one-third of the units in a 3-year degree. Talk to your Student Information Office if you need help choosing a major subject.

    • Minors include between 4 and 6 study units in a specific discipline. Not all courses require you to complete a minor. Your minor subject doesn't appear on your printed degree (parchment), but is part of your academic transcript.

    • If you're enrolled in 3 or more units in a semester this is considered full-time study. To complete most 3-year degrees studying full-time you'll need to complete 4 units per semester, i.e. 24 units over 3 years.

    • If a course is available to study part-time you can generally expect it to take twice as long to complete as it would in full-time mode. Part-time students are enrolled in 1 or 2 units maximum per semester.

      Note: International students who hold a student visa can only choose the full-time study option for our courses. This is to ensure the course is completed within the duration of the student visa.

    • Most courses start in Semester 1 each year, usually in the last week of February. Some courses can be started in Semester 2 (we call this mid-year). There's a week of Orientation before each semester to help you get used to uni life.

    • A lot of our courses start in Semester 2 each year, usually in the last week of July. We call this mid-year. There's a week of Orientation beforehand to help you get used to uni life.

    • We use a points system to make it easier for you to understand your study progress. Most Bachelors degree study units are allocated 15 credit points. If you're studying a 3-year full-time degree you'll need to successfully complete 360 credit points - that's 24 units x 15 points per unit.

    • These are compulsory units you have to successfully complete as part of your course.

    • An elective is a unit you choose to study that counts towards your course requirements, but isn't compulsory. For some courses we recommend elective units. In some situations, a course coordinator may approve an elective unit as a replacement for a compulsory one.

Quick guide to uni-speak

    • The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national regulator of qualifications in the Australian education and training system. The AQF defines the essential characteristics, including the required learning outcomes, of the different types of qualifications issued across the higher education systems in Australia.

    • ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate university courses in Australia. The ATAR is a percentile score which denotes a student's ranking relative to their state-wide peers upon completion of their secondary education.

    • CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. A CRICOS code is allocated to education institutions (like ECU) who are approved to recruit, enrol and deliver education to overseas students. Courses with a CRICOS code are available to international students who meet the entry requirements.

    • A major, or unit set, is your chosen area of in-depth study in an undergraduate course. It usually involves 8 units of study, or one-third of the units in a 3-year degree. Talk to your Student Information Office if you need help choosing a major subject.

    • Minors include between 4 and 6 study units in a specific discipline. Not all courses require you to complete a minor. Your minor subject doesn't appear on your printed degree (parchment), but is part of your academic transcript.

    • If you're enrolled in 3 or more units in a semester this is considered full-time study. To complete most 3-year degrees studying full-time you'll need to complete 4 units per semester, i.e. 24 units over 3 years.

    • If a course is available to study part-time you can generally expect it to take twice as long to complete as it would in full-time mode. Part-time students are enrolled in 1 or 2 units maximum per semester.

      Note: International students who hold a student visa can only choose the full-time study option for our courses. This is to ensure the course is completed within the duration of the student visa.

    • Most courses start in Semester 1 each year, usually in the last week of February. Some courses can be started in Semester 2 (we call this mid-year). There's a week of Orientation before each semester to help you get used to uni life.

    • A lot of our courses start in Semester 2 each year, usually in the last week of July. We call this mid-year. There's a week of Orientation beforehand to help you get used to uni life.

    • We use a points system to make it easier for you to understand your study progress. Most Bachelors degree study units are allocated 15 credit points. If you're studying a 3-year full-time degree you'll need to successfully complete 360 credit points - that's 24 units x 15 points per unit.

    • These are compulsory units you have to successfully complete as part of your course.

    • An elective is a unit you choose to study that counts towards your course requirements, but isn't compulsory. For some courses we recommend elective units. In some situations, a course coordinator may approve an elective unit as a replacement for a compulsory one.

Do you have any questions about the Master of Business Administration (Education Leadership)?

The Important Things

Things you should know about if you're thinking about studying here.

Course Entry

There's more than one admission pathway into an ECU course. It depends on what you've studied already, or your work or life experience.

Fees & Scholarships

Course tuition fees can change, but we can give you an estimate of your costs. If you're eligible, a scholarship or student loan can help too.

Applying

Applying for a course is a fairly simple process, especially if you have scanned copies of qualifications, your resume or other paperwork, ready to upload.

ECU Experience

Starting a course is an exciting and sometimes daunting time, so we make a massive effort to ensure you get all the support you need to have a positive experience.