Explore our courses
Diploma of Dementia Care
1 year full-time, up to 3 years part-time 
Online
1 year full-time Online
Study without tuition fees in 2026
Domestic students can study Dementia Care fully online with a 100% HECS scholarship if you commence in 2026
Fully supported study
Dedicated student support staff help you achieve your goals.
Flexible Assessments
No exams: assessments include discussion board activities, quizzes, oral presentations and written assignments.
Learn from global leaders in dementia research
The Wicking Dementia Centre is a global leader in dementia research and education, with a mission to transform the understanding of dementia worldwide. We offer leading online education, based on the latest research, that is suitable for everyone at any stage of their career.
Make a positive difference to people living with dementia
The Diploma is particularly relevant for carers, aged care and community health workers, and anyone with an interest in learning more about dementia. You’ll develop a deep understanding so that you can make a positive difference to the lives of people living with dementia. It’s suitable for those with or without formal qualifications and includes digital literacy and skill-building activities. There are also no exams, with assessments including discussion board activities, quizzes, oral presentations and written assignments.
Study without tuition fees
For domestic students commencing study in 2026, we are pleased to offer the Diploma of Dementia Care with 100% HECS scholarship.
Dementia Care
Over 400,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, and this number is projected to rise sharply in the coming decades. As the need for skilled, compassionate support grows, the Diploma of Dementia Care and Bachelor of Dementia Care at the Wicking Dementia Centre, University of Tasmania, offer meaningful study pathways for carers, aged-care professionals, community health workers and anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of dementia.
This webinar is for domestic students and will walk future students through what to expect, including course structure, how the diploma can lead to a bachelor’s degree, online study tools and platforms, skill-building activities and assessment types. The session will also cover the 100% tuition fee scholarship currently available for eligible new domestic students commencing the Diploma of Dementia Care in 2026, as well as application information and a live Q&A with attendees.
Watch Here
Further study options
Completed a Diploma of Dementia Care and looking for the next step? Gain in-depth dementia care knowledge and skills with a Bachelor of Dementia Care
We are pleased to offer New Zealand students discounted tuition fees for the Diploma of Dementia Care. The cost of each unit will be AUD625 - this means you can complete the full Diploma for AUD5000.
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
Bachelor of Dementia Care
3 years full-time, up to 7 years part-time Online
3 years full-time Online
Make a real difference
Gain the specialist knowledge to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their families
Unique in Australia
Study the only undergraduate degree in dementia care within Australia
Flexible assessments
No exams: assessments include discussion board activities, quizzes, oral presentations and written assignments.
Gain in-depth dementia care knowledge and skills
This is Australia’s first bachelor's degree specifically focused on dementia. With an ageing population and increased numbers of people living with dementia, it’s becoming essential that those working in health and aged care develop specialised knowledge.
You will gain advanced problem-solving skills, along with an understanding of the importance of evidence-based practice, preparing you for a range of career paths in the aged care and health sector.
In addition to core units that explore the causes and consequences of dementia, treatment and care practices, and its impact on society, you’ll have the opportunity to specialise in Ageing Studies and Services. This optional major focuses on contemporary and emerging issues related to ageing, including societal attitudes, care approaches, and service provision for older populations.
The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre is at the forefront of translational research and support for issues confronting people with dementia and their carers.
Dementia Care
Over 400,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, and this number is projected to rise sharply in the coming decades. As the need for skilled, compassionate support grows, the Diploma of Dementia Care and Bachelor of Dementia Care at the Wicking Dementia Centre, University of Tasmania, offer meaningful study pathways for carers, aged-care professionals, community health workers and anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of dementia.
This webinar is for domestic students and will walk future students through what to expect, including course structure, how the diploma can lead to a bachelor’s degree, online study tools and platforms, skill-building activities and assessment types. The session will also cover the 100% tuition fee scholarship currently available for eligible new domestic students commencing the Diploma of Dementia Care in 2026, as well as application information and a live Q&A with attendees.
Watch Here
Study options in this degree
During your studies, you’ll choose an area that interests you, and then study a group of units related to that area. That group of units is called a major, and is an area of focus in your degree. Find out more at What is a Major?
Our optional study option provides a holistic understanding of ageing and older people. This major is suitable for anyone who is working with older people, and who seeks to advocate for them as well as support older people in maintaining and achieving quality of life. As such, the knowledge developed through ageing studies and services is vital for those working with older people across a variety of sectors, including the social and community sectors as well as aged care services.
Your studies will cover social and biological aspects of ageing and older age; age-related discrimination; public health understandings; mental health and wellbeing; and administrative processes related to policy and aged care.
Globally the population is ageing. It is vital that our social services and infrastructures are re-imagined and redesigned to support this change.
Add sustainability to your degree
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have created a complementary, optional major available across most of our flexible bachelor's degrees.
In the major, explore interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that underpin the development of sustainable societies and solutions. Informed by international and local research, practice, and theory, this major allows you to develop specialist expertise across the physical and social sciences and humanities, emphasising student-led and problem-based learning.
It provides the frameworks for developing sustainability-oriented solutions in a range of fields and is relevant to a wide range of careers.
Further study options
We offer a suite of postgraduate courses in Dementia that are designed to further develop your skills and knowledge. Many of our graduates return to further study after a period of applying their undergraduate skills in the workplace, when they are ready to progress their career to the next level.
Our postgraduate courses provide a global perspective on the impact of dementia on individuals and societies. They are aimed at graduates and professionals currently working within, or building their expertise in, a field related to dementia. Find out more at Master of Dementia Program.
The Bachelor of Medical Research with Honours enhances career opportunities and is the usual prerequisite for further study for a higher degree by research such as the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
Diploma of Ageing Studies and Services
1 year full-time, up to 3 years part-time Online
1 year full-time Online
Make a real difference
Addressing the need for holistic knowledge of the ageing process.
Unique in Australia
The only undergraduate diploma within Australia focusing on ageing studies and services, with the added flexibility of being fully online.
Diversity of content
Learn about the complexities of an ageing population, the aged care system and the needs and wants of older adults.
Learn about the social and health changes associated with ageing
This eight-unit course addresses the need for holistic knowledge of the ageing process. You’ll explore the social and biological aspects of ageing, age-related discrimination and prejudice, public health understandings, and administrative processes related to policy and aged care.
It is suitable for those wanting to or who are working with older adults in aged care, health care or related sectors, such as community-based roles and services.
Areas of focus include the idea of 'care navigation', policy, safety and health promotion, the rising impact of dementia, and the social and health-based perspectives of ageing.
The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre is at the forefront of translational research and support for issues confronting people with dementia and their carers.
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
Free online courses
Ready to build your knowledge and make a real difference?
Our MOOCs, available with the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, offers fast, practical lessons, hands‑on learning, and trusted insights into dementia. Whether you’re starting fresh or deepening your understanding, you’ll gain skills you can apply with confidence.
Career opportunities
Over 400,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, and by 2050 it is estimated this number will be over 800,000*. The impact on communities, families, governments, and health professionals is already significant, and only increasing as these numbers grow.
You can forge a rewarding career within the community and care fields, in both the public and private sectors. This includes a range of roles that will be critical in delivering enhanced capacity to a sector that is facing an enormous challenge. Recent graduates have been employed as consultants in dementia care, general management, policy advisors and dementia education and training roles in the aged care sector.
If you start with one of our Diplomas, you may also transition into further study in undergraduate health programs, including the Bachelor of Dementia Care. If you have a background in healthcare, community service or allied health, these courses will broaden your knowledge and scope of practice.
*Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022) Dementia in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, 20 January 2023.
31.9%
Aged and Disabled Carers
Projected increase by 2034*
19.6%
Welfare Support Workers
Projected increase by 2034*
20.6%
Special Care Workers
Projected increase by 2034*
*National Skills Commission ten year projections from May 2024-May 2034.
Our Dementia Care stories
View more storiesJayne's story
"The degree has helped me understand that there's an enormous amount that we can do, every day, to help support people living with dementia to live well. Not just in an aged care setting, it's in a broader social impact as a society, as a community, as organisations."
- Jayne Maclean, Bachelor of Dementia Care graduate
Cherie's story
"As I started, the best thing was every single topic that we covered, I could take to work and implement things straight away, and make change…… I could see immediate change in my workplace."
- Cherie Ho, Diploma of Dementia Care Graduate
