1. Handbook
  2. Courses
  3. Graduate Certificate in Advanced Learning and Leadership
  4. Attributes, outcomes and skills

Graduate Certificate in Advanced Learning and Leadership (GC-ALL) // Attributes, outcomes and skills

You’re viewing the 2018 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks
You’re currently viewing the 2018 version of this course

Intended learning outcomes

Doctoral candidates who complete the GCALL will be able to:



  • Demonstrate a familiarity with key thinkers in the history and philosophy of leadership from antiquity to the present day;
  • Demonstrate a knowledge and appreciation of the complex social, ethical and cultural context of leadership through the analysis of case studies;
  • Demonstrate an appreciation of how leadership operates in multiple professional contexts, including the academy, Government, NGOs, the corporate sector and general community;
  • Identify and extend individual capacities for leadership in these contexts through targeted development of communication, problem-solving, teamwork and project-management skills;
  • Initiate, manage and report on real-world projects using a range of project management systems and structures;
  • Demonstrate a breadth of knowledge commensurate with the depth of their disciplinary expertise.

Generic skills

Doctoral candidates who complete the GCALL will be able to:

  • Apply research skills and specialist knowledge in new contexts;
  • Work effectively in interdisciplinary teams to solve complex problems;
  • Identify and develop key learning and leadership strengths in themselves and their peers;
  • Communicate effectively to non-specialists by tailoring oral and written communication to specific audiences;
  • Lead groups in discussion and debate;
  • Recognise institutional power structures and identify ways to navigate these successfully;
  • Reflect critically on their endeavours and development;
  • Identify a conscious personal and social values base and apply this to their work;
  • Show independence of mind, responsibility, resilience and an affinity for lifelong learning.

Graduate attributes

The GCALL supports graduates’ acquisition of the doctoral attributes as listed on all University Handbook doctoral course entries. In particular, it provides opportunities for doctoral candidates to demonstrate and further extend the following qualities and skills:

  • Highly developed problem-solving abilities and flexibility of approach;
  • The capacity to disseminate the results of research and scholarship by oral and written communication to a variety of audiences;
  • A capacity to cooperate with and respect the contributions of fellow researchers and scholars;
  • A profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of research and scholarship;
  • An advanced facility in the management of information, including the application of computer systems and software where appropriate to the student's field of study;
  • An understanding of the relevance and value of their research to national and international communities of scholars and collaborators.

Last updated: 10 February 2024