Graduate Certificate in Design for Health and Wellbeing (GC-DHW) // Attributes, outcomes and skills

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of research evidence, debates, policies and practices related to design for health and wellbeing;
• Demonstrate awareness of the impact of spatial considerations (including landscape) for user health and wellbeing;
• Use design practice skills, tools and knowledge to simply interpret data and ideas in a diverse range of formats, for specialist audiences;
• Integrate information from multi-disciplinary contexts to enhance design, design thinking and design analysis;
• Inform policy and practice related to design for health and wellbeing;
• Plan and execute an evaluation project related to a chosen topical health or wellbeing issue.

Generic skills

• Research through competent use of advanced information sources and retrieval of appropriate information;
• Critical, spatial and theoretical thinking through presentations, research papers, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming arguments from conflicting evidence, and by critical analysis;
• A knowledge of research and design-research methodologies and methods including empirical research methods drawn from the sciences and humanities relevant to the built environment;
• Time management and planning through organising workloads and substantial projects;
• Team work through online discussions and peer feedback.

Graduate attributes

The main focus of the Graduate Certificate in Design for Health and Wellbeing is an understanding of how the built environment impacts the health and wellbeing of users.

Skills that will contribute to the improvement of our built environment for user health and wellbeing:

• A grounding in evidence based built environment design related to health and wellbeing;
• An understanding of systems, structures and policies in Australia and other countries that impact built environment decisions related to health and wellbeing;
• The skills to communicate effectively with designers and non-designers and to work within teams;
• The ability to identify and discuss current and key challenges in design for health and wellbeing from a global perspective; and
• The ability to direct decision-making related to design and policy in order to improve built environments for the benefit of users' health and wellbeing.