From a four-month certificate to a master’s: how Level Up works
Level Up is PGA's stacked pathway from a 4-month certificate to a master's. Each step counts the credits you already hold, so it takes less time than the programme on its own: a diploma takes about 6 more months after a certificate, an associate degree about 1 more year, a bachelor's about 2 more years. Climbing every rung takes about 5 years 10 months, slightly longer than a bachelor's plus a master's taken directly. Its value is that you can stop at any rung with a qualification and come back later.
Most degrees ask you to commit to four years on day one. Level Up doesn’t. You can start with a four-month certificate, see whether creative work is for you, and keep climbing one rung at a time. Every rung is a recognised qualification in its own right, and the credits you earn count toward the next one.
The ladder, with honest numbers
Each programme has its own full length. When you arrive with credits from the rung below, you only study what’s left. The table shows both.
| Rung | Full programme on its own | Extra time with credits from the rung below | Running total from a certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | 4 months, 12 credit hours | — | 4 months |
| Diploma | 1 year, 30 credit hours | about 6 months | about 10 months |
| Associate degree | 2 years, 63 to 67 credit hours | about 1 year | about 1 year 10 months |
| Bachelor’s (BS or BFA) | 4 years, 135 credit hours | about 2 years | about 3 years 10 months |
| Postgraduate diploma | 1 year, 30 credit hours | 1 year | about 4 years 10 months |
| Master’s (MS) | 1½ years minimum, 42 credit hours | about 1 year | about 5 years 10 months |
Why a diploma takes about six months after a certificate: the certificate’s 12 credit hours count toward the diploma’s 30, so you complete the remaining courses. The same logic applies further up: an associate degree builds on the diploma’s credits, and a bachelor’s on the associate degree’s.
Is it faster than a normal degree?
Not if you climb every rung. A bachelor’s (4 years) followed directly by a master’s (at least 1½ years) takes about 5½ years. Climbing all six rungs of Level Up takes about 5 years 10 months, a few months more, because the certificate, diploma and postgraduate diploma each add a short stretch.
So Level Up isn’t a shortcut. It’s a safety net and an on-ramp:
- You can stop at any rung and leave with a qualification, not a half-finished degree.
- You can work in between. Many students take a diploma, work for a year or two as a junior designer, editor or animator, and come back for the associate degree or bachelor’s with their credits intact.
- You can start without intermediate results. Certificates and diplomas accept matric or O-levels. The associate degree and bachelor’s need 45% in HSC, A-levels or equivalent.
- You can change direction. A graduate from another field can join at the postgraduate diploma and continue to the MS.
Which rung should you start on?
Start with a certificate if you’re still at school or just finished matric, you want to test a craft (animation, filmmaking, photography, sketching and painting, performing arts, or creative art and design) before committing, or you can only study part of the year.
Start with a diploma if you want a working skill within a year, such as motion graphics and animation, digital filmmaking, illustration and storytelling, or AI creative arts and design.
Start with an associate degree if you have your intermediate results and want a degree in two years, with the option to top up.
Start with a bachelor’s if you’re sure of your direction and want the full foundation, a specialism, an internship and the qualification most employers and master’s programmes ask for. Taken directly, it’s the quickest route to a master’s.
Start at the postgraduate diploma if you already have 16 years of education in another field and want to move into creative work.
What carries over, and what doesn’t
Credits carry when the courses match the next programme’s scheme of study. A certificate in animation carries well into the motion graphics and animation diploma, and on into the AI Digital Arts degrees; it carries less into fine arts. Before you move up a rung, the programme team maps your completed courses to the next scheme and tells you exactly what’s left.
Already working?
If you’ve been working in the industry without a degree, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assesses your portfolio and experience against course objectives. Courses you can already do are credited, so you only study what you’re missing.
Next steps
- See every rung and its courses on the programmes page.
- Compare a diploma with a degree.
- Ask the admissions team about your starting point: institute@premiergraphic.com.