Same Degree, Different Price? Comparing Master of Information Technology Courses in Australia

Flinders University and Monash University both have a Master of Information Technology recorded at 104 weeks in the October 2026 CRICOS course snapshot. Flinders lists A$73,954 in estimated total course cost; Monash lists A$114,330. The difference is A$40,376, or 54.6% relative to Flinders.

Their registered duration and degree title match, but their study pathways are not interchangeable. Monash offers different entry levels, while Flinders describes a programme with a major individual project. The snapshot also differs from some universities’ published fee schedules.

CRICOS.net compared eight university programmes with the same exact course title and registered duration, then checked official university information for content and entry pathways. The result is a starting point for a shortlist—not a ranking of quality, a national cheapest-course list, or a set of confirmed 2027 offers.

Master of Information Technology fees at a glance

Every course below is titled Master of Information Technology, classified Masters Degree (Coursework) and marked Expired: No in the October snapshot. Provider names follow the export. All amounts are Australian dollars and come from that same file.

For all eight records, tuition plus non-tuition equals the estimated total. These are course-level registered amounts, not annual tuition quotations. “Expired: No” describes the record’s status; it does not establish that applications remain open for your preferred intake.

What the same-duration comparison actually shows

Within this selected 104-week group, tuition ranges from A$72,500 to A$114,330. The A$41,830 difference is 57.7% of the lower tuition amount. Including recorded non-tuition fees reduces the difference to A$40,376 because Flinders records A$1,454 in that field and Monash records zero.

The spread therefore cannot be explained by different registered durations within this table. Nor do the fee components explain most of it. The data establish different recorded prices; they do not establish how much of the remaining difference reflects curriculum, institutional pricing decisions, or another factor.

Flinders has the lowest registered total in this selection. That does not establish the lowest amount payable by a particular applicant. Current tuition, recognition of prior study, compulsory charges and the study plan offered to you still need checking.

Similar names can lead to different study plans

Check who the programme is designed for

UQ’s 2026 course information specifies a bachelor’s degree outside IT and several related computing or design disciplines, together with its academic threshold. An applicant with a computing degree should check eligibility rather than assume the title identifies an advanced continuation of that degree.

ACU’s international course page, displayed for 2027 entry, accepts a bachelor’s qualification in any discipline, subject to its other admission requirements. It describes study spanning cybersecurity, data science, business analytics and application development, with organisational IT projects available through its student consultancy hub.

Wollongong’s programme lists a recognised bachelor’s degree with an equivalent 60% average in any area. Its specialisations include Enterprise Systems, Information Design and Analysis, and Information Systems Development. Those labels give you more to compare than the shared degree name alone.

Compare the assessed project, not just the word “practical”

Flinders describes core and advanced IT studies and a major individual project that can address an industry-relevant problem or research question. That is not a promise of an external placement.

Murdoch describes a 48-credit-point coursework route or a combination of 36 coursework credits and a 12-credit-point dissertation. Its specialisations include IT Management, Data Science, and Internetworking and Security.

Macquarie lists Applied Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and Information Systems specialisations, with a supervised research project or industry internship. Ask how the available project route is allocated and what conditions apply before treating an internship as part of your personal plan.

These are different ways of completing a coursework master’s degree. A dissertation option does not change the CSV classification into a separate research degree.

A shorter pathway needs its own fee comparison

Monash’s 2026 graduate course guide distinguishes a two-year entry level for applicants with a bachelor’s degree in any field from a 1.5-year entry level for applicants with a related qualification, subject to its stated requirements. The programme offers industry-experience or research-project options.

UWA similarly describes 1.5- or two-year study depending on educational background in IT. Its content includes cloud and high-performance computing, agile web development and a group design project.

The October records in the table remain 104 weeks. A university’s shorter pathway should not be priced by mechanically reducing that record’s tuition in proportion to time. Request the credit decision, remaining units and applicable fees for your own entry point.

This matters before comparing a shorter offer with a full-length programme elsewhere. The applicant may enter with different prior knowledge and complete a different number of units. Equal qualification names do not establish equal starting points or study requirements.

Why university fees need a separate column in your shortlist

Official pages checked on 24 October 2026 do not all use the same period or fee basis as the snapshot:

• Flinders: A$42,900 in annual international tuition for 2026, rather than the snapshot’s A$72,500 course-level tuition.
• Wollongong: A$85,536 in indicative course tuition for 2026, compared with A$80,640 in the export. The university states that tuition is reviewed annually and confirmed with an offer.
• Monash: A$57,540 for 48 credit points in 2027—a standard full-time annual load—on its international applications and fees page.
• Murdoch: indicative international full-course tuition of A$73,460 for 2026 and A$79,200 for 2027. These are not the same as its first-year figures.

These observations are separate from the main table. They should not be combined into a revised ranking mixing one university’s annual 2027 amount with another’s October registered course total.

The mismatches also do not prove when a university changed its fees or which figure applies to an existing student. Ask for a written quotation identifying commencement year, study load, credit granted and possible later increases.

How additional fees affect this comparison

The largest non-tuition amount in the eight selected records is UQ’s A$2,089. It raises the recorded A$97,840 tuition figure to A$99,929, an addition of approximately 2.1% relative to tuition.

Monash’s numeric zero is not a blank field, but neither establishes the absence of every other expense. The export does not itemise these charges. Ask what is compulsory, what is included, and what you must pay separately.

Our analysis of non-tuition fees in the CRICOS database explains the broader distinction. For this shortlist, keep the three registered fee fields together and maintain a separate personal budget for accommodation, transport, insurance and other costs after checking for overlap. Estimated Total Course Cost is not a complete living-and-study budget.

Build a shortlist around your actual entry point

Compare courses in this order:

1. Academic fit: check whether your previous degree meets the entry requirements, including discipline prerequisites.
2. Your duration: obtain a written assessment of credit or advanced standing rather than assuming the shortest advertised option applies.
3. Content: compare compulsory units, specialisations and the exact project or placement conditions.
4. Location and intake: confirm the delivery campus, mode, application deadline and availability for your intended start.
5. Fee basis: distinguish annual, credit-point and full-course amounts, including the relevant year.
6. Complete budget: reconcile tuition and additional fees, then add expenses outside the provider’s quotation.

Check the provider-course identity in the official CRICOS register and confirm application details directly with the university. A published start date is not confirmation of a remaining place, and registration does not guarantee admission, employment or a migration outcome.

Methodology and limitations

CRICOS.net analysed the supplied October 2026 course export. Its 25,973 data rows included two blank rows, leaving 25,971 valid records, each uniquely identified by CRICOS Provider Code plus CRICOS Course Code.

A broad title search found 106 records containing “Master of Information Technology”. Exact-title filtering produced 59 records across 52 providers; all were classified as coursework master’s degrees and marked Expired: No. Specialised, combined and differently titled qualifications were excluded from that exact-title pool.

The article selects eight university records with the same 104-week duration and official programme information. It is an illustrative university comparison, not a census or an affordability ranking across all 52 providers. All selected fee fields are numeric and reconcile exactly; zero remained distinct from missing data. No selected tuition or total is zero.

Percentage differences use (higher − lower) ÷ lower × 100, rounded to one decimal place. Registered weeks were not converted mechanically into academic years. Programme structure and entry-pathway explanations come from university sources, not deductions from the fee amounts. Confirm your offered pathway and current fee schedule before using the snapshot to make a financial commitment.