New South Wales

Program Comparison Highlights

Website: https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/future-students/postgraduate-coursework/degrees/policy-studies/ and http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate/programs/2015/8259.html.

University: University of New South Wales

Location: Sydney, Australia

Degree: MPPG (Master of Public Policy and Governance)

Marketing Approach: "The Master of Public Policy and Governance at UNSW provides specialist studies in public policy and management, public administration and public governance of services at the local, national and international level. Our postgraduate policy studies program applies a social science perspective to questions of policy and management in modern organisations. Policymaking plays a key role in the management and change of the economy and society. From policy conceptualisation, implementation and management, to evaluation and research - there are few professional areas where you can impact society as greatly as when you are helping to shape public policy." (At https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/future-students/postgraduate-coursework/degrees/policy-studies/ accessed 2 October 2014.)

Degrees Awarded per Year: TBD [Information will be requested from the School]

Academic Unit within University: The degree is delivered through the School of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.

Related Academic Units and Degrees: The School offers three other coursework graduate degrees: Master of Criminal Justice and Criminology; Master of International Relations; Master of International Law and International Relations; and Master of Development Studies. Prior to 2015 the School offered a Master of Policy Studies (see http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate/programs/2014/8248.html) and a Master of Public Relations and Advertising (http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate/programs/2014/8291.html) but these are being phased out.

Posted Tuition: The standard fee for domestic and international students in 2014 in Australian dollars is $575 per credit (see https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/ArtsSocialSciences.html accessed 2 October 2014) which works out to AU$41,400 for 1.5 years.

Concentration/Curriculum Overview: 

MPPG Degree Requirements (1.5 Year Plan)

Summary: The program is offered in both a 1-Year Plan ("for students who have completed a relevant Honours degree or Graduate Diploma, or those who have completed a relevant Bachelor degree and one year professional experience") and a 1.5 Year Plan ("for students who have completed a relevant Bachelor degree but have limited professional experience"). The course structure for the 1.5 Year Plan is as follows, with "Additional electives from across the University may be selected with the permission of the program coordinator."

Core courses (30 UOC): SRAP5001 Policy Analysis (6 UOC); SRAP5004 Policy Regulation & Governance (6 UOC); SRAP5017 Policy and Advocacy (6 UOC); SRAP5101 Research Methods (6 UOC); SRAP5102 Project Design (6 UOC)

Prescribed research course (6-18 UOC): Students choose one of the following: SRAP5103 Research Report (6 UOC); SRAP5104 Research Project (12 UOC); SRAP5105 Research Thesis (18 UOC)

Prescribed electives (24-36 UOC): BENV7715 Social Planning (6 UOC); BENV7721 Planning and Land Policy (6 UOC); COMD5001 Internat. Development Policy (6 UOC); EDST5436 Evaluation of Educ Prog (6 UOC); HPSC5500 Soc Env Policy (6 UOC); LAWS8185 Legal Lanscp.of Sharing Econ (6 UOC); PHCM9381 Policy Studies (6 UOC); POLS5120 Global Politics (6 UOC); POLS5121 International Organisations (6 UOC); POLS5122 IPE (6 UOC); SOCW7850 Issues in Social Development (6 UOC); SOCW7851 Community Development (6 UOC); SOCW7852 Politics of International Aid (6 UOC); SOCW7855 Rights Based Project Des&Eval (6 UOC); SOCW7858 ISD Project (6 UOC); SRAP5002 Info. & Research for Policy (6 UOC); SRAP5018 Power, politics and policy (6 UOC); ATAX0301 Tax Policy (6 UOC)

 

Duration: 3 semesters (1.5 years)

Academic Prerequisite: Bachelor degree (or equivalent qualification) in a relevant discipline with a record of academic achievement equivalent to a UNSW credit average (65%); Bachelor degree (or equivalent qualification) in any discipline with a record of academic achievement equivalent to a UNSW credit average (65%) plus 1 year relevant professional experience; Honours degree or Graduate Diploma (or equivalent qualification) in any discipline with a record of academic achievement equivalent to a UNSW credit average (65%).

Number of One-Semester-Equivalent Courses Required for Completion: 12 (72 UOCs)

Note 1: Credits at UNSW are denominated in UOCs with most one-semester courses having 6 UOCs. We are using the equivalency of 6 UOCs = 1 one-semester equivalent.

Number of Required Courses: 6 (including the minimum of 1 course-equivalent of research paper)

Number of Electives Typically Taken (difference between above two entries): 6

Number of Courses Offered within Program: 26 (using the list of courses above provided by various departments within the faculty).

Comprehensive Examination: No

Thesis Required: A choice of research report, or project, or thesis is a requirement for the degree.

Internship Required: No

International Study Required: No

Co-curricular Activities Supportive to Degree

Professional Development and Career Support: No

Student-run Journal: No

Applied Projects: No

Pro Bono Consulting: No

Courses Offered: The courses offered are listed above and also found at http://portal.publicpolicy.utoronto.ca/Documents/MPPG_Page_from_UNSW_2015_Handbook.pdf (downloaded on 2 October 2014). 

Course Material Online: Short course descriptions, but few if any syllabi are available to the public online.

Instructional Distribution (PEACO Profile): The table below indicates the distribution of instruction offered, based on the course assignments to subjects in the Course Map below, weighted by estimated enrolment determined by the PEACO Algorithm.

 

		UNSW
		MPPG
I. Courses Required and Offered
	Number of one-semester courses required for degree	12
	Number of required courses	7
	Number of elective courses taken	5
	Number of elective courses offered	15
	Enrolment weight of elective courses	0.33
	Number of courses provided from within the program	22
II. Distribution of Courses (Enrolment-Adjusted) among Atlas
Domains and Subjects
	Tools and Skills	33.3%
	- Policy and Management Analysis	9.1%
	- Economic Analysis	0.0%
	- Quantitative  and Analytic Methods	21.2%
	- Leadership, Communication, Professional Practice	3.0%
	Institutions and Context	18.2%
	- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process	12.1%
	- Ethics, Rights and Accountability	0.0%
	- Socioeconomic, Political, and Global Contexts	6.1%
	Management Functions	15.2%
	- Public Financial Management	9.1%
	- Evaluation and Performance Measurement	0.0%
	- Other Management Functions	6.1%
	Policy Sectors	36.4%
	- Macroeconomic Policy	3.0%
	- International Development	12.1%
	- Health	3.0%
	- Other Policy Sectors	18.2%
	Total	103%
III. Distribution of Courses (Enrolment-Adjusted) among
Curricular Type Groupings of Subjects
	Policy-Oriented Subjects	68.2%
	Management-Oriented Subjects	31.8%
	Math-Economics Subjects (EA, QM, Macro, Fin Markets)	3.0%
	Archetypal Public Affairs Subjects (P&MA, EA, QM, DI&PP)	21.2%
	Archetypal International Affairs Subjects (I&GC, ID, DS&FR)	18.2%
IV. Number of Courses in "NASPAA-required Subjects" taken by
Typical Student in NASPAA Required Competency Domains
	Lead and Manage in Public Governance	1.98
	Participate and Contribute to the Policy Process	1.86
	Analyze, Synthesize, Solve Problems and Make Decisions	2.83
	Articulate and Apply Public Service Perspectives	1.27
	Communicate and Interact with Workforce and Citizenry	0.48
	Total Courses in "NASPAA-Required Subjects"	8.42
V. Ratio of Courses in "NASPAA-required Subjects" taken by
Typical Student to Estimated Requirement for Competency
	Lead and Manage in Public Governance	1.11
	Participate and Contribute to the Policy Process	0.86
	Analyze, Synthesize, Solve Problems and Make Decisions	0.75
	Articulate and Apply Public Service Perspectives	0.85
	Communicate and Interact with Workforce and Citizenry	0.61
	Ratio of Total Instruction in Competencies to Amount Needed	0.84

Source: Websites from UNSW as referenced above (accessed October 2014 and 29 March 2015).

Page Created By: Ian Clark on 2 October 2014 and updated on 29 March 2015, and updated by Dave Marshall on 3 April 2015. Updating and editing may consist of substantive and/or formatting changes. Unless otherwise noted, however, information regarding a program's structure, curricular offerings and PEACO score is based on the program as it was on the date of page creation. The content presented on this page, except for the assignments of courses to Atlas subjects, the Instructional Distribution analysis, and the Commentary is drawn directly from the source(s) cited above, and consists of direct quotations or close paraphrases.

University of New South Wales MPPG Course Map