The Master of Public Administration is a 72-unit program which is part of the Graduate Program in Public Administration offered by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Entry is available at three levels - basic, progressive and advanced.
The course is available by flexible delivery or in mixed, on-campus/flexible delivery mode. It requires two years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time).
Admission requirements
- Basic level entry, requiring the completion of 72 units of work, is normally available to applicants who hold an approved degree or an equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution. However, the Faculty Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.
- Progressive level entry, requiring the completion of 54 units of work, is available to applicants who have completed the 18-unit Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management or the 18-unit Graduate Certificate in Public Policy *, or an approved equivalent. Credit may be granted, on application, for relevant work already completed in other approved programs. Progressive level entrants can undertake 18 units of the 54-unit program to complete the graduate diploma.
- Advanced level entry, requiring the completion of 36 units of work, is available to applicants who have completed the Graduate Diploma in Public Administration or an approved equivalent with an acceptable GPA. Approved equivalents include an honours degree of the University in a field acceptable to the Board.
All applicants must submit to the Director of Studies a satisfactory proposal for a coherent program of studies.
* Students who have completed one of the Graduate Certificates or an approved equivalent but not an undergraduate degree must have achieved an acceptable GPA.
Course aims
The Master of Public Administration aims to provide students with a thorough grounding in Public Administration, management and policy and prepare them to undertake further research in one or more of these areas.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course students will:
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the concepts and theories in the fields of public policy, administration and management
- Understand research methodologies in the social sciences
- Design and complete a small research project.
Program of study
To qualify for The Master of Public Administration, a student must complete 72 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the following program of study:
Core - Year 1 & 2 topics
Students complete 40.5 units of core topics comprising:
POAD9005 Contemporary Cases in Public Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9014 Public Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9017 Contemporary Public Policy: Theoretical Perspectives (4.5 units)
POAD9022 Public Management (4.5 units)
POAD9137 Ethics in Public Administration (4.5 units)
POAD9138 Governance and Public Policy (4.5 units)
plus two topics chosen from:
POAD9130 Toolkit for Public Management (4.5 units)#
POAD9139 Organisational Politics, Culture and Management (4.5 units)
POAD9142 Leading and Managing Change (4.5 units)
# students who have completed previous studies in organisational behaviour may substitute an alternative management elective
plus one of:
EDUC9762 Introduction to Statistics (4.5 units)
POAD9141 Qualitative Research Methods (4.5 units)
plus a 13.5 unit Project or 18 unit Dissertation from:
Option - Research topics
POAD9050 Master of Public Administration Dissertation (18 units) OR
POAD9050A Master of Public Administration Dissertation (4.5/18 units) AND
POAD9050B Master of Public Administration Dissertation (4.5/18 units) AND
POAD9050C Master of Public Administration Dissertation (4.5/18 units) AND
POAD9050D Master of Public Administration Dissertation (4.5/18 units)
POAD9150 Project in Public Administration (13.5 units) OR
POAD9150A Project in Public Administration (4.5/13.5 units) AND
POAD9150B Project in Public Administration (4.5/13.5 units) AND
POAD9150C Project in Public Administration (4.5/13.5 units)
plus 13.5 to 18 units of elective topics selected from:
Elective - Year 1 & 2 topics
EDUC9601 Strategic Thinking and Planning (4.5 units)
EDUC9605 Knowledge Management for Organisational Learning (4.5 units)
INTR9054 The Alliance and the Rise of China (4.5 units)
POAD9015 Economics and Public Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9018 Housing Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9026 Management in Non-Government Organisations (4.5 units)
POAD9028 Evaluation Methods (4.5 units)
POAD9030 Indigenous Issues in Public Policy (4.5 units)*
POAD9034 Risk Management - Principles and Practice (4.5 units)
POAD9037 Financial Management (4.5 units)
POAD9043 Selected Issues in Public Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9044 Selected Issues in Public Management (4.5 units)
POAD9118 Managing Human Resources in the Public Sector (4.5 units)
POAD9119 Regionalism, Decentralisation and Governance (4.5 units)
POAD9129 Environmental Policy and Governance (4.5 units)
POAD9130 Toolkit for Public Management (4.5 units)
POAD9131 Development Administration (4.5 units)
POAD9132 Action Learning Project (9 units)
POAD9132A Action Learning Project (4.5/9 units) (4.5 units)
POAD9132B Action Learning Project (4.5/9 units) (4.5 units)
POAD9133 Critical Systems Thinking and Practice (4.5 units)
POAD9134 Democracy and Sustainability (4.5 units)
POAD9135 Project Management (4.5 units)
POAD9136 Culture and Public Policy (4.5 units)
POAD9139 Organisational Politics, Culture and Management (4.5 units)
POAD9140 Public Policy Internship (13.5 units)
POAD9140A Public Policy Internship (4.5/13 units)
POAD9140B Public Policy Internship (4.5/13 units)
POAD9140C Public Policy Internship (4.5/13 units)
POAD9142 Leading and Managing Change (4.5 units)
POLI9004 The Politics of Climate Change (4.5 units)*
SOAD9104 Social Policy (4.5 units)
WMST8008 Engendering Justice, Rights, and Representation: Gender, State and Citizenship (4.5 units)*
*= not available in distance mode