150 Point Master of Social Policy

Informal specialisationYear: 2018

You’re viewing the 2018 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks
You’re currently viewing the 2018 version of this component

Overview

The Master of Social Policy offers a curriculum that reflects cutting edge theory in a number of professional development fields. Graduates will be equipped with the skills necessary for advanced community sector management and policy making, including the skills to:

  • analyse key areas of contemporary social policy: governance, inclusion\exclusion, social capital, globalisation etc;
  • engage with the social dimensions of social policy: race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, age etc;
  • understand social policy as a contested process and apply research skills to a range of organisational contexts; and
  • draw on a range of disciplines and take a comparative and global focus.

Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete the Master of Social Policy should:

  • enhance their skills in research: through competent use of advanced information sources and retrieval of appropriate information;
  • have critical and theoretical thinking: through presentation of research papers, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming judgements and arguments from conflicting evidence, and by critical analysis;
  • develop time management and planning: through managing and organising workloads; and
  • enhance their skills in team work: through small group discussions.

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Structure

150 point program

Duration: 1.5 years full-time / up to 3 years part-time

 

Coursework Only Option

  • four compulsory subjects (50 points)
  • elective subjects (100 points)

or

Minor Thesis Option

  • four compulsory subjects (50 points)
  • POLS40013 Social Science Research Seminar (12.5 points)
  • minor thesis parts 1 and 2 (37.5 points total)
  • elective subjects (50 points)

 

 

Capstone Requirements:

All students are required to complete the Capstone Requirement for the program (at least 25 points). Students must complete one capstone option:

 

Capstone Stream 1: PPMN90049 Public/Social Policy Thesis Part 1 and PPMN90050 Public/Social Policy Thesis Part 2 (37.5 points total)

Purpose: An opportunity to integrate knowledge and research skills to address a research question; pathway to the PhD.

 

Capstone Stream 2: SOCI90013 Social Policy Internship (25 points)

Purpose: An opportunity to apply knowledge and skills in social policy practice to solve problems that arise in professional contexts and develop an integrated understanding of research and practice.

 

Capstone Stream 3: PPMN90043 Project-based Policy Analysis (25 points)

Purpose: An opportunity to work in a team-based project where knowledge and skills are applied to a practical project under the supervision of an academic and practitioner expert.

 

 

 

 

For policies that govern this degree, see Academic Services Policy in the University Melbourne Policy Framework. Students also should also refer to information in the Student Policy Directory.

Subject Options

Compulsory Subjects

50 points

Code Name Study period Credit Points
PPMN90044 Governance and Social Policy
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90004 Contemporary Social Problems
April (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90005 Social Research Design and Evaluation
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90011 Foundations of Social Policy
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Minor Thesis Option

Minor Thesis Option - 50 points total

 

Please note the following prior to enrolling in the minor thesis -

  • students admitted into the 200 point and 150 point program must have completed 25 points of compulsory and/or core subjects within the program, with an average of H1 (80%); and
  • to be eligible to enrol in the thesis, students must submit a 300 word thesis proposal for approval by the course coordinator prior to the semester of enrolment in the thesis; and
  • students enrolling in the minor thesis must also complete POLS40013 Social Sciences Research Seminar; and
  • the minor thesis must be completed over two consecutive semesters (part 1 and 2).

Code Name Study period Credit Points
POLS40013 Social Science Research Seminar
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PPMN90049 Public /Social Policy Thesis Part 1
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 18.75
PPMN90050 Public /Social Policy Thesis Part 2
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 18.75

Elective Subjects

Coursework Only Option - 100 points

or

Minor Thesis Option - 50 points

 

Please note:

The following elective subjects require subject coordinator approval to enrol:

  • MGMT90037 Conflict and Negotiation
  • MGMT90049 Strategy, Ethics & Governance
  • ECON90047 Macroeconomics 2

 

Code Name Study period Credit Points
ABPL90135 Analytical Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ANTH90004 Migration and Development
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ASIA90014 Social Change in Contemporary China
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM40002 Qualitative Research Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM40003 Drugs and Justice
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM40005 Punishment and Detention: New Challenges
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM90011 Research and Criminal Justice Governance
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM90020 Crime, Culture & the Media
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
DEVT90035 Monitoring and Evaluation in Development
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
DEVT90039 Civil Society, NGOs and the State
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ECON90029 Economics For Public Policy
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ECON90047 Macroeconomics 2
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ENST90002 Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ENST90004 Climate Change Politics and Policy
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
ENST90032 Sustainability and Behaviour Change
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
FNCE90065 Fundamentals of Finance
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
GEND90006 Gender, Globalisation and Development
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
MGMT90037 Conflict and Negotiation
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
MGMT90048 Quant Analysis for Managerial Decisions
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
MGMT90049 Strategy, Ethics & Governance
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
MULT50002 Indigenous Peoples in Global Context
June (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
MULT90059 Social Enterprise Incubator
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
NRMT90003 Social Research Methods
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
PADM90011 Governing Challenges 1
January (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PADM90012 Governing Challenges 2 Not available in 2018 12.5
PHIL90032 Inequality and Public Policy
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
POLS90015 Business and Government
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
POLS90056 Social Policy and Development
March (On Campus - Parkville)
November (Off Campus)
 12.5
POPH90058 Health Program Evaluation 1
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
POPH90090 Health Program Evaluation 2
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
POPH90093 Economic Evaluation 1
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PPMN90003 Social Policy: Special Topics A
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PPMN90043 Project-based Policy Analysis
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 25
PPMN90047 Social Policy Special Topics B Not available in 2018 12.5
SOCI40003 Understanding The Life Course
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90003 Comparative Social Policy
November (Off Campus)
 12.5
SOCI90006 Ageing, Society And Social Policy
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90009 A Century of Australian Social Policy Not available in 2018 12.5
 
Code Name Study period Credit Points
SOCI90010 International Migration
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90012 Inclusive Policy Development
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
SOCI90013 Social Policy Internship
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 25
SOTH90006 Social Inclusion Policy and Practice
May (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Links

http://arts.unimelb.edu.au/ssps

Last updated: 4 March 2025