200 points Master of Arts (Professional and Applied Ethics)

Informal specialisationYear: 2024

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Overview

This program is offered by the Centre in Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and is available through the philosophy discipline in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies in the Faculty of Arts.

Organisational change, political change, wars, globalisation, new technologies and practices, corporate collapses, corruption, scandals in the health and research sectors, environmental disasters, conflicts of interest, all raise distinctive and pressing issues of policy and practice. Finding practical and ethically sustainable solutions requires a thorough understanding of both the ethical and the empirical aspects of the situation.

Completion of this program will equip graduates to conduct research on and analyse key ethical concepts and arguments in their field of specialisation, enabling them to contribute to policy discussion and development in a wide range of professional, institutional and industry settings. There is scope for students to follow their own interests, with a substantial thesis component and specialisations such as the ethics of health care, computing, business, politics and criminal justice; as well as the broad themes of bioethics and global justice.

Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete the Master of Arts (Professional and Applied Ethics) should:

  • understand and analyse complex ethical issues;

  • detect ambiguity, vagueness, inconsistency, and other weaknesses in the expressions of ideas;

  • distinguish different types of question, claim or argument, and respond to them appropriately;

  • distinguish what is relevant to a given issue from what is not; and

  • see ways in which an argument or explanation could be improved.

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Structure

200 point program

Duration: 2 years full-time / up to 4 years part-time

 

  • four compulsory subjects (50 points)
  • minor thesis parts 1 and 2 (50 points total)
  • elective subjects (100 points)

Please note: the thesis requires two consecutive semesters of enrolment.

 

Capstone Requirement:

All students are required to complete the Capstone Requirement for the program. Students must complete the following capstone -

Capstone: PHIL90038 Applied Ethics Thesis Part 1 and PHIL90039 Applied Ethics Thesis Part 2 (50 points total)

Purpose: To conceptualise, plan and execute a substantial, independent, research-based project in the form of a minor thesis in applied or professional ethics, demonstrating high level skills in interdisciplinary and comparative research, analysis and critique, underpinned by a thorough understanding of academic protocol and presentation.

 

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
PHIL90004 Ethical Theory and Practice No longer available
PHIL90010 Global Justice No longer available
PHIL90032 Inequality and Public Policy No longer available
PHIL90025 Issues in Bioethics No longer available

Thesis Subject

50 points

Please note: the thesis requires two consecutive semesters of enrolment.

Code Name Study period Credit Points
PHIL90038 Applied Ethics Thesis Part 1 No longer available
PHIL90039 Applied Ethics Thesis Part 2
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 25

Elective Subjects

100 points

Please note: the program coordinator may give permission for graduate subjects other than those listed as elective subjects, provided that:

  • the subject/s is at an appropriate level;
  • they are relevant to the program; and
  • permission to enrol has been given by the program/subject coordinator

Code Name Study period Credit Points
AHIS40007 The Artist's Body No longer available
ASIA90001 Human Rights in Southeast Asia
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM40003 Drugs and Justice Not available in 2024 12.5
CRIM90007 Genocide, State Crime and the Law No longer available
CRIM90008 Sovereignty, Justice, Indigenous Peoples Not available in 2024 12.5
CRIM90011 Research and Criminal Justice Governance
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM90016 Community Justice Project
July (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
CRIM90017 Violence, Trauma and Reconciliation
August (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
DEVT90040 Gender Issues in Development
February (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
GEND40003 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
GEND90006 Gender, Globalisation and Development
February (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
 12.5
GEND90007 Rethinking Rights and Global Development
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
HPSC90012 Trust, Communication and Expertise
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PHIL40003 Topics in Moral Psychology
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PHIL90005 Applied Ethics: Directed Research No longer available
PHIL90009 Violence, War and Terrorism No longer available
PHIL90027 The Moral Limits of Markets No longer available
PHIL90030 Professional & Applied Ethics Internship No longer available
POLS90038 Human Rights
Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PUBL90014 Legal Issues in Arts and Media
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
 12.5
SCRN40002 Screen Theory, Style & Spectators
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
PHIL90029 Climate Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas No longer available
PHIL90041 The Ethics of Gaming No longer available

Links

http://shaps.unimelb.edu.au/

Last updated: 4 March 2025