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Postgraduate Certificate in Policy Studies

Course Code: C1037

The Postgraduate Certificate in Policy Studies is available in the following areas of specialisation:

Advanced Sustainability
Development Studies
Ecologically Sustainable Development
Education for Sustainability
Environmental Ethics
Local Governance
Public Policy
Social Research and Evaluation
Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning

Advanced Sustainability provides the basis for professionals to apply the new approaches and techniques of sustainability. All units are available in intensive teaching mode over the winter term and suitable for direct application to the workplace. Advanced Sustainability has been developed in close co-operation with Engineers Australia and is applicable to many professional backgrounds.

Development Studies is designed to serve the advanced needs of teachers, journalists, development consultants and other professionals currently working in or seeking employment in government and private sector organisations concerned with development assistance, and the relationship between people, environments and economies in the global system.

Ecologically Sustainable Development is designed to explore the policies, issues and processes of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). Students have the opportunity to study the current status, the history and the value bases of sustainable development, together with the policy approaches that are emerging for sustainability in the various sectors such as energy, industry, the household, agriculture, and fisheries. The required units provide a background to the policy, economic and ethical frameworks through which ESD is currently being explored and implemented. They provide the student with the tools for interpreting ESD issues and for applying them in practice.

Education for Sustainability focuses on changing the current ways of using natural resources, caring for the social environment and dealing with economic disparities. The course is aimed at education in all contexts, and by taking a holistic approach, it addresses complex issues such as energy, water use, waste, sustainable production and consumption, biodiversity, land management, indigenous knowledge, disaster reduction, corporate responsibility, equity and social justice, redefining the meaning of progress.

Environmental Ethics is designed for people who want to pursue the foundations of global and local environmental issues. There is widespread understanding of how ethics influences many social outcomes. Environmental problems and their resolution can be related to philosophical traditions, spiritual traditions, new insights from ecofeminism and old insights from indigenous philosophies.

Local Governance will provide students with the theory and practice related to governance at a local level. It will integrate theory from public policy, sustainability, business and community development to emphasise partnerships and bottom-up approaches to change. Units can be chosen to emphasise more of the theory or the practice via a placement in local government.

Public Policy is built around required units in economics, public policy and public administration. There is also space to take elective units to allow students the opportunity to follow subjects relevant to their experience and interests.

Social Research and Evaluation is designed to develop knowledge of particular methods and procedures of social research and program evaluation, and in the interpretation of information from such research in areas such as health, education, welfare, criminal justice, psychology, disability services, and other areas with social programs and policies.

Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning is designed to meet the needs of students from a range of disciplines who wish to pursue careers in urban and regional planning or related policy areas involving urban and regional sustainability. Units examine the institutional and legal framework for planning, and address the main policy challenges involved in planning sustainable communities. Issues covered include transport and land use, housing and infrastructure, community economic and cultural development, and social equity. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of important planning competencies, and recognition is also given to the need for broad training in public policy, ethics, and economics as a basis for decision making. This specialisation is global in scope with a focus on the burgeoning cities of Asia.

Level:	Certificate
Qualification:	Postgraduate Certificate in Policy Studies (PgCertPolSt)
Duration:	1 semester full-time or part-time equivalent (depending on unit selection)
Availability:	Murdoch campus (internal) Murdoch campus (external)
Employment Prospects:	Advanced Sustainability would usually be taken by professionals already working in the field. There will be enhanced employability in organisations that are required to operate in a Sustainability framework. Development Studies will enhance practitioners' qualifications and open opportunities for those interested in social research and working in industry areas such as community and social services, local government, overseas aid work, economic and social planning, sustainable development and Indigenous governance. Ecologically Sustainable Development is particularly relevant to professionals in government, business and civil society working in environmental policy and management, local sustainability issues and international development. Potential employment areas for students specialising in Education for Suitability are the educational sector (at all levels, including primary and secondary schools, VET, university) as well as government, non-government and private sector organisations which work towards a change in culture related to sustainability issues. Environmental Ethics is able to provide clarity and inspiration for professionals, people active in civil society and public servants in many discipline areas of relevance to the environment. Local Governance: although concentrating on local government the specialisation is of relevance to non-Government organisations and business as it is based on partnerships and integration at local level. Public Policy is designed for people intending either to follow a managerial career in the public sector or who already have experience in that sector. This will include those in, or intending to enter, federal or state public service, local government, educational or health administration and related fields. Social Research and Evaluation prepares graduates for careers in the public and private sectors for positions including research and development, evaluation or policy officers, undertaking responsibility for the conduct and commissioning of social research and evaluation studies, or utilising information from such studies. Sustainable Urban and Regional Planning aims to provide the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a career in urban and regional planning, or related professions in policy areas ranging from transport, engineering, health, local economic development, cultural planning, the environment and architecture, to public administration, as well as land development within the private sector and community-oriented work.

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