ObjectivesStudents who complete the postgraduate diploma should:
* complete the equivalent of fourth year honours with a research component and obtain a recognised qualification;
* obtain an adequate basis for pursuing advanced studies in political science at masters or PhD level;
* develop a specialist understanding of specific areas of study, showing an understanding of the latest research directions;
* develop a capacity for an advanced level of analysis in relation to the specific issues in political science.
Academic titlePostgraduate Diploma in Arts (Political Science)
Course description * Thesis 12,000 words (37.5 points)
* one compulsory subject (12.5 points)
* four elective subjects (50 points)
Total 100 points - subjects are 12.5 points each, unless indicated otherwise.
Thesis subject
Subject Semester Credit Points
166-510 Political Science Thesis
This subject involves a supervised thesis of 12 000 words, embodying the results of the student's own political research. Semester 1, Semester 2 37.50
Compulsory subject
Subject Semester Credit Points
166-558 Social Science Research Seminar
This subject is designed to develop research skills for students planning and writing research theses in the School of Political Science, Criminology and Sociology. The subject explores contemporary research strategies, differing methodological appro... Semester 1 12.50
Elective subjects
Subject Semester Credit Points
166-407 Contemporary Political and Social Theory
This subject examines contemporary debates in political and social theory with a particular focus on developments within and challenges to liberal democracy. Initially the difficulties of liberalism in the face of social change will be analysed in th... Semester 1 12.50
166-411 Australian Politics:Democracy & Justice
This subject will investigate how Australian constitutional democracy has been structured and how it has defined and developed citizenship and protected human rights. To address these issues students will investigate questions such as, How was Austra... Semester 2 12.50
166-413 Communication and Governance
This subject critically investigates the changing forms of governance in democratic polities in the wake of the informational age. Using communication as a central analytical category, the subject considers how democratic political systems are coping... Semester 1 12.50
166-416 Justice, Democracy and Difference
This subject provides a critical examination of contemporary debates about ideas of justice, democracy and the politics of difference. The subject critically explores both the major liberal approaches to justice alongside critiques of liberal approac... Semester 1 12.50
166-418 Corruption in Today's World
This subject focuses on definitions, types and theories of corruption, and on its political, social and economic effects in various parts of the world, particularly since the 1980s. The subject asks students to problematise the concept of corruption ... Semester 1 12.50
166-442 Rights and Public Policy
This subject aims to assist students with the development of skills relevant in the policy-making process. This is carried out by familiarising students with legal and political developments within a variety of rights fields and by requiring them to ... Semester 2 12.50
166-444 The Emerging World (Dis)Order
This subject provides students with an opportunity to think about some of the major issues in contemporary international politics. An underlying theme is the extent to which contemporary international politics can be seen in terms of the emergence of... Semester 1 12.50
166-511 US Foreign Policy
This subject will address key questions for evaluating American leadership since 1989. We will look specifically at the leadership offered by George Bush snr., Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. How different is the approach taken by these presidents t... Semester 2 12.50
166-531 Comparative Social Policy
This subject uses a comparative approach to analyse key areas of contemporary social policy, with a focus on the reform strategies that emerged over the 1990s. The subject examines the different social policy responses that have characterised these s... Semester 2 12.50
166-541 Aspects of Post-Communism
This subject focuses on deeper theoretical aspects of the transitions from communist power, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, since 1989. It introduces students to many of the dilemmas faced by European (mainly) transition states, and to the c... Semester 2 12.50
166-544 The EU and Globalisation
This subject focuses on current debates on European Integration and Globalisation, and examines the EU as an International Actor. It introduces students to concepts of integration, multi-level governance; polity; globalisation and social model. It ap... Semester 2 12.50
166-547 Politics and Business in post-Mao China
Over the past two decades, the role of the Chinese state in the country´s economic development has changed considerably. The state planning agencies no longer decide what and how much should the country... Semester 2 12.50
166-548 International Political Economy
This subject will not be available in 2009 12.50
166-497 A Postcolonial International Relations?
This subject introduces major postcolonial concerns such as the ethnocentricism of the Euro-Atlantic international system, the need to elevate Third World interests and perspectives, the appropriateness of universal prescriptions such as democratisat... Semester 2 12.50
166-498 Women in Global Politics
This subject will examine feminist contributions to the theorising of international politics. It will consider the ways in which feminist theorists have 'gendered' international relations theory. The subject engages with the work of theoris... Semester 1 12.50
166-499 Asia-Pacific: Zone of Conflict or Peace?
This subject provides an examination of some important issues in Asia-Pacific international politics in the light of relevant theorizing, interpretations and debates. The topics for study will normally include the China-US-Japan triangle, the Taiwan ... Semester 2 12.50
166-557 Europe and Asia: Competing Hegemons?
This subject focuses on contemporary debates in EU-Asia relations, introducing students to concepts of regional integration and providing them with an understanding of intra-regionalism as well as inter-regionalism. It examines the EU’s p... Semester 1 12.50
166-551 Governance & International Institutions
The subject will examine various dimensions of the conflict between national sovereignty and international interdependence which impinge on the nature and institutions of global governance. It will extend students knowledge of the diversity of the fo... Semester 2 12.50
110-553 Human Rights in Southeast Asia
This seminar will focus on human rights and its critics from a historical and comparative perspective. We will explore the factors that have given rise to radically different conception of rights and justice (i.e. political, economic, cultural, relig... Semester 2 12.50
166-554 Social Research Design and Evaluation
This subject provides a critical and practical engagement with social research design and evaluation, in a range of societal contexts including, but not limited to, social policy. As such, it provides theoretical frameworks and research skills for an... Semester 1 12.50
166-549 Business and Government
The respective roles and interactions between business and government are crucial for the political economy of a country. Because of its productive function, business enjoys a privileged position with government, while a major part of government is c... Semester 2 12.50