If you are looking for an opportunity for promotion, greater competency in your current position, or a fresh start, a program in policy and applied social research at Macquarie University could be for you.

Dr Michael Fine

The Master in Policy and Applied Social Research is a flexible course that is open to anyone who has completed an undergraduate degree.

The program is designed to provide an opportunity for those with experience in the workforce to develop capabilities in applied social research and the analysis of policy in a social context. Students will develop skills in qualitative social research, research design, evaluation, and critical social analysis of the contemporary policy process.

Core units are provided through the Department of Sociology, some associated with becoming a strong researcher. “We teach how to develop research, design a research project or a program of research, and how to undertake a survey and analyse data,” says program coordinator, Dr Michael Fine.

Other units concern specific areas of policy, such as care and human services, and with understanding the policy process and the changing nature of contemporary government.

With evaluation an integral part of government and non-government programs a unit in this subject is offered. “We are in a world where we don’t have any off the shelf solutions to social issues any more,” explains Fine. “We are designing and developing cost effective, popular and appealing sorts of solutions to problems that we experience. We need to be bold in some of the innovations we propose, but strong in the evaluation of these innovations.”

The beauty of the program is the fact that students can supplement their core units by undertaking a wide range of subjects offered by a range of other departments such as human geography, politics, and applied anthropology.

Masters student Megan Nicholson chose to undertake the program for a variety of reasons including enhanced career prospects. "The national context of increasing inequality, marginalisation of particular groups and declining social responsibility also motivated me to engage with social policy,” says Nicholson. “The course has been a bridge for me into policy and program work in government or non-government organisations, where I feel I am making a positive contribution.”

Students undertaking the program take an average of two to three years to finish. Those who are unable to complete all the requirements for their Masters have the opportunity to gain either a Certificate (three units) or a Diploma (six units).

Some of the students who have already completed a Master in Policy and Applied Social Research are now working with refugees, youth in crisis, the homeless, and in the public sector.

“With the new admin managerial arrangements in the public sector there is often a huge gap between those working in the field and those in the office,” says Fine. “We provide ways to bridge that gap. That is one of the virtues of the class group as it has the mix of policy maker and researcher participating. There is fantastic dialogue between students and significant ongoing friendships and links.”

Enrolments are now being accepted for Semester One and Two 2005. As a HECS funded course, the Master in Policy and Applied Social Research is extremely affordable. Applications can be made through UAC at www.uac.edu.au

For further information contact Dr Michael Fine: michael.fine@mq.edu.au or visit www.soc.mq.edu.au/postgraduate

December 2004

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