To be read in conjunction with the program of study requirements for the degree in which you are enrolled:
A student may complete a major sequence of 36 units in Politics by completing two Year 1 topics (9 units), two Year 2 topics (9 units) and two Year 3 topics (9 units) plus two additional topics (9 units) from the Year 2 or Year 3 topics listed in the program of study below.
A student may complete a minor sequence of 22.5 units in Politics by completing two Year 1 topics (9 units), two Year 2 topics (9 units) plus and additional topic (4.5 units) from the Year 2 or Year 3 topics listed in the program of study below. This option is not available to students undertaking the BEd(MSS)/BA degree.
A minor in Politics is not available to students who commenced the Bachelor of Education (Primary R-7), Bachelor of Arts from 1 January 2019.
A student may complete an extended major sequence in Politics by completing the prescribed major topics (36 units), plus an additional two topics (9 units) from the Year 2 or Year 3 topics listed below.
An extended major in Politics is not available to students enrolled in the double Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Course aims
The aims of the Politics major are to produce graduates with the following key attributes:
- skills, knowledge and conceptual understandings that make them suitable for employment in government and wider public sector, think tanks and lobbying organisations, community organisations and private enterprise
- capacity and skills to contribute creatively as engaged citizens
- knowledge of the political concepts and developments in the Australian, comparative and international/global contexts
- a high standard of professionalism informed by strong ethical and moral standards
- capacity to think and work effectively both independently and in team-based environments.
The Politics major aims to produce graduates who have acquired an understanding of:
- Australian government and politics
- concepts and ideas in political philosophy and political theory
- political issues and structures in other countries
- issues in international politics including foreign policy, political economy, and Australia's place in its region and on the international/global stage
- issues in the theory and practice of public policy.
Learning outcomes
Graduates with a major in Politics should be able to:
- think critically and constructively, and demonstrate an ability to place questions of political order, political values, and political decision-making at the centre of analysis
- communicate in a professional and culturally aware manner through high quality written analytical and oral presentational skills;
- undertake research, using both traditional and technological sources
- distinguish among theoretical, conceptual and empirical lines of enquiry
- confidently adapt to challenges in different workplace environments
- apply their professional knowledge to the formulation of policies, the provision of policy advice, the preparation of policy analyses, and the undertaking of policy research and evaluation in the fields of politics and government
- apply analytical and research skills suitable for higher study or employment in the fields of government, non-government and the private sector including political, social and political economic analysis, normative evaluation, documentary and data interpretation, and bibliographic compilation
- be well-equipped for graduate-entry employment positions, especially within government and non-government sectors.
Program of study
The following is the program of study for a 36 unit major sequence in Politics and should be read in conjunction with the course rule for the degree in which you are enrolled.
Major - Politics
Year 1 topics
POLI1003 An Introduction to Democracy and Government (4.5 units)
plus 4.5 units from the year 1 topics listed below
INTR1006 International Relations: An Introduction (4.5 units)
POLI1012 Introduction to Political Ideas and Public Policy (4.5 units)
Year 2 topics
Select 1 topic from the year 2 Group A topics listed below
Group A topics
POLI2010 Contemporary Political Ideas (4.5 units)*
* Required topic for those students who have not successfully completed POLI1012
or
POLI2002 Government Business and Society (4.5 units)
POLI2011 Australian Public Policy: Applications, Issues and Dilemmas (4.5 units)
POLI2019 Parties, Voting Behaviour and Elections in Australia (4.5 units)
POLI2020 Australian Indigenous Politics (4.5 units)
POLI2025 The Politics of the Australian Welfare State (4.5 units)
POLI2026 Research Methods in Political Science (4.5 units)
POLI2027 Feminist Political Theory (4.5 units)
plus 1 topic from the year 2 Group B topics listed below
Group B topics
AMST2002 American Politics (4.5 units)
INTR2003 The Asia-Pacific in the 20th Century (4.5 units)
INTR2005 The Next Superpower? The Rise of China in the 21st Century (4.5 units)
INTR2006 Debating Human Rights (4.5 units)
INTR2008 Africa on a Global Stage (4.5 units)
POLI2005 Politics of the European Union (4.5 units)
POLI2012 Environmental Politics (4.5 units)
plus select an additional 4.5 units from the year 2 topics listed above or year 3 topics listed below.
Year 3 topics
Select 2 topics from the year 3 topics listed below
AMST3016 Internship Program: Washington DC (9 units)
AMST3013 The Alliance and the Rise of China (4.5 units)
INTR3001 Australian Foreign Policy (4.5 units)
POLI3007 South Australian Parliamentary Internship (9 units)
POLI3103 Politics and the internet (4.5 units)
POLI3003 Classics of Political Thought (4.5 units)
POLI3011 People and Politics: Australia, Canada and the United States (4.5 units)
WORK3200 Social & Policy Studies Workplace Research Project (4.5 units)
plus select 4.5 units from the year 2 or 3 topics listed above to make a total of 36 units.
Honours
Refer to Honours- Government and International Relations
