Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management

Admission requirements

Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution.

Admission may be granted based on prior work and voluntary experience. This will usually include several years of experience in a public sector or non-government organisation. Admission will be based on the extent to which work or voluntary experience has enabled the applicant to develop an understanding of issues in the public and non-government sectors, and management and/or analytical skills.

Applicants who wish to be admitted on this basis need to provide:

a curriculum vitae
a description of the roles and activities in work or voluntary positions
a description of the skills and abilities demonstrated through their work/voluntary experience
name(s) of referee(s) who could verify work/voluntary experience.

The Dean (Education) may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.

Course aims

The Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management aims to introduce the theory and practice of public management for current and future public servants and those interested in knowing more about management in the public sector.

Learning outcomes

Graduates with a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management will be able to:

Understand contemporary trends and developments in public sector administration and management in both developed and developing countries
Apply relevant theories in explaining real world public administration and management problems
Demonstrate skills needed to tackle problems and challenges facing public sector managers (specific skills dependent on elective choice).

Program of study

To qualify for the Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, a student must complete 18 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic, according to the program of study set out below.

Not all topics are necessarily available in a given year.

Except with permission of the Dean (Education):

the program must be completed within six consecutive semesters;
no topic may be attempted more than twice.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in 6 or more units may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University's Policy on Student Progress.

The Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management will also be awarded, on application, to students who have satisfactorily completed the Public Sector Management course offered jointly by Australia's Federal, State and Territory governments.

Core - Year 1 topics

POAD8022 Public Management (4.5 units)

Select at least one topic from:

POAD8130 Toolkit for Public Management (4.5 units)
POAD8137 Professional Ethics and Public Administration (4.5 units)
POAD8139 Organisational Politics, Culture and Management in the Public Sector (4.5 units)
POAD8142 Strategic Change Management in the Public Sector (4.5 units)
POAD9140 Public Policy Internship (13.5 units)

Option - Year 1 topics

Select up to 9 units from:

POAD9037 Public Financial Management (4.5 units)
POAD9118 Managing Human Resources in the Public Sector (4.5 units)
POAD9135 Project Governance (4.5 units)

Every effort has been made to ensure the information published on the Course Rule pages is accurate at the time of publication. Flinders University reserves the right to amend its curriculum without prior notice, and will update the Course Rules to reflect any amendments at the earliest opportunity.