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 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)
 DVST2006  From Bullets to Ballot Box and Back: Politics of the Global South  (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)
 POLI3014  International Perspectives on Indigenous Politics  (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- Politics