Murdoch University

Master of Public Policy

  • Delivery: Face to Face
  • Study Level: Postgraduate
  • Duration: 24 months
  • Course Type: Master's

Equip you with the skills required to respond to the ever-complex policy problems that states and governments confront and to devise meaningful solutions to pressing policy challenges.

Course overview

Murdoch University has worked closely with relevant stakeholders to design the Master of Public Policy to help you to make a difference in your policy career. You will gain the knowledge and skills that you need to analyse policy problems and to design, implement and evaluate policy in complex institutional and regulatory environments.

Key facts

Delivery
Face to Face
Course Type
Master's
Duration
More Information
Can be studied part time.
24 months (Full time)
Price Per Unit
From $4,560
More Information
The estimated fee is determined by individual units of study and the year the course was commenced.
Campus
Perth
Intake
22nd February, 2027
26th July, 2027
Units
More Information
You may be required to complete 0 credit point units throughout your course. The university will confirm this as part of your enrolment.

The unit total reflects the number of units required for course completion, not the total credit point weight. Some units may be double- or triple-weighted, so the number of units you complete may be lower.
16
Fees
More Information
FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.
FEE-HELP

What you will study

To complete the Master of Public Policy, you must fulfil 48 credit points. Each unit is valued at three credit points, unless otherwise indicated.

Core units

  • Governance, Public Policy, and the Transforming State
  • Political Communication: Actors, Challenges, and Digital Cultures
  • Corruption and Anti-corruption
  • Public Sector Management
  • Public Policy Perspectives
Option One: Specialist Knowledge Pathway

While the specified electives are organised into broad policy themes, students may choose up to 12 points from any of the units from across the three themed clusters. The only required unit in Option one is GOV600 - Policy Research: Strategies, Methods and Design.

  • Policy Research: Strategies, Methods and Design

OR

Human Security and Justice

  • Political Economy of Development and Public Policy
  • Global Governance, Security and Economy
  • Security, Conflict and Violence
  • International Law
  • Ethics and Global Justice
  • Advanced Transnational Crime
  • Challenges in Food Security
  • Health Policy and Governance
  • Gender in Asian Societies

OR

Sustainability, Development and Society

  • Critical Approaches to Development
  • Political Economy of Development and Public Policy
  • Resilient Regions: People and Practice
  • Community Development in Indigenous Communities
  • Community, Policy and Change
  • Sustainability, Ecology and Communities
  • Culture, Communities and Sustainability in Asia
  • Business, Society and the Environment
  • Coastal Policy and Management
  • Energy Policy
  • Climate Change Science and Policy
  • Climate Change Adaptation: Ecosystems and Societies
  • Environmental Policy for the 21st Century

OR

Professional Practice

  • Strategic Communication  three
  • Managing Strategic Risk and Projects
  • Data, Metrics, Reporting and Analytics
  • Organisational Behaviour and Management
  • Industry Project for Business
  • Design Thinking Tools
  • Leading the Engaged Enterprise
  • Modelling the Environment
Option Two: Thesis Pathway

Entry requirements

  • Completion of a Bachelor degree (AQF Level 7) or equivalent.

English Requirements

You must meet a minimum standard in English to study at Murdoch, which for most courses can be demonstrated by providing evidence that you have completed Year 11 and 12 in Australia at any level if you are a domestic student, or through either English proficiency tests, university preparation courses, English language courses, previous tertiary study or vocational education.

Outcomes

Career outcomes

  • Policy Analyst
  • Ministerial and Parliamentary Advisor
  • Evaluation and Performance Reporting Officer
  • Policy Consultant

Fees and FEE-HELP

Full-fee paying place

Indicative unit fee in 2027: $4,560 (6-credit-point unit)
Indicative annual fee in 2027: $18,240
Indicative full-course fee: $36,480

The average full-course fee shown is calculated based on the 48 credit point (8 units) course structure completed over 2 years.

Indicative annual fees are based on your first year of study.

A student’s annual fee may vary by:

  • The number of units studied.
  • Choice of units.
  • Credit from previous study or work experience.
  • Eligibility for government-funded loans.

Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.

FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee-paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.