Murdoch University

Master of Public Policy

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

This course will 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.

CSP Subsidised Fees Available

This program has a limited quota of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP). The indicative CSP price is calculated based on first year fees for EFT. The actual fee may vary if there are choices in electives or majors.

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 $4,410
More Information
The fees provided are indicative and intended only as a guide. They are based on a typical full-time enrolment for a first-year student at Murdoch University of 24 credit points

From $4,103.25 (CSP)
More Information
You may be eligible for CSP where the government pays part of your fees. The estimated per unit fees are calculated using the annual CSP rate. It is based on a full-time study load of 16 units per year.
Campus
Perth
Intake
28th February, 2026
31st July, 2026
Units
16
Fees
More Information
FEE-HELP loans and HECS loans are available to assist domestic students.
FEE-HELP, HECS, CSP

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 CSP

Indicative first year fee in 2026: $17,640 (domestic full-fee paying place).

Indicative total fee in 2026: $32,826 (domestic full-fee paying place).

Indicative total fee in 2026: $32,826 (Commonwealth Supported Place).

The fees provided are indicative and intended only as a guide. They are based on a typical full-time enrolment for a first-year student at Murdoch University of 48 credit points.

A student’s annual fee may vary in accordance with:

  • The number of units studied per term.
  • The choice of major or specialisation.
  • 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.

Commonwealth Supported Places

The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.

If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you'll only need to pay a portion of your tuition fees. This is known as the student contribution amount – the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.

Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.

Your student contribution amount is:

  • Calculated per unit you're enrolled in.
  • Depending on the study areas they relate to.
  • Reviewed and adjusted each year.

HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.

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