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The University of New South Wales

Future Students

Admission Requirements »

Admission is competitive and based on qualifications and experience. Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree with a credit average from an approved university or tertiary institution. In exceptional circumstances applicants without a degree may be admitted on the basis of general or professional experience.

Overseas applicants with English as a second language need to perform at a level of at least 7 in the International English Language Testing assessment.

Applicants must provide a CV and two (2) page letter of interest with their application and should have at least one year of relevant work or voluntary experience.

For information on how to apply to the program, please visit:
http://www.unsw.edu.au/futureStudents/postgradCourse/sad/postgradcourse.html

Applications for international students close at the end of October and for local students at the end of November, for the following year.

For questions about admission to the program, please contact:
Effie Mitchell, 9385 1961, e.mitchell@unsw.edu.au

Additional Information for Applicants »

This program is designed to provide participants with practical knowledge and skills for work in the field as well as an intellectual challenge. It is a coursework, not a research degree, consisting of 8 required subjects taken over one year of full-time study or 3 years of part-time study. There is no provision for exemptions or advanced standing based on work in other programs. While it is possible for local students to take out a Graduate Diploma after successfully completing 6 subjects, we recommend that students enrol in the degree program.

The subjects in the program are integrated and this means there is some advantage in taking the program full-time – 4 subjects each session. It is possible to enrol for a part-time program – 2-3 subjects each year for 3 years. However, each core subject is only offered once in any year and there are no substitutions from other programs permitted. Furthermore, both full and part-time students must complete certain core courses before advancing to the rest of their study.

For more information about the program’s plans and courses, please visit Program Plans.

The program subjects are not offered by distance education.  The face to face interaction of participants from diverse professional, linguistic and cultural backgrounds is essential to the development of relevant values, knowledge and skills for work in this field. The program has included people from almost every discipline and profession - architects to zoologists. This reflects the need for social development work to be transdisciplinary.

In order to facilitate maximum participation class numbers are restricted. Usually approximately one third of participants are from overseas and their experience makes a significant contribution to the program of study.

Classes are held in the evenings. There are no written examinations; assessment is by written assignment which may require some empirical research and by class presentations, individual and group. There is no compulsory field placements, however a number of student-funded overseas internship opportunities are offered each year. Staff have a network of relationships with relevant agencies and may also arrange introductions for participants wanting unpaid field experience. Though employment opportunities during and after study cannot be guaranteed, graduates have found work in a variety of local and international fields. Please visit Job Opportunities for more details.

Fees »

Changes to the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) and the Postgraduate Education Loans Scheme (PELS) impact on the fees payable by local students undertaking postgraduate coursework in Social Development. For more information, please visit:
https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/ChangesHecsPels2005.html#FEE-HELP

For general information about fees, please visit https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

For information about fees for international students, please visit:
http://www.international.unsw.edu.au/future/fees/feeshome.html

UNSW Enrolment Link »

For information about information sessions, application forms, fees, and more, please visit:
http://www.unsw.edu.au/futureStudents/postgradCourse/sad/postgradcourse.html