 |
 |
Site Objectives | General Resources | Distance & Online Courses | Course Outlines & Materials | Home
Postgraduate Distance Education
This site supplies important resources and advice for the Postgraduate Distance Education [DE] Programs within the School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning. Chief among these are the Course and Study Guides, along with Reading Lists for a broad range of courses. Both prospective and current distance students are encouraged to examine these materials closely before enrolment. Late changes of enrolment can seriously delay the delivery of materials, and hamper your ability to complete a course.
This site is a work in progress. Materials are not uniform across courses but we have endeavoured to make available as much as possible within the constraints of copyright. Teaching modes and learning objectives differ between courses. These differences are indicated as clearly as possible in the documentation below. Any further inquiries about specific courses should be directed either to the Postgraduate Office or to the academic staff member indicated in the Course Guide. Any inquiries or difficulties concerning the use of this site should be directed to the DE Support Team.
Website Resources
|
|
Course Guides |
|
|
|
Study Guides |
|
|
|
Reading Lists |
|
|
|
General Information Guide |
|
|
|
Library Facilities for Distance Students |
|
|
|
Assistance with Academic Skills |
|
general resources
General Information Guide
The Essential Social Science Assessment Guide
The School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning provides this Guide for students to assist in the writing of essays and reports. It covers research and writing strategies, and includes advice on assessment, referencing, plagiarism, and a list of useful websites. The Guide is found at the bottom right-hand of the For Students: Postgraduate Coursework page:
http://www.rmit.edu.au/gsssp/pgradinfo
Note: Students will need to login to access the Guide. Login instructions are available on the website. Just select the "Login" button in the top, left-hand corner of the page, then select How do I log in?
Email Communication
All RMIT students have access to email. It is important to familiarise yourself with this facility so you do not miss important course communication from your lecturer or tutor.
If you already have a preferred email account at your work or with a private ISP, you should redirect your RMIT email to your preferred account. The Help Page of the ITS Student Email System site shows you how this is done. Redirecting your email is explained in detail in this document.
Library Facilities for Distance Students
Off-campus students have access to a broad range of services from the RMIT University Library. These include:
|
|
Document delivery |
|
|
Access to electronic databases |
|
|
Reference inquiries |
|
|
Consultation with Liaison Librarians |
|
|
Access to other Victorian and National libraries |
Details of these Library services can be found here.
Assistance with Academic Skills
The Academic Skills Unit [ASU] provides assistance with research and essay writing, with a particular emphasis on postgraduate students returning to study. Assistance is delivered either face-to-face via individual consultation or via scheduled classes, or via online advice and modules. ASU resources and schedules can be found online at:
http://www.rmit.edu.au/studyandlearningcentre
The phone contact is 9925 4488. The main office is located at: Building 94, Level 3, 23-27 Cardigan St Carlton. The Learning Resources Centre @ the Hub is located at: Building 12, Level 4.
Online resources can also be found at:
http://writinggateway.mq.edu.au/
[Macquarie University]
http://preprod1.www.stthomas.edu/writing/resources.htm
http://www.studygs.net/
distance & online courses
Code & Title |
Semester |
Materials |
2 |
DE/FF | |
1 |
DE/FF | |
not currently offered |
||
HUSO 2068 Community Development Strategies (Social Work Theory & Practice IV) |
2 |
DE/FF |
1 & 2 |
DE/OL | |
not currently offered |
||
1 |
OL/CD | |
2 |
FF/OL | |
not currently offered |
||
1 & 2 |
FF/DE | |
1 & 2 |
FF/DE/OL | |
1 & 2 |
FF/DE/WK | |
HUSO 2171 Global Trade and Sustainable Development: Discourse, Politics and Practice |
2 |
FF/DE |
1 |
FF/DE/OL | |
2 |
FF/DE | |
not currently offered |
||
2 |
FF/OL | |
2 |
FF/DE/OL | |
2 |
FF/DE | |
1 |
FF/DE | |
2 |
FF/DE | |
1 |
FF/OL | |
1 & 2 |
FF/DE | |
ARCH 1281 Minor Research Project (24 credit points) |
1 & 2 |
NA |
2 |
FF/OL | |
not currently offered |
CD/OL | |
1 & 2 |
DE/OL | |
2 |
FF/OL | |
2 |
DE/OL | |
1 & 2 |
DE/OL | |
1 & 2 |
FF/DE/CD/OL | |
2 |
CD/OL | |
1 |
FF/DE/OL | |
not currently offered |
||
1 & 2 |
FF/DE/OL | |
1 & 2 |
FF/DE/OL | |
ARCH 1273 Urban Regions: Strategic Considerations in Development |
1 & 2 |
DE/OL |
Key to Materials: CD = CD-ROM; DE = Hardcopy Distance Materials; FF = Face to Face; OL = Online@RMIT; WK = intensive weekend workshop.
Research Postgraduates Please Note
A number of Research Students are enroled in individual Coursework Masters courses. Because theirs is a research rather than a coursework program, however, the course code varies from what is listed above, even though they attend the same classes and receive the same learning materials. See below for relevant equivalents. If your code is not listed here, please check with Kangie Gisonda in the Postgraduate Office.
Research code |
Coursework Code |
Course title |
HUSO 2122 |
HUSO 2078 |
Aid, Adjustment & Development |
HUSO 2182 |
HUSO 2075 |
Contemporary Social & Political Theory |
|
HUSO 2135 |
HUSO 2085 |
Gender Issues in Development |
HUSO 2193 |
HUSO 2096 |
International NGOs, Civil Society & Development |
HUSO 2191 |
HUSO 2067 |
Microfinance & Development |
ARCH 1316 |
ARCH 1268 |
Planning For Community Development |
HUSO 2112 |
HUSO 2079 |
Research Strategies |
ENV1 1178 |
ENV1 1132 |
Natural Resources Management |
course outlines & materials |
. |
HUSO 2078 Aid, Adjustment and Development The course provides an overview of official international financial flows (otherwise known as development assistance or "aid") and the evolution of development policy over the last twenty years, and introduces key debates. Topics examined include trends in aid flows, the motivations of donors in providing aid, the Third World debt, the tying of aid to market-oriented economic reforms through Structural Adjustment Programs, and the social and economic impact of aid. The course will critically evaluate the role of the World Bank as the world's principal development agency. Also examined are contemporary debates regarding the role of "good governance" in development and the future of aid in a global economy. Semester: One and two |
HUSO 2080 Assessing Progress in Developing Countries This course looks at how one empirically assesses the extent of progress, or its lack thereof, in developing countries. After looking at the concept of progress, it critically examines a range of social, political and economic indicators used by practitioners to monitor both changes in and intercountry levels of development. These include income per capita, various indicators of health and educational status, the human development index and indicators of gender discrimination and empowerment. The course explains, in a relatively non-technical way, how to access, interpret and apply these indicators to monitor and evaluate aid projects and programs, development strategies and policy reforms. Semester: One |
HUSO 2084 Budgets, Contracts and Tenders This course provides students with a critical understanding of how to prepare, evaluate and interpret budgets, contracts and tenders in the community services and international development industries. The focus will be on the use of current Australian and international case studies informed by appropriate practical materials. Students will be encouraged where appropriate to draw on and examine their own observations and/or recent work experience. The course will also be augmented by contribution from industry-based practitioners. Semester: Not Currently Available |
HUSO 2068 Community Development Strategies This course is designed to provide students with a critical understanding of theoretical and practical developments in the evolution (and contested nature) of 'community development' in a comparative societal context. Key concepts to be explored are the important definitions of communities, differences in the types and styles of participation, the role of voluntary associations, minority groups and leadership. Such conceptual understanding will be grounded in a broader consideration of comparative political or government structures, including how they differ across societal forms (e.g. 'traditional', 'modern' and 'postmodern'). As well as dealing with theoretical and conceptual components, the course will explore basic skills for working with communities and community-based organisations. To do this, it will utilise comparative case study material which links the practices of community development and policy-making. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2075 Contemporary Social and Political Theory The aim of this course is to provide students with a critical overview of key contemporary debates in social theory and political economy which can help to illuminate the future of social, cultural, economic and environmental relationships at national and international levels. Debates and issues to be covered will include globalisation; modernity and post-modernity; the relationship between states, markets and civil society; ecological perspectives and shifting power relations arising from differing identities of class, gender, race and ethnicity. Semester: One and two (Duration: One semester) |
HUSO 2076 Empires and Development The present problems faced by most countries in the developing world can be traced in part back to their historical experience in the period from 1885 until the mid-1960s. That is the period usually referred to as the age of 'New Imperialism'. This course examines the impact of imperialism on a number of settler and bureaucratic colonies. The impact is studied in relation to economy, gender, science, culture and social practice. Case material is drawn from societies in southern Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific. Semester: Not currently available |
Field Project [Placement] is a core course in the International Development Program of the Master of Social Science. Though there are no formal prerequisites except those entailed in the program as a whole, students are advised first to complete a number of other courses. Field Project [Placement] is an individually negotiated project involving student placement in an international development or development-related agency, either in Australia or overseas. For assessment, students produce a report based on a project or issue that their chosen agency is focused upon. Field projects are tremendously diverse. The student's activities and assessment are supervised primarily by a staff member of the chosen agency. The RMIT Course Coordinator is available to advise on accademic issues such as topic selection, project design and report preparation. Semester: One and two (Duration: One semester ) |
HUSO 2085 Gender Issues in Development Until the mid-1970s the literature about development was written almost exclusively by men, for men and about men. That has changed, and it is now accepted that the global divisions between wealth and poverty, and the powerful and the powerless are most often resolved to the advantage of men and to the disadvantage of women. State formations, the uses of science, patterns of labour and familial arrangements are all sites in which gender shapes social practice. This course examines the role of gender in regard to political and social process, the division of labour, and the prospects for human and material development. Semester: One and two |
HUSO 2070 Gender Practice in Development This course provides an introduction to gender analysis and other aspects of gender practice as a means of identifying and understanding women's and men's specific roles in develpment processes and projects, as well as identifying and understanding the differential impacts these same processes and projects can have on women and men. The course will focus on developing student skills in conducting gender analysis and understanding the role of gender in the project cycle. The course also provides an introduction to participatory tools as they apply to gender analysis since participatory approaches are founded on concern about empowerment and equity, and respect for difference which are central to questions of gender practice. Semester: One & Two |
HUSO 2171 Global Trade and Sustainable Development: Discourse, Politics and Practice This course is designed to critically explore the power networks within a corporatised global agenda determining the nature, scope and shape of trade regimes. Emphasis is placed on the social, environmental and economic impacts of specific trade practices at the global level on developing countries. The institutions of trade regulation are also examined with a particular focus on the World trade Organisation and the regulatory structure in general. The role of national governments and their neoliberal policy agendas are critically examined, in particular, issues of privatisation and labour policy. Special attention is also given to trade agreements and their social, environmental and economic implications. The course also addresses the opportunities for alternative global trade regimes, based on principles of sustainability and social justice. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2073 Governance and Democracy in Developing Countries This course commences with an examination of the concept of governance and its relationship to political development, especially democratisation. It then looks closely at key dimensions of good governance, including anti-corruption, public-sector management and the rule of law. This is followed by an investigation of key dimensions of democratisation, including civil society and human rights, elections and electoral systems and the role of the media. The role of international aid donors, both multilateral and bilateral, in the promotion of good governance and democratisation in developing countries is critically evaluated. Semester: One |
HUSO 2072 Health Issues in Development Health is one of the most important areas for measuring social well-being and provides some of the most incisive indicators for measuring success of the development process. The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of key theoretical perspectives and debates which underpin various approaches to health within international development. It introduces the major themes in the literature, looking at regionally- based studies of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, family planning, infant mortality, occupational health and safety, and malaria. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2096 International NGOs, Civil Society and Development This course is concerned with the activities of non-government organisations (NGOs) working in the field of international development. It looks at the extent and nature of NGO activities, highlighting both professional and academic opinion on the role played by these organisations. The evolution of NGOs, and the different roles they have come to play over time, are highlighted. So too are issues such as the claimed comparative advantage of NGO activities (relative to official aid agencies), official funding of NGOs, and cooperation between developed and developing country NGOs. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2168 International Project Management and Monitoring This course introduces key principles and practices in the management, monitoring and evaluation of international development projects [based on Australian experience] and equips students with financial and project-management skills appropriate to entry-level employment in a development agency. It describes the management approaches of key players in the development process: the donors [the main emphasis will be on AusAID but reference will be made to other bilateral and multilateral agencies, private philanthropic agencies and the Australian public]; implementing agencies [Australian NGOs and commercial contractors]; and recipients [government and non-government agencies and individuals in developing countries]. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2159 International Project Planning and Design The aim of this course is to introduce students to the international development activity management cycle. In the majority of instances, these activities are financed projects of international development agencies. This course provides an overview of the key stages involved in the planning and design of international development projects, beginning with project identification and initial assessment. It will feature case-study material, including the procedures and guidelines used by development agencies including AusAID (the official Australian development aid agency). The course looks in detail at project identification and design, highlighting the role of the Logframe Approach, a key tool used by development practitioners, and links this to various approaches to, and measures of, activity quality. It caters for aspiring and current development professionals. Semester: One |
HUSO 2173 Introduction to Development Economics This course provides an introduction to Development Economics. Development Economics is primarily concerned with improving the quality of life in development countries. As a discipline, Development Economics has evolved to incorporate sophisticated mathematical abstractions. This course, however, assumes students have not studied economics previously. Thus, after introducing the formal theories, this course moves beyond mathematics to explore the policy implications of development economic theory for developing countries. The primary focus is thus how development economics understands various contemporary development issues and the impact these theories have had on international development policy and implementation. In this respect the course compliments other course offerings in the MSocSc [International Development] program. Having introduced these theories, the course explores the links between development economics and policies of international organisations such as aid-funded investment, technological investment and education. A major focus here is the important part economic growth can play in improving the lives of the poor, and how Development Economics can assist in setting conditions to promote this growth. Other themes covered include unemployment, urbanisation, trade, foreign direct investment and financial crisis. Semester: Two |
HUSO 2067 Microfinance and Development In recent years Microfinance - the provision of small-scale financial services to lower-income households in developing countries - has become a major development strategy, attracting substantial donor support. This course introduces Microfinance principles and practices and examines key contemporary issues and debates. Topics covered include Microfinance models and methodologies, targeting and outreach, impacts on poverty and the "empowerment" of women, and the microenterprise sector in developing countries. Also examined is the controversial possibility of a trade-off between ensuring that Microfinance programs are financially sustainable and maintaining a focus on the poorest clients. Semester: One & Two |
This course develops intellectual and practical skills to define a central research question, to develop and implement a research strategy, carry out a literature review, and develop the arguments of a thesis. Supervised by a member of academic staff, the thesis should be a distinct contribution to knowledge by original investigation, or by review and criticism. This course culminates in the preparation of a detailed research proposal, which includes a literature survey. Semester: One and two |
HUSO 2071 Participatory Approaches to Development The aim of this course is to introduce students to participartory approaches and methods in development, particularly participatory appraisal. The course provides an introduction to the history and philosophy of participatory approaches, emphasising the work of Robert Chambers. Following this introduction, the course examines some of the main approaches in participatory development, including Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The main focus of the course is on building student skills in conducting participatory appraisal and participatory methods and tools. Finally, the course explores some of the limitations and potential of participatory approaches in development. Case studies of participatory appraisal in developing country contexts are drawn upon during the course. Semester: Not currently available |
ARCH 1268 Planning for Community Development The material of this course centres on the issues of community-based development, including considerations of empowerment, capacity-building, social movements, self-development, the voluntary sector, the role of multilateral (e.g. the World Bank) and bilateral (e.g. AusAID) formal sector organisations in the community development process, community participation, local decision making and community development. Much of the work will be based on case-study materials. Semester: One and two |
ARCH 1260 Project Planning and Implementation for Change This course focuses on the issues involved in organising projects to effect urban, regional and environmental change within the developing world. It will examine the project cycle, including consideration of project planning, economic and environmental evaluation methods and economic impact methodology. Insight into successful project management will also be included. Case studies of projects, both successful and unsuccessful, will provide the learning material of the course so that students can learn how to ameliorate the potential adverse effects of projects and how to design for success in cooperation with local communities. Semester: One and two |
This course will aim to develop students' competence and confidence in developing a research strategy in preparing for their minor thesis. The course will concentrate on critical analysis of social research methodologies, with some emphasis on policy research. Semester: One and two (Duration: One semester) |
HUSO 2074 Theories of Development This course examines the main post-1950s theories of development. It is multidisciplinary in its approach. The material addressed includes modernisation theories, dependency and neo-Marxist theories of imperialism, the stages theory of economic growth, structural and institutional theories of development and neo-liberal approaches to development. The underlying theme is the meaning of development implicit in these theories, and students are asked to critically evaluate various approaches to development. Semester: One and two |
ARCH 1265 Urbanisation Issues in the Developing World This course is a foundation survey of urbanisation and policy issues. It includes a study of the socio-economic and political processes occurring in urban areas of the developing world. Based largely on case- study material (much from Asia, but from other regions of the world as well), the course examines the problems of urban growth, mega-city formation, community participation in urban management, sustainability of human settlements and the sectoral issues which are of most importance to urban residents: housing, infrastructure, employment. The role of external agencies in urban life and development (e.g. the World Bank, as a source of urban development loans and the IMF in structural adjustment) is also examined. Semester: One and Two |
ARCH 1273 Urban Regions: Strategic Considerations in Development This course focuses on the issues involved with organised projects to effect change within the developing world, with primary emphasis on urban and regional projects. The course begins with a consideration of the various actors involved in development projects, focusing particularly on multinational aid organisations. It will examine the project cycle, including special emphasis on project planning, economic and financial appraisal, environmental evaluation methods and project implementation. The basic principles of the logical framework of project planning, and the appraisal techniques of benefit-cost, willingness-to-pay and cost-effectiveness will be explored in some detail. Case studies of projects, both successful and unsuccessful, will provide the learning material of the course so students can learn how to ameliorate the potentially adverse effects of projects and how to design for success in cooperation with local communities. Semester: One & Two |
Note: § Some
courses, while listed as 'on-campus', can be studied in 'off-campus' mode
but only § Selected
semester one courses can be studied over both semesters one and two. Contact |
ID Web Editor: postgrad-de@rmit.edu.au Copyright © 2007 |