Postgraduate Governance Program (not offered in 2024)
We live in an increasingly complex and rapidly-changing world but who governs it? Who gets to make public interest decisions and why? Who runs the country, the province, the city? By what rule and authority? Who wrote the rules? Who benefits from them? How is the power to make public decisions accumulated and exercised? And who speaks for those who are constituted, regulated and reorganized by decisions largely beyond their control?
The Postgraduate Governance Program addresses these questions from local, regional and international perspectives. It focuses on a critical understanding of the institutions both public and private, the structures, processes, values and assumptions that shape governance, rule and collective decision-making across changing local, national, and global political contexts.
The program is broadly inter-disciplinary in outlook and aims to enhance students’ knowledge and appreciation of the issues and challenges arising from the way people, places and societies in the Pacific are organized and governed.
Inquiries to:
Ms. Vasenai Sikinairai
Discipline Secretary
Discipline of Government, Development and International Affairs
School of Law and Social Sciences
Tel: 3232370
vasenai.sikinairai(at)usp.ac.fj
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN GOVERNANCE (PGDG)
Program
The Postgraduate Diploma in Governance program is for both students who have recently completed their degrees and those who are already in the workforce. It is an ideal program for people in senior or middle-level management positions in government departments and statutory corporations as well as those employed by non-government organisations who feel they would benefit from an in-depth understanding of the issues and challenges associated with ‘governance’.
| Admission Requirements: | A full time candidate shall have a Bachelor’s degree from a recognised tertiary institution with a GPA of at least 3. Candidates with GPAs above 2.5 may be considered in exceptional cases. Factors relevant for such consideration may include professional experience and related training in judging equivalence. |
| Program Requirements: | Consists of FOUR courses. |
| Courses: | DG400, DG404 plus two 400 level Governance related courses chosen from the following: DG403, DG406, DG407 and DG411 |
Duration
- One year on a Fulltime basis
- Two years on a Part-time basis
PLEASE NOTE you can only register for TWO (2) courses Fulltime and ONE (1) course Part-time per semester
Teaching delivery:
Classes are held once a week in the evening (5-7.30). The class typically comprises a lecture and interactive discussion.
Assessment
Typically a combination of participation, essays and an examination in each course
Contact Points
Ms. Vasenai Sikinairai
Discipline Secretary
Discipline of Government, Development and International Affairs
School of Law and Social Sciences
Tel: 3232370
vasenai.sikinairai(at)usp.ac.fj
MA IN GOVERNANCE (MAGOV)
Program and Admission Requirements
The Master’s program in Governance may be completed in three ways, subject to approval:
(1) MA thesis (DG700, thesis only), an option reserved for applicants fitting two circumstances: they have completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of the South Pacific with at least a cumulative GPA of 3.5 in courses at the 200 and 300 level; or they have successfully completed the Postgraduate Diploma Governance with a cumulative GPA of 3.5.
(2) Following successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Governance (PGDG), Students successfully complete TWO additional postgraduate courses in Governance, or another approved field, plus a Supervised Research Project (DG600).
(3) The MA in Governance by Coursework consists of EIGHT courses. Following successful completion of the postgraduate diploma in Governance, students successfully complete two additional postgraduate courses chosen from DG403, DG406, DG407, and DG411 or other 400-level DG, MG or PL courses with approval, plus a supervised research project (DG600).
2018 Program
| SEMESTER 1 | SEMESTER 2 |
| DG400 Advanced Research Methodologies | DG400 Advanced Research Methodologies |
| DG406 Theories of Governance | DG404 Ethics of Governance |
| DG403 Public Financial Management | DG411 Governance and Government in the South Pacific |
| DG600 Supervised Research Project | DG600 Supervised Research Project |
Duration
- Two years on a Fulltime basis
- Four years on a Part-time basis
Recommended Course Load
– Fulltime: two courses per semester
– Part-time: one course per semester
PLEASE NOTE you can only register for TWO (2) courses Fulltime and ONE (1) course Part-time per semester.
Teaching delivery:
Classes are held once a week in the evening (5-7.30). The class typically comprises a lecture and interactive discussion.
Assessment
Typically a combination of participation, essays and an examination in each course.
Contact Points
Ms. Vasenai Sikinairai
Discipline Secretary
Discipline of Government, Development and International Affairs
School of Law and Social Sciences
Tel: 3232370
vasenai.sikinairai(at)usp.ac.fj