Postgraduate Courses

Prospective students must consult the Postgraduate Faculty yearbook and Programme search for more information on the programmes offered.

 

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The School of Public Management and Administration offers the following postgraduate degrees:

 

 

Detailed guidance on Honours selection regulations 

 

This programme is becoming increasingly popular with more and more applications being received from students from various universities across the country, and also internationally. Lectures are presented in block weeks (from 08:00 to 16:00), while time in between class weeks is spent on a research project. The honours programme gives students a complete image of what public administration entails and is specifically designed to deepen analytical and research skills in the field of public administration and management.

 

By way of their research, candidates can choose to specialise in financial administration, personnel administration, policy analysis, international administration, intergovernmental relations, development administration, public management, or organisational studies.

 

Students who complete the programme will display an enhanced understanding of public administration functions, using basic research to assess public sector needs and trends, preparing action plans for improved service delivery and promoting good governance and sound public sector ethics – all skills and knowledge that prepare them for master’s degree studies. To access the yearbook click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SPMA offers an integrated degree, namely the MAdmin in Public Management and Policy (07251162), which combines two degrees previously offered separately, viz the MAdmin in Public Management and Public Administration and the MPhil in Public Policy. The programme is a research-focused degree which caters for students who have successfully completed an honours degree in Public Administration or Public Management or related field of study. The research topics will determine which trajectory (public administration, public management or public policy) is followed by an individual student.

 

The MAdmin programme aims at providing graduates, public managers and administrators with the key research skills they need in order to investigate and address the various challenges faced by the public sector in a developing or transitional country context. The programme targets individuals who have research and/or practical experience and who are motivated to investigate, assess and analyse the controversies, challenges and issues associated with the core functions of the public sector. Students are expected to not describe problems but to come up with solutions that would enhance the capabilities of the public sector. The programme would also prepare students to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities of a career in today’s public administration and management environment.

 

The programme is designed to meet the needs of a new generation of leaders in South Africa and even beyond the national borders as it intends to assist students to confront the challenges faced by the public sector through meaningful research projects.

 

Admission requirements

The detailed selection guidance set out below, should be read in conjunction with the Postgraduate Selection Regulation contained in the postgraduate yearbook of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Should you not have access to this document, please click here before proceeding.

 

The minimum selection requirements of the MAdmin in Public Management and Policy are the following:

 

 

 

The MPA degree is a sought-after programme for working managers within the public sector who have graduated in fields other than public administration. Upon completion, they will understand the history and global role of public administration, understand and apply different public management theories and conduct research.

 

Unlike the MAdmin and MPhil degrees that require a BAdminHons degree as a prerequisite, the admission requirement for the MPA is a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. However, candidates must provide proof of administrative and managerial experience, preferably in the public sector. The SPMA annually receives over 200 applications for admission to the MPA programme, of which only 50 applicants are selected.

 

This programme was developed to provide for the needs of employees in the public sector with diverse undergraduate qualifications, but who have entered the managerial cadres. This is because the duties of a manager demand expertise that would normally not have been included in the undergraduate study. It is an internationally accepted postgraduate qualification and is characterised by its management-orientated approach. Its objective is to enable the manager in the public sector to perform his or her managerial functions effectively, irrespective of undergraduate qualification.

 

The curriculum includes five prescribed modules, as well as a mini dissertation. Once these compulsory modules have been successfully completed, candidates can select two elective modules. To access the year book click here 

 

 

 

 

 

The shortlisted applicants will write the phsychometric and writing tests  on 05 September 2019.

The interview date for shortlisted candidates  will be 12 September 2019.

The PhD Public Administration and Management degree is an advanced research-focused degree and only students who have successfully completed an applicable Master’s degree are allowed into the programme. Candidates should also provide proof of research competence in the form of published articles or reports. Students are required to complete a thesis based on a topic that is in line with the research focus areas of the SPMA and approved by the Postgraduate Committee of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

 

Upon completion, the thesis will be evaluated by national and international external examiners. Students who have completed the PhD Public Administration and Management are expected to make a considerable and original contribution to the discipline in both its domestic and international contexts, and have the skills to understand and address the public sector problems that confront their countries and the world. The PhD is a research-intensive programme. The submission of an article to an accredited journal on the thesis topic is required as part of the graduating process.  To access the year book click here