Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies)/Bachelor of Information Management and Systems


General information

Course code: To be advised · Caulfield campus · Course coordinator: To be advised

Introduction

The Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies)/Bachelor of Information Management and Systems (BA(Policy St)/BIMS) is offered by the School of Humanities and Public Policy and the School of Information Management and Systems.
The aim of the BA(Policy St)/BIMS is to prepare students for careers in the policy and information fields. Graduates who can offer skills in both these areas are likely to be in demand by policy-intensive organisations concerned with accountability (eg corporate regulation, legal administration) or enterprise (eg telecommunications, multimedia, international trade or other industry policy). Double-degree graduates from this program who join the staff of senior policy-makers such as politicians would be able to offer full support, covering systems administration (including websites), information storage and retrieval, information analysis and evaluation, and decision support.

Aims and objectives

The double degree of Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies)/Bachelor of Information Management and Systems aims to produce graduates who (a) are effective in policy development, implementation and evaluation in a wide range of public and private sector contexts, and (b) possess generalised, adaptable communications, information management and IT skills.
The Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies) component supports these aims by producing graduates who are expected to develop:

The Bachelor of Information Management and Systems component supports this aim by producing graduates who are expected to be able to:

Course structure

The pass degree normally takes four years full-time or eight years part-time. It comprises 192 credit points (92 Arts faculty credit points and 100 Information Technology faculty credit points).

Bachelor of Arts (Policy Studies) component

This component of the course includes a compulsory major in public policy, and comprises 92 credit points of subjects made up of the following:

A year-by-year student progression through the course would be as follows:

First year (24 points)

plus

Second year (28 points)
Third year (20 points)
Fourth year (20 points)
Bachelor of Information Management and Systems component

This component of the course includes a specialisation in an area of information systems and management, and comprises 100 credit points of subjects.
A year-by-year student progression through the course follows:

First-year (24 points)
Second-year (24 points)
Third year (30 points)
Fourth year (22 points)

Admission requirements

Applicants will be required to have successfully completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (or equivalent) with a minimum study score of 25 in English units 3 and 4 and a score of 20 in at least three other studies. Credit transfer and admission with advanced standing will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Fee structure

The course is HECS-liable in the first band for Faculty of Arts subjects and in the second band for Faculty of Information Technology subjects. The fees are $13,300 pa for Australian fee-paying students and $14,280 pa for international students.