Are you seeking a dynamic career in politics, the public service, advocacy organisations, not-for-profit social and community services or private industry?

The ANU Bachelor of Policy Studies equips you with a comprehensive understanding of Australian public policies and related international policies.

This well-regarded education experience includes the Applied Policy Project, in which you will be engaged in an intensive student-led investigation of a policy issue or controversy relevant to your interests. You may also have the opportunity to attend the Australian National Internship Program.

Our program is designed to develop the skills and knowledge you need to gather and analyse a range of economic, demographic and social data, to evaluate public policies and programs, and to participate in policy design, advocacy and communication.

Are you a leader? The Australian National University is a leader too, especially in the fields of philosophy, politics and economics. This progressive and well-regarded degree will arm you with the moral, economic and political perspectives you need to make a real impact. You will moreover have opportunities to engage with other leading Universities around the world.

You will develop exceptional problem solving skills and critical and conceptual thinking, all while gaining a passport to some of the world’s most promising careers.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of a Bachelor of Policy Studies, graduates will be able to:

1. define key areas of contemporary Australian public policy;
2. critique the historical development of current Australian public policies;
3. gather and analyse economic data, social data, and statistics related to Australian public policies;
4. interpret and evaluate the outcomes of analysis of Australian public policies;
5. produce professional written documentation for use within the Australian policy process;
6. communicate effectively and professionally, both orally and in writing, the findings of policy analysis and the evaluation of public policies; and
7. engage and intervene effectively in the contemporary Australian public policy process to effect change.

Upon successful completion of a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, graduates will be able to:

Identify the principal theoretical approaches to the study of PPE, and the relationships between them;

Identify main currents in the three disciplines of PPE and their theoretical bases;

Define, critically discuss and apply:

1. major philosophical theories and approaches to the evaluation of social institutions;

2. the methods of economics to the study of political institutions and processes;

3. the methods of economics to questions within political philosophy;

4. the assumptions, ‘tools’ and limitations of political economy;

5. the core arguments and principles of public choice and rational choice theory.

Describe and evaluate how the core arguments and principles of public choice and rational choice theory affect and influence political situations, institutions and complex political processes in liberal democracies;

Recognise and analyse the different actors, processes and stages involved in formulating public policies; and

Analyse practical dilemmas that arise in politics using the theories, approaches and methods of the three main disciplines of PPE.

Admission Requirements

Admission to all programs is on a competitive basis. Admission to undergraduate degrees is based on meeting the ATAR requirement or an equivalent rank derived from the following qualifications:

• An Australian year 12 qualification or international equivalent; OR
• A completed Associate Diploma, Associate Degree, AQF Diploma, Diploma, AQF Advanced Diploma, Graduate Certificate or international equivalent; OR
• At least one standard full-time year (1.0 FTE) in a single program of degree level study at an Australian higher education institution or international equivalent; OR
• An approved tertiary preparation course unless subsequent study is undertaken.

Click HERE for further information about domestic admission.

More information about ATAR requirements for individual programs can be found HERE.

The National Register of higher education providers is an authoritative source of information that will help you confirm your institution of choice is registered to deliver higher education in Australia.

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) website is HERE. Based on surveys done by thousands of students across Australia you can find out about universities that interest you, doing side-by-side comparisons.

The table below is a guide to the entry level required for domestic applicants. Exact entry level will be set at time of offer.

Domestic applicant entry requirements

Queensland Band equivalents are a guide only - selection is made on an ATAR equivalent that is not available to students.

International applicant entry requirements

International applicants may view further information on admissions requirements at Entry Requirements for International Undergraduate Applicants

The University reserves the right to alter or discontinue its programs as required.

Adjustment Factors

ANU offers rank adjustments for a number of adjustment factors, including for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. Rank adjustments are applied to Bachelor degree applicants with an ATAR at or above 70. Points are awarded in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 points (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustments, maximum 10 equity-based adjustments and maximum 5 Elite Athlete adjustments) will be awarded. Subject and performance-based adjustments do not apply to programs with a minimum selection rank of 98 or higher. Visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Policy Studies flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

54 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

DEMO2001 Population Studies

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

POLS1002 Introduction to Politics

POLS2009 Bureaucracy and Public Policy

POLS2105 Political Leadership and Executive Government

SOCY1002 Self and Society

SOCY2038 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods

SOCY2043 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

SOCY2101 Social Policy: Principles and Practice

6 units from completion of a Capstone course from the following list:

SOCY3001 Research Internship

SOCY3030 Applied Policy Project

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON1100 Economics 1 (H)

ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1

6 units from completion of an Australian Politics course from the following list:

HIST2227 Australian Political History

POLS2043 Pressure Groups and Political Lobbying

POLS2111 Elections, Political Behaviour and Public Opinion in Australia

POLS2114 Australian Political Institutions

POLS2121 Ideas in Australian Politics

6 units from completion of a Political Theory course from the following list:

PHIL2020 Politics Theories of Social Justice

PHIL2115 Political Philosophy from Hobbes to Mill

POLS2063 Contemporary Political Theory

POLS2119 Ideas in Politics

POLS2120 Foundations of Political Theory

18 units from completion of Key Issues in Policy Studies courses from the following list:

ANIP3005 Australian National Internship B

CRIM2001 Doing Criminology: Research and Practice in Crime and Criminal Justice

CRIM2003 Controversies in Crime Control

CRIM2004 Dimensions of Crime: Identifying and Controlling Offenders

ENVS3001 Climate Change Science and Policy in Practice

ENVS3020 Climate Change Science and Policy

ENVS3028 Environmental Policy

ENVS3033 International Environmental Policy

INDG3001 Public policy development and implementation and Indigenous Australians

LING2022 Language Policy and Language Politics

SOCY2021 Education and Society

SOCY2022 Environmental Sociology

STST2001 International Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific

STST2003 Australia and Security in the Pacific Islands

STST3002 Australian Security in the Asian Century

STST3003 Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World

The Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 48 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

48 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2(P)

ECON3056 PPE Integrative Seminar Year 3: Classic Literature in PPE

PHIL1005 Logic and Critical Thinking

PHIL2116 PPE Integrative Seminar Year 2

POLS1002 Introduction to Politics

POLS1008 PPE Integrative Seminar Year 1: Puzzles in Politics, Philosophy and Economics

POLS1009 Research and Writing in Political Science
 

6 units from completion of the following courses:

PHIL1004 Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy: An Introduction

PHIL1008 Introduction to Ethics

A minimum of 6 units from completion of courses from the following list, which must also be counted towards completion of any other requirements for the Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics:

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

POLS2125 Game Theory and Social Sciences

POLS2130 Public Choice and Politics

12 units from completion of courses from the following list:

POLS2043 Pressure Groups and Political Lobbying

POLS2063 Contemporary Political Theory

POLS2094 Issues in International Political Economy

POLS2105 Political Leadership and Executive Government

POLS2111 Elections, Political Behaviour and Public Opinion in Australia

POLS2114 Australian Political Institutions

POLS2120 Foundations of Political Theory

POLS2125 Game Theory and Social Sciences

POLS2126 Democracy: Its Causes and Consequences

POLS2127 U.S. Politics

POLS2130 Public Choice and Politics

POLS3029 Sharing Power: Federalism in Comparative Perspective

POLS3031 Comparative Judicial Politics

POLS3034 Comparative Political Parties and Party Systems
 

12 units from completion of courses from the following list:

PHIL2020 Theories of Social Justice

PHIL2057 Philosophy of Science

PHIL2080 Logic

PHIL2082 Sex and Death: the Philosophy of Biology

PHIL2113 Global Justice

PHIL2121 Philosophical Logic

PHIL2122 Philosophy and Public Policy

PHIL2124 Philosophy of Cognitive Science

PHIL2125 Rationality and Social Cooperation

PHIL2126 Science in Society: Ethics, Public Policy and Scientific Practice

PHIL3073 Advanced Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy

12 units from completion of courses from the following list:

CRIM2000 The Illicit Economy

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3008 History of Economic Thought(P)

ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2026 Money and Banking

ECON2091 The Economy, Politics and the State

ECON2120 Law and Economics(P)

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

EMET1001 Foundations of Economic and Financial Models

INDG3003 The Indigenous Economy

6 units from the completion of 2000- and 3000-level courses from the following subject areas and courses:

ANIP Australian National Internships Program

ECON Economics

PHIL Philosophy

POLS Political Science

ASIA2090 The Political Economy of Myanmar

POLS3022 Washington DC Internship

Study Options

Honours

For information about honours, please see Bachelor of Policy Studies (Honours)

For information about honours, please see Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Honours) and Bachelor of Economics (Honours)