Program Requirements
The Master of Social Research requires the completion of 96 units, of which:
96 units must come from 6000-level, 7000-level and 8000-level courses
A minimum of 48 units must come from completion of 8000-level courses
The 96 units must consist of:
24 units from completion of the following Introductory Methods courses:
SOCR8001 Statistics for Social Scientists
SOCR8082 Social Research Practice
SOCR8201 Introduction to Social Science Methods and Types of Data
SOCR8202 Using Data to Answer Policy Questions and Evaluate Policy
6 units from one of the following research projects courses:
SOCR8002 Survey Data Analysis
SOCR8003 Qualitative Research Analysis
SOCR8009 Quantitative data collection
18 units from completion of Social Research Methods Foundation courses, from any of the following lists:
Quantitative Data Analysis
DEMO8008 Principles of Population Analysis
SOCR8002 Survey Data Analysis
SOCR8009 Quantitative data collection
SOCR8011 Mixed methods social research
Qualitative Data Analysis
CHMD8004 Qualitative Methodologies for Health Research
POLS8044 Qualitative Research in Politics
SOCR8003 Qualitative Research Analysis
SOCR8008 Qualitative data collection
SOCR8011 Mixed methods social research
Social Research Methods Foundation
SOCR8004 Special Topic in Social Research
SOCR8006 Online Research Methods
24 units from completion of Advanced Methods or Discipline courses from any of the following lists:
Advanced Social Research Methods
DEMO8092 Life Course Analytics
EMET8014 Advanced Econometrics I
SOCR8010 Advanced Survey Data Analysis
SOCR8203 Advanced Techniques in the Creation of Social Science Data
SOCR8204 Advanced Social Science Approaches to Inform Policy Development and Service Delivery
Demographic Analysis
DEMO8024 Population and Society: Theory and Empirical Perspectives
DEMO8047 International Migration
DEMO8048 Gender and Population
DEMO8063 Spatial Population Data Analysis
DEMO8088 Population, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
DEMO8090 Population Issues in Asia and their Implications for World Development
DEMO8091 Population Projections and Dynamics
DEMO8092 Life Course Analytics
Analysing Crime and Justice
CRIM8001 Theories of Crime and Justice
CRIM8002 Cyber-security and Cybercrime
CRIM8003 Transnational and Organised Crime
CRIM8004 White Collar Crime: Fraud, Money Laundering and Corruption
HIST6232 Crime and Justice: Historical Dilemmas
REGN8001 Methods in Crime, Justice and Regulation
REGN8004 International Criminal Justice
Indigenous Research and Policy
HIST8016 Settler Societies and Indigenous Encounters
INDG8001 Australian Indigenous Development
INDG8003 Understanding Indigenous Wellbeing: Demographic and Socioeconomic Change
INDG8004 Australian Indigenous Policy
Policy Analysis
IDEC8003 Issues in Development Policy
IDEC8026 Quantitative Policy Impact Evaluation
IDEC8088 Cost-Benefit Analysis: Principles and Practice
POGO8025 Social Policy Analysis
POGO8029 Health Policy in a Globalising World
POGO8055 Case Studies in Decision Making
POGO8084 Principles of Social Policy
POGO8210 Case Studies in Economic Policy
SOCR8202 Using Data to Answer Policy Questions and Evaluate Policy
Politics and Society
HIST6240 Democracy and Dissent: Europe Since 1945
MEAS8111 Islam, the West and International Terrorism
MEAS8121 Approaches to the Study of Modern Muslim Societies
MEAS8124 Islamic Banking: Debates and Development
MEAS8127 Islam and Sectarianism in the Middle East
POLS8019 Democracy and its Discontents
POLS8027 Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
POLS8032 Globalisation: the Interaction of Economics and Politics
POLS8038 Comparative Political Institutions
POLS8039 Comparative Political Behaviour
POLS8040 Comparative Federalism
POLS8043 Violence and Political Order
POLS8046 Interest Groups, Advocacy and Public Policy
Analysing the Digital
SOCR8006 Online Research Methods
SOCY6066 Social Science of the Internet
SOCY8015 Software Studies and Platform Sociology
SOCY8016 Qualitative approaches to the digital
24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU
Unless otherwise stated, a course used to satisfy the requirements of one list may not be double counted towards satisfying the requirements of another list.
Study Options
| Year 1 48 units | SOCR8001 Statistics for Social Scientists 6 units | SOCR8201 Introduction to Social Science Methods and Types of Data 6 units | Research Project Course 6 units | Social Research Methods Foundation Course 6 units |
| SOCR8202 Using Data to Answer Policy Questions and Evaluate Policy 6 units | SOCR8082 Social Research Practice 6 units | Social Research Methods Foundation Course 6 units | Social Research Methods Foundation Course 6 units | |
| Year 2 48 units | Advanced Methods or Discipline Course 6 units | Advanced Methods or Discipline Course 6 units | Elective Course offered by ANU 6 units | Elective Course offered by ANU 6 units |
| Advanced Methods or Discipline Course 6 units | Advanced Methods or Discipline Course 6 units | Elective Course offered by ANU 6 units | Elective Course offered by ANU 6 units |
Admission Requirements
A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5/7
Cognate disciplines
Anthropology, Criminology, Development Studies, Economics, Geography, Marketing, Media and Communication, Political Science, Psychology, Social Policy, Sociology
English Language Requirement
All applicants must meet the University’s English Language Admission Requirements for Students
Assessment of Qualifications
Unless otherwise indicated, ANU will accept all Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications or international equivalents that meet or exceed the published admission requirements of our programs, provided all other admission requirements are also met. Where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will base assessment on the qualification that best meets the admission requirements for the program. Find out more about the Australian Qualifications Framework: www.aqf.edu.au
ANU uses a 7-point Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. All qualifications submitted for admission at ANU will be converted to this common scale, which will determine if an applicant meets our published admission requirements. Find out more about how a 7-point GPA is calculated for Australian universities: www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/tertiary-qualifications
Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.
Applications for course credit
Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units (one semester) of credit. Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Bachelor degree with Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 48 units (one year) of credit.
Indicative fees
- Annual indicative fee for domestic students
- $26,880.00
For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees
- Annual indicative fee for international students
- $41,280.00
For further information on International Tuition Fees see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments/international-tuition-fees
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.
In a world increasingly reliant on data (big and small), a Master of Social Research from the ANU will give you the skills and experience to understand a changing Australian and global society, as well as the political, demographic and economic forces that shape and drive these changes.
A Master of Social Research from the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods will equip you with the practical skills to conduct, commission and evaluate research in the social sciences, and give you the opportunity to extend your skills in advanced research methods, and/or apply your skills to real-world policy and societal issues.
The program’s expert teaching staff are active researchers who can draw upon their wealth of local and international experience, as well as their connections with government and industry.
Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.
The solid grounding in research methods at the heart of the Master of Social Research will open up a range of research career options within government, research organisations and in the private sector.
Career Options
Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.
The latest Global Employability University Ranking, published by the Times Higher Education, rated ANU as Australia's top university for getting a job for the fourth year in a row.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the skills and knowledge to:
1. summarise and critically review key studies in a particular substantive area of research;
2. use theory and existing literature to formulate social research questions and hypotheses;
3. construct and critically assess quantitative and qualitative social research designs;
4. identify the key stages of the social research project, how the components within each phase fit together, and be able to apply this knowledge to real-world research projects;
5. undertake basic statistical analysis appropriate for answering a stated research question;
6. present and interpret basic statistical research results; and
Further Information
- Interested in writing a thesis? Check out the advanced version of this degree.
- Please be aware that any courses taken as part of the 24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU list will not count towards the advanced degree should you decide to transfer. This is because the advanced degree has no free electives, as they are in practice replaced by a 24 unit thesis.
