SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Master of Philosophy: Public Policy

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
15409	Master of Philosophy: Public Policy
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 07 - Human and Social Studies		Public Policy, Politics and Democratic Citizenship
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	192	Level 8 and above	Level N/A:Pre-2009 was L8+	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 06120/18	2018-07-01	2018-12-31
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2019-12-31		2022-12-31

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

The degree provides advanced training including techniques of research, data analysis and scholarly presentation appropriate to the interdisciplinary field of Public Policy Studies. The degree will equip the candidate with the skills necessary either for employment in various applied fields of Public Policy Studies such as public health, education policy, development policy etc. (including research or consultancy positions in policy analysis, implementation and assessment, the civil service, national and international NGOs, development management, public health, education policy etc) or for further independent research toward the degree of PhD in Public Policy Studies.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

A degree of Honours Bachelor or its equivalent, in the discipline or a cognate discipline recognised by the Faculty.

Senior Certificate with Matriculation Exemption or equivalent university admission qualification.

First degree:

BSocSc

Honours degree:

BsocSc (Hons)

Recognition of prior learning:

Non-Honours graduates who have shown by examination or publication or a record of appropriate training that they have reached a level in the subject or a cognate subject equivalent to an Honours Bachelor's degree, may be permitted to register for the degree.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

a).

Critical cross-field outcomes (generic to all teaching and learning):

1. The Masters graduate is able to demonstrate mastery to depth of a theoretically sophisticated subject matter;
2. The Masters graduate is equipped with proficiency in research methodology sufficient to proceed to a Ph.D. Graduates have mastered the skills of critical thinking, problem solving, collection and analysis of data, and effective written communication.

b).

General outcomes (contextually demonstrated general knowledge, skills and values of the programme):

The Masters graduate is able to:

1. Conduct independent research in the inter-disciplinary field of Public Policy studies
2. Apply in-depth and specialised disciplinary knowledge and research skills to specific empirical cases and topics
3. Demonstrate awareness of the limitations of research and the ability to make claims with appropriate conditions
4. Draw on discipline based knowledge to identify appropriate cases to devise hypothesis creating and answering comparisons
5. Prepare research reports and literature studies to established academic standards required for publication in professional journals and effectively present research in readable form to lay audiences
6. Appreciate the ethical issues associated with research and knowledge production in the discipline
7. Understand the processes whereby knowledge in the Humanities is constructed

c).

Specific outcomes, including professional outcomes (contextually demonstrated):

The M.Phil graduate in Public Policy Studies is able to:

1. Identify, understand and debate the main theoretical approaches in the interdisciplinary field of Public Policy Studies at an advanced level.
2. Identify and apply the most important theoretical approaches and key research techniques in the interdisciplinary field of Public Policy Studies at an advanced level.
3. Identify and solve more complex problems of Public Policy analysis in a critical and constructive way so as to enable appropriate policy formulation, evaluation and implementation.
4. Display an ability to conduct directed and independent policy analysis and to develop policy proposals for the solution of policy dilemmas in a particular field of interdisciplinary public policy studies, write this up and present it in academic form.

5. Interact effectively with other stakeholders in the formulation, development and assessment of applied policy proposals directed at actual policy dilemmas in a particular field of interdisciplinary public policy studies.
6. Act as a consultant in policy analysis and assessment in a particular field of Public Policy Studies.
7. Present and communicate complex Public Policy-related issues effectively to stake holders, professional and lay audiences.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

a).

The achievement of these outcomes is assessed in the integrated assessment of the programme

b).

The achievement of these outcomes is assessed in the integrated assessment of the programme.

c).

The outcomes are assessed as follows:

The completion of term papers in all competence areas listed.

The compilation of a research project that includes the components listed under the integrated assessment.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT

The integration of skills learnt in the MPhil degree in Public Policy is assessed by means of a supervised dissertation of a word length stipulated by the faculty. The dissertation must demonstrate competence in the following areas, all of which are assessed in the examination of the dissertation:

Adequate formulation and development of the problem for policy analysis and assessment.
Familiarity with and integration of the specialised literature that informs the research question.
Application of relevant theoretical approaches and key research techniques in the interdisciplinary field of Public Policy Studies to actual real-world policy dilemmas at an advanced level.
Systematic and sustained analysis and development of policy proposals for the solution of policy dilemmas.
Ability to address the ethical problems that might attend the research.
Appreciation of the methodological limitations of the study.
Use of the publication and style conventions of the discipline.

The dissertation is subject to external examination.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

This qualification serves as an entry point to the related qualification

PhD

Entry to this qualification in mid-stream is not possible.

Exit from this qualification in mid-stream:
The coursework components completed may be recognised by another institution

Other higher education programmes that articulate with this qualification without "going back to square one":

The Masters degree articulates with the Ph.D in the Faculty of Humanities. When dissertation progress is reviewed at the end of each academic year, the Faculty Board, on the recommendation of the supervisor and the Head of the Department, may recommend that the candidate's registration be upgraded to a Ph.D and that the period of Masters registration beyond the minimum period of one year be recognised towards the two year minimum period of study for the Ph.D.

MODERATION OPTIONS

The University of Cape Town has a system of external peer review and evaluation of each course. One of the aspects of the system is an evaluation of the standards and assessment practices of the Department

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

The academic staff of the University of Cape Town will be used in a manner that is consistent with the quality assurance system of the University

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015.

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

1.	University of Cape Town