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 Social Science: Social Policy and Management 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
15730  Master of Social Science: Social Policy and Management 
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 
This Masters programme builds on the knowledge, skill and values bases developed in the Honours year of study in Social Policy and Management. Further it aims to equip students with knowledge and skills in social policy analysis and formulation and in a wide range of management functions and techniques. In addition to this advanced study, it also offers advanced training in techniques of research, data analysis and scholarly presentation appropriate to social service professional practice.

Master graduates are expected to either
  • Continue with further research and study in Social Policy and Management or a related subject at Doctoral level or
  • Gain employment at a senior level in social service policy development or social services management either the public or private sectors consistent with social service professional practice in South Africa

    A Master's graduate will be equipped to make a contribution to the country's efforts to address its social development needs. 
    		•

    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:
    BA / BSocSc

    Honours degree:
    BSocSc (Hons) in Social Policy & Management

    Recognition of prior learning:

    People / 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? 
    Y 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    a). Critical cross-field outcomes

    1. The Masters graduate is able to demonstrate mastery in depth of a theoretically sophisticated subject matter; and
    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 professional written communication.

    b). General outcomes

    The Masters graduate is able to:

    1. Conduct independent research in a discipline (or inter-disciplinary field).
    2. Communicate verbally and orally with professional audiences.
    3. Apply in-depth and specialised disciplinary knowledge and research skills to discipline-based problems.
    4. Analyse and critique communications of an academic and popular nature.
    5. Appreciate the ethical issues associated with research and knowledge production in the discipline, and
    6. Understand the processes whereby knowledge in the Humanities is constructed

    c). Specific outcomes:

    The graduate will be:

    1. Familiar with contemporary philosophical and theoretical issues in Social Policy and Management
    2. Analyse and compare given social policies and formulate social policies by drawing on appropriate theory, practice and research
    3. Identify, analyse and proffer feasible solutions to social service organisational/management problems by drawing on appropriate theory, practice and research
    4. Be aware of the various impacts that group dynamics exert on organisational performance and be able to improve such performance by identifying, analysing and facilitating improved group and leadership functioning
    5. Be able to analyse and diagnose organisational problems and to develop an appropriate Organisation Development Strategy
    6. Able to apply a range of research methods and statistical procedures to social policy and organisational / management research problems
    7. Able to act as a social policy and/or social service management consultant
    8. Able to successfully integrate knowledge and skills in an internship which has a social policy and organisation / management focus, and
    9. Able to apply research knowledge and skills by conducting research and presenting it in a given research dissertation format. 

    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:
  • Assignments, reports and presentations in all competence areas listed, and
  • The completion of a research dissertation that includes the components listed under the integrated assessment.


    INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT


    The integrated assessment of the Masters degree programme in Social Policy and Management includes measurement of foundational, reflexive, technical and practical competencies. Learners are required to complete a series of professional assignments. These serve both to integrate knowledge and skills learnt during the Masters programme for either further study at Doctoral level or to prepare the graduate for practice.

    At the Masters level, students will be assessed through both formative and summative methods.
    Formative methods will include:

    1. Written assignments
    2. Verbal presentations
    3. Seminar papers
    4. Written examinations
    5. A externally examined dissertation of a word length stipulated by the faculty, and
    6. A semester-long internship

    The specific competences will be assessed through the following capstone sites:
  • An internship
  • A dissertation

    These sites capture the full spectrum of the specific learning outcomes and related assessment criteria of the Masters programme in Social Policy and Management.

    The assessment is based on the student's ability to:

    Undertake an internship that reflects that the required knowledge, skills and value basis have successfully been applied to practice through a demonstration of being able to:

    1. Clearly articulate, critically compare and appropriately select for application in practice, the major concepts contained in social policy, management and organisational development theories/approaches.
    2. Juxtapose and critically assess the efficacy or otherwise of social policies in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of the content, context and the policy approaches adopted.
    3. Formulate a feasible social policy to address a given social development goal in a manner that reflects an understanding of the policy analysis and formulation process, the context, other sector policy influences and resource and service delivery capacity constraints.
    4. Analyse, diagnose and develop a feasible Organisation Development strategy that both reflects an understanding of organisations, their management processes and context and mastery of conceptual, analytic and judgment skills.
    5. Identify and analyse the impact of group dynamics on organisational performance and facilitate improved group functioning in a manner that reflects an understanding of the context, the organisation, the leadership issues and group process, and mastery of group facilitation skills, and
    6. Identify, analyse and proffer feasible solutions to given organisation / management problems that reflect an understanding of the relevant theory, the organisation, its management context and management skills.

    Produce a dissertation that demonstrates competence in:

    1. Precise research problem formulation.
    2. Familiarity with and integration of the literature on the research topic.
    3. Appropriate design and execution of the research.
    4. Use of appropriate methods of measurement and data analysis
    5. Integration of findings.
    6. An appreciation for limitations and ethical considerations, and
    7. Use of the publication and style conventions of the discipline 
    		•

    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 Social Science and 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 


    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.