What made you decide to apply for Crawford School?
I was looking to do a masters degree and thought that moving to Canberra and studying at ANU would be a great opportunity. Crawford School came up as an option as I was researching degrees online.
How did you choose your particular further study course (compared to others)?
I wanted a degree that would be flexible and enable me to pursue different career pathways, which is why I chose public policy. I’ve always been interested in government so the degree seemed like a good fit.
Were you weighing up any alternative degrees or career pathways before choosing this qualification?
I was also considering studying a Master of International Security or Master of International Relations.
What was the process to get accepted into your course? What were the prerequisites?
It was a very straightforward application process. I remember I applied online while I was sitting in a tutorial. received half a year’s worth of credit for my undergraduate degree, which shortened the overall length of my masters to one and a half years.
What does your study involve? Can you describe a typical day at Crawford School?
I’m studying part-time now, because I’m working so there isn’t really a typical day. But in a typical week, I work half-days on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can dash off to class before returning to work. When I was studying full-time, I would typically spend between six to seven hours at Crawford a couple days a week, attending lectures and tutorials, and hanging out with friends in between classes.
What characteristics or skills do you hope to gain by completing your course?
Undertaking these course has strengthened my critical thinking skills and it’s been really helpful in exposing me to a wide variety of subjects, so I can work out what I like and don’t like. I’ve found that my writing and research skills have been further developed in this course, which has been very helpful in my work as a consultant.
Will this course be beneficial in your career? Where could you or others in your position go from here? Please explain your answer.
This degree has been very beneficial for my career so far. It’s taught me a lot about public policy in theory and in my day job, I get to see how public policy works in practice. I would encourage people undertaking this degree to consider career pathways other than the public service, since working in the private sector is also a great opportunity.
What do you love the most about your course?
The diversity of the cohort is what I’ve loved most. People come from a variety of backgrounds and having that exchange of ideas in class has been very beneficial. I’ve also really enjoyed learning from other people’s experiences, since I came straight into the degree from an undergraduate level and had limited working experience when I first started studying at Crawford.
What are the limitations of your course?
The Master of Public Policy is still very focused on using your own experience working in government to guide class discussions, which can be challenging if you don’t have that experience. But I think there’s been a gradual shift away from using personal experience to inform class content, which has made it easier.