The Public Policy and Governance Professional Doctorate (PrDoc) is an applied research professional degree that is designed specifically for policy professionals, policy officers and policy analysts engaged in policy leadership, advocacy and practice. The Public Policy and Governance (PrDoc) aims to develop the policy leadership, expertise and research of policy professionals engaging in real world policy problems occurring within their professional practice.

The Public Policy and Governance (PrDoc) is a postgraduate research degree available for policy professionals working in the government, non-government and private sectors such as policy think tanks, policy advocacy and policy governance institutions. It provides the opportunity to combine postgraduate coursework study directly related to advanced policy work with doctoral research that builds applied knowledge on policy and governance processes.

In this program, mastery of the professional body of knowledge is achieved in the coursework component, which builds on prior education and the experience gained through professional practice. Based on this mastery of the professional body of knowledge, the thesis component of the program develops the research skills necessary for an experienced practitioner to be able to make a significant contribution to the continuous improvement of their discipline’s professional practice.

Students must meet the following criteria:

Standard entry pathway:

1. A minimum 2 years post-qualifying professional policy practice experience within either the government, nongovernment or private sectors; and
2. A first class (Distinction) Honours degree within a cognate discipline that includes a substantial research component that demonstrates capacity for higher degree research.

Advanced Standing Entry Pathway:

1. A minimum 2 years post-qualifying professional policy practice experience within either the government, nongovernment or private sectors; and
2. A demonstrated capacity for independent research under the guidance of a supervisor; and
3. A Masters (Coursework) degree with a distinction average and a significant research component, minimum equivalent 18 units of credit consisting of methodology training and a stand-alone research project.