Course content
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The EMA curriculum has three key modules:
The Professional Skills Module
provides students with a range of professional skills, identified as valued by employers.
The Discipline Module
offers students the opportunity to study subjects in the social sciences and humanities, and up to 25 points of language study.
The Applied Module
enables students to combine their professional skills and discipline knowledge and apply them to a real life situation in an internship or group project.
Professional skills module subjects
Leadership theory and practice
While we often speak of 'born leaders', leadership is also an art and a practice that can be learned. This subject is designed to help students develop their leadership skills through the study of leaders (good and bad, failed and successful) and theories of leadership. The subject will critically examine concepts and definitions of leadership and how they have changed over time: leadership within and outside formal organisational settings; the exercise of hard power, soft power and smart power; and the role of ethics and morality in leadership. Study, discussion and analysis of leadership theory will be complemented by case studies of real leaders, guest speakers, and opportunities for group discussion and critical self-reflection.
Thinking and acting ethically
Moral decision-making is a practical skill which we exercise many times a day, confidently and accurately. Sometimes, however, we face situations of moral complexity or novelty, where it is not obvious what we should do. In this subject, we look at the ways in which moral theory can assist us to think about such situations, particularly as they arise in our working and organisational life. The subject will help students understand the nature of moral reasoning, and its application to a number of ethical issues which they are likely to encounter in their lives as students and workers. These issues may include the nature of the university, autonomy and paternalism, happiness, free speech in the (academic) workplace, personal and professional relationships, cross-cultural values, intellectual property, and privacy and confidentiality. We will also look at the ways in which ethics can be ‘designed in’ to organizations, occupations etc. through such devices as codes of ethics, and complaints and discipline systems. Case studies will provide a focus for reflective work: students will be encouraged to develop case studies from their own experience, and pursue their own interests in this subject.
Professional Communication
This subject introduces students to the fundamentals of successful communication in professional contexts. It focuses on both written and oral communications and canvases the full range of contemporary communications skills and media. These include public speaking and presentation skills, communication for leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution skills, communication skills for electronic and print local and mass media, graphic communication, interpersonal communication, cross-cultural communication, public relations skills, and legal considerations, in a range of forms such as electronic documents, project reports, media releases, letters, presentations, advertising and promotional copy, and marketing and public relations documents. The subject equips students with a critical understanding of the role of communications within and between organisations, and with practical tools of effective communication, with a particular emphasis on leadership.
Budgets and Financial Management
Budgeting and financial management, like most areas of work, requires an understanding of a specific vocabulary, an ability to overcome anxiety and fears, and the discipline to consistently apply foundation principles. This subject is designed to provide students with the ability to apply the foundation principles of financial management and budgeting in the context of not-for-profit and government organisations. Specifically, the program will examine the language of financial management and budgeting, how foundation principles of budgeting and financial management can be used to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of organisations, and the natural tensions that arise between financial management and the non financial goals of organisations.
Creative thinking and the power of ideas
How can we learn to think creatively – while being practical and relevant? The aim is not only to think differently, or have new thoughts, but to think better and have more important and more useful ideas. How can we harness the power of good ideas, when bad or misguided ideas often seem to hold centre stage? How can we overcome our own intellectual inhibitions and obstacles? Can you see where your own thinking gets stuck? Do you find it easier to take in the ideas of others than to put together your own views in a convincing fashion and in a way that you feel confident about? Can we find ways of linking emotional intelligence and rational argument? How do you learn from people you disagree with? All these issues are to do with becoming a confident, helpful and successful thinker in the rough conditions of the world. We are addressing one of the basic questions of civilisation: how can the intellectual virtues, nurtured in the specialised environment of the arts and humanities, be put to good use in the very different circumstances of business, administration and the media?
The Secret Life of Organisations
This subject examines the 'secret life of organisations' using a range of disciplinary approaches to the different functions and structures of corporate, government and non-government organisations Students will examine the history of organisations and the nature of work people do within them. They will also consider how distinct types of organisations have reacted and adapted to what the sociologist Richard Sennett has called the 'new capitalism' - the growth of non-traditional organisational structures and a broader shift to a knowledge-based service economy. At the same time students will grapple with the practicalities of how to work in such organisations, by considering the strategies that managers use to pursue organisational goals, and how such organisations are best negotiated by workers to exert influence and show leadership within them. Students will develop an understanding of the history and structure of the sociological ‘field’ of modern organisations, and a practical grasp of how best to make their way in the world of work.
Discipline module subjects
The Discipline Module allows students to take seven electives (200-point program) or three electives (150-point program) in the social sciences, humanities and languages. (The 100-point program consists of 8 compulsory subjects and no electives.)
Subjects offered in the discipline module will not require previous study in that discipline and will be accessible to all EMA students regardless of the nature of their first degree. For subject descriptions, timetable information and entry requirements, please visit the program entries:
- 200 point program - full time over 24 months
- 200 point program - full time over 18 months
- 150 point program - full time over 18 months
- 100 point program - full time over 12 months
Please note that written permission from the program and subject coordinator must be obtained to undertake any electives that are not listed as part of the program, including language subjects, to a maximum of 25 points in total across the duration of the program.
Applied module subjects
The Applied Module enables students to combine their professional skills and discipline knowledge and apply them to a real life situation in an internship or group project.
The Applied Module requires students to undertake a compulsory subject on Project Management to prepare them for their work experience and then either:
- An Internship of four weeks in a corporate, NGO, government or international organization; or
- A six-week Group Project which involves working with an external organisation to find a solution to a real problem or challenge.
Internship
- Internship I for the 100-point program (12.5 point internship)
-
Internship II for the 150- and 200-point programs (25 point internship)
Students enrolled in the Internship subject will complete a four week (full time equivalent) internship with an external organisation. Students will be supervised by the Subject Coordinator in collaboration with a designated Supervisor at the host organisation. Students will work across a range of tasks relevant to the organisation's objectives, and will develop and complete a specific project in discussion with the host organisation and the Subject Coordinator.
The internship will facilitate the application of knowledge acquired through coursework to a professional workplace. The Internship experience will enable students to extend and apply the knowledge acquired through the EMA coursework subjects, and to gain valuable professional experience and extend their professional networks.Group project (150 and 200-point programs)
The Group Project is a group research project, undertaken for an external organisation, with the aim of investigating and proposing a solution to a real problem or challenge for the organisation.
The Group Project provides an opportunity for students to work in teams, to apply and extend their knowledge acquired in the EMA coursework modules, and to further their experiential learning in a specific professional context. Integral to this learning experience is team work; understanding the needs of the organisation; and engaging with the organisation to define the problem to be solved, the scope of the project, and the nature of the final product.
Students in the Group Project will be supervised by the Subject Coordinator in collaboration with a designated Supervisor at the external host organisation. The student teams will have the opportunity to be co-located with the external organisation, to extend their professional networks, and to acquire appropriate professional work experience. Students will deliver the results of their project to the organisation in both written format and in a formal presentation. Students will also have the opportunity to reflect on their experience.