Improve the global picture with a degree in public policy

10 Oct 2018

In today’s world of interconnected global relations, the challenges facing individual and interdependent nations are greater than ever. Policy makers are now confronted with the challenge to protect the global community amidst environmental, technological and human changes that are rewriting the rules of our evolving world.

Tasked with setting the benchmark for the ethical, social and spiritual frameworks in society, policy makers are responsible for directing human progress through the challenges of modern life and ensuring everyone feels safe and secure amid rapid universal progression.

Helping to reconcile conflicting human instincts, power-hungry politicians, money-orientated CEOs and external environmental pressures, public policy is essential to ensuring the sustainable future of society and human activity on the world.

Source: ANU Crawford School of Public Policy

By studying public policy, students will gain awareness in the unique challenges facing the world, the role of public policy in guiding us towards brighter horizons, the philosophy behind centralised public policy and how to consider the bigger global picture.

Forward thinking graduates are needed in this field to help society navigate the encroaching disruptions and hurdles the modern world is yet to face, including overpopulation, sustainability crises, environmental changes and technological innovations.

Without experts in public policy, society would be wandering blind into unchartered territory with little direction on how to relate internationally, protect the population, grow sustainably and treat each other well.

On top of entering policy making itself, graduates in the field have a whole host of careers open to them. With politics, teaching, consultancy, research, healthcare, transport and energy among some of the possible careers, students have the skills needed to enter both the public and private sector, using their awareness of the bigger global picture and pressing public issues to guide and inform whatever career they choose to follow.

Source: NTU School of Social Sciences

This range of possible careers, as well as the increasing need for progressive thinkers to help us overcome increasingly complex challenges in these areas, promises bright graduate prospects across the spectrum.

Skills learnt during the programme prepare students to tackle international negotiations, technical communications, intuitive problem-solving skills and a global perspective. This will be invaluable in any career which involves overseas collaboration, solutional thinking and analytical problem solving.

If you want to improve the global landscape through public policy or gain adaptable skills to kick-start your career in other industries, consider these four leading schools in Asia…

CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (ANU)

Ranked the best university in Australia and 24^th in the world by the prestigious QS World University Rankings 2019, ANU and their Crawford School of Public Policy offers a world-class education with an innovative perspective.

Source: ANU Crawford School of Public Policy

Located in Canberra, Australia’s capital city and the national seat of government, students at Crawford School engage and interact with major players of public policy, and you’d really be hard-pushed to find any other school set so close to the heart of this progressive industry.

As a leading postgraduate public policy school, students collaborate with some of the field’s biggest regional and international bodies through a diverse range of graduate degrees, PhD programmes, internships and voluntary placements – all offered and enhanced by the school’s central location.

“Our educators inspire students to become critical thinkers and efficient managers of public business – locally, regionally and globally,” says Professor Helen Sullivan, Director of the School.

“Crawford School attracts students and staff from around the world creating a vibrant and stimulating environment in which to learn and collaborate,” she adds. “With students from over 62 different countries, the opportunity exists to form a network of international connections, just from being in the classroom.”

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Ranked as Singapore’s 2^nd-best institution in Times Higher Education’s (THE) Young University Rankings 2019, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) offers a forward thinking education that explores today’s world free from the confines of traditional boundaries.

Source: NTU School of Social Sciences

The BA in Public Policy and Global Affairs incorporates this culture, encompassing an interdisciplinary programme that prepares students to enter the public or private sector in Asia and beyond.

Modules in policy analysis, programme evaluation, public financial management, human resource management and non-profit management prepare students to make an impact in the world beyond graduation wherever life takes them, equipped with the multi-dimensional problem-solving skills to influence and innovate in the ever-changing world.

“We firmly believe that cross-fertilisation of disciplinary knowledge will contribute to global scholarship and help tackle complex challenges facing the world in the 21st century. Our interdisciplinary endeavour has been facilitated by institutional mechanisms such as the Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) which is a cross-school research centre under the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences,” says Professor Liu Hong, Chair of the School of Social Sciences at NTU.

The opportunity to utilise these features of the school expertly prepares students for independent thinking and collaborative skills, meaning they are ready to tackle anything their careers task them with.

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, MONSAH UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

Located in Malaysia’s capital city and business hub, Monash University Malaysia gives students the opportunity to live in one of Asia’s popular hubs, with excellent travel links within the region and the world.

Source: Monash University Malaysia, School of Arts and Social Sciences

On the BA in Arts and Social Sciences, students can pursue modules in political science and international studies, building a globally-aware perspective with deep insight into public policy, politics and international relations.

These subject areas perfectly complement each other for a career in policy making, the public or private sector, as students will have the breadth and depth of expertise needed to truly understand the complexity of issues affecting the world, equipped with the interdisciplinary skills to become a global influencer beyond graduation.

The school is committed to producing lifelong learners with a social conscience who will continue to curiously explore and improve society. This perspective will serve graduates well in their chosen field, inspiring them to find new ways to view the world and overcome challenges they encounter.

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

With a mission to “discover, preserve and disseminate knowledge in the humanities and social science, and to train innovative, forward-thinking, globally-minded and principled scholars and leaders who strive for the betterment of the humanity and society, ” the School of Humanities and Social Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is preparing students to drive global society towards a better future.

Source: Chinese University of Hong Kong, School of Humanities and Social Science

Undergraduate students can choose Global Studies, Global Sustainability or Urban Studies within the school, gaining an overview of the issues affecting the public sphere and how this is likely to evolve over coming years.

Being a young university, these courses reflect current global issues, allowing students to gain knowledge that’s applicable to the career landscape they’ll graduate into and kick-start their real-world skills.

“We put ultimate emphasis on developing students’ ability to think and make independent judgments. We shall also strive to ensure that students are conscious of their responsibility to society and to the nation, are guided by a sense of ideals, and seek to understand global issues,” says Yangsheng Xu, President of the school.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International