Course coordinator
Dr Alastair Stark
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Politic Sc & Internat Studies
This course is designed to give students an advanced introduction to public policy research. Students will learn about the landmark contributions that define the field of public policy and the cutting-edge perspectives that are driving it forward today. These perspectives illuminate knowledge about the politics of policy, the processes through which it is produced, the methodologies used to analyse it, and the paradigms, landscape and institutions that envelop it. Absorbing this knowledge leads to learning outcomes that are both scholarly and applicable to the real world of policy and public service (and the large job market that surrounds it).
This course is built around 'classic' and 'cutting edge' policy research. It is orientated towards giving students an understanding of the fundamentals of the field of public policy and an introduction to the most contemporary work that characterises the frontier of policy thinking. Please see the course Learning Guide, which provides aﾠcomprehensive outline of the assessments and course content, for more information. This can be accessed via the assessment section of this Course Profile, the course Blackboard site, or via the course co-ordinator (please email alastair.stark@uq.edu.au).
Course requirements
Assumed background
You don't need to have any knowledge about public policy per se but you will need to have a capacity to engage with advanced texts and a willingness to take charge of a variety of learning activities.
ﾠ
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
4 units of POLS courses
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
POLS2102
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Alastair Stark
Tutor
Miss Anne Nygaard Jedzini
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
In addition to the lecture programme, POLS3102 offers a 9-week tutorial program, starting in Week 3. Tutorials will be student led, include student presentations and student-led learning exercises, and provide an opportunity to consolidate and develop your understanding of the themes and ideas introduced at the previous week's lecture (and in the associated readings).
Aims and outcomes
The aims of this course are to:
- Provide students with an advanced understanding of the key perspectives in public policy and governance.
- Encourage students to critically analyse public policy and governance research.ﾠ
- Equip students with an understanding of how research can be used to analyse public policy practice.ﾠ
A graduate of Political Science understands the complexity of democratic systems in terms of the ideas, institutions, and policies that define them. They are capable of synthesizing diverse types of evidence and assessing it independently of their own beliefs and interests, communicating their judgements persuasively in written and oral forms. These skills are essential to policy and political leadership that addresses the challenges facing the world’s democracies.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation/ Student contribution |
Tutorial Participation
|
10% |
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025 |
| Presentation, Tutorial/ Problem Set |
Presentation and Tutorial Management
|
30% |
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025
Students are allocated a specific tutorial slot during the semester. Each student will do one presentation/tutorial exercise. |
| Quiz |
In Class Quizzes
|
28% |
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025 |
| Practical/ Demonstration |
Oral Assessment
|
32% |
10/11/2025 - 17/11/2025 |
Assessment details
Tutorial Participation
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025
Task description
Students will be awarded 10% of their overall mark based on their level of participation in tutorial discussions and activities. This is an essential feature of the course because in POLS3102 tutorials are run by students who are assessed on this capacity (see tutorial exercise assessment below). What that means is that you will need your classmates to engage. In order to facilitate this we offer ten marks. As we have an odd number of tutes you will get 2 marks for participation in the last tutorial and one mark per tute for the remainder of the semester.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
It is not possible to extend this assessment as it is in-class. However students with Student Access Plans can arrange an alternative via the course coordinator.
Presentation and Tutorial Management
- Identity Verified
- Team or group-based
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Oral
- Category
- Presentation, Tutorial/ Problem Set
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025
Students are allocated a specific tutorial slot during the semester. Each student will do one presentation/tutorial exercise.
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
Task description
Students in POLS3102 are required to run a 50 minute tutorial on their own with minimal (in class) assistance from the course staff (but lots of help out of class in terms of preparing). All of the details are again in the learning guide. However, the basics:
Typically, two students will be allocated this responsibility each week and they need to perform two tasks: 1) deliver a presentation on that week’s topic; and, 2) manage the remainder of the tutorial in a way that facilitates an understanding of public policy and governance research amongst their classmates.
Students will receive 30 marks for this tutorial exercise. The high percentage of total course marks allocated to tutorials demands students take these tasks seriously.
PLEASE READ THE APPROPRIATE SECTION OF THE LEARNING GUIDE CLOSELY SO THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE MARKING CRITERIA AND EXPECTATIONS AROUND THIS ASSESSMENT.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
The tutor assesses presentation and tutorial exercise in-class and an assessment sheet is sent to each student.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
It is not possible to extend this assessment as it is in-class. However students with Student Access Plans can arrange an alternative via the course coordinator.
In Class Quizzes
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Quiz
- Weight
- 28%
- Due date
11/08/2025 - 20/10/2025
Task description
From week three to week twelve there will be ten written quizzes held in the lecture.
Each week two terms that were covered during the previous week's lecture will be chosen from a pre-circulated list. During the lecture, you will be given 13 minutes to write a definition and evaluation of ONE of the two terms selected from this list.
The answer you need to give has two parts: part A asks you to define the term. Part B asks you to explain in a short paragraph why this term is important (or not) when it comes to explaining public policy. Examples will be provided in class and on Blackboard. Part A is worth 1 mark, part B is worth 3 marks (4 marks total).
There are ten opportunities to take the quiz, but you only need to do it seven times, forming 28% of your grade. If you do more than 7 quizzes, we will select your top 7 results. This means that you can miss up to three quizzes without a penalty.
Please note that there are NO opportunities to re-take individual quizzes and no alternative assessment available except in the very specific circumstances outlined below.
Alternative Assessment
If you have a Student Action Plan that applies to the quiz please contact your tutor or the lecturer ASAP. We can make accommodations in the lecture for many of the issues documented in plans (e.g., if you cannot handwrite exams).
If a student has a genuine (documented) reason that explains why they will be unable to attend the lecture on 7 occasions, a one off make up test will be offered late in the semester, using the same master list of terms. In that test you will need to do all seven weeks’ worth of quizzes in one sitting.
As there is already flexibility built into this assessment to miss up to three quizzes, the make-up quiz does not apply to students who miss up to three lectures for illness, etc. The make-up quiz is only available to students who have a genuine, documented reason for missing a substantive part of the semester (more than three lectures). Reasons may include: long-term work commitments that cannot be altered; sudden/serious illness that requires a lengthy absence; or another documented reason for a lengthy absence.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Please note that there are NO opportunities to re-take individual quizzes and no alternative assessment available except in the very specific circumstances outlined below.
Alternative Assessment
If you have a Student Action Plan that applies to the quiz please contact your tutor or the lecturer ASAP. We can make accommodations in the lecture for many of the issues documented in plans (e.g., if you cannot handwrite exams).
If a student has a genuine (documented) reason that explains why they will be unable to attend the lecture on 7 occasions, a one off make up test will be offered late in the semester, using the same master list of terms. In that test you will need to do all seven weeks’ worth of quizzes in one sitting.
As there is already flexibility built into this assessment to miss up to three quizzes, the make-up quiz does not apply to students who miss up to three lectures for illness, etc. The make-up quiz is only available to students who have a genuine, documented reason for missing a substantive part of the semester (more than three lectures). Reasons may include: long-term work commitments that cannot be altered; sudden/serious illness that requires a lengthy absence; or another documented reason for a lengthy absence.
Oral Assessment
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Practical/ Demonstration
- Weight
- 32%
- Due date
10/11/2025 - 17/11/2025
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
Task description
An oral assessment will be conducted in the first week of the exam period at the end of semester. Students will be allocated a specific day and time in that week well in advance and these will be communicated via blackboard and email. While there are no extensions allowed for this assessment - they must all be done in the first week of the exam period - students who have access plans or exceptional circumstances (with documentation) should contact the course coordinator if the allotted day or time slot needs to be changed.
Students with access plans should contact the course coordinator as soon as possible if they require a modification to be made to the assessment. Accommodations in response to access plans are available (via, for example, extending the time given for the test as a whole or its components).
In the assessment students will discuss course texts with a member of the teaching team on a one-to-one basis. The discussion has two components.
In component one the student will talk for five minutes about a classic policy text that they have chosen from a pre-circulated list in order to show:
a. An understanding of the original text’s overall argument/contribution.
b. Some awareness of its influence in the field of public policy as described in the course texts (no need for original research).
c. A decision on whether this classic text should still be considered relevant with reasons.
This will be followed by one or two questions from the marker about the content of their discussion.
In component two the student will be invited to discuss one cutting-edge component which is chosen by the marker from a pre-circulated list. The student and the marker will discuss this component for five minutes in order for the student to show:
a. An accurate description of the cutting-edge concept/theory.
b. Critical reflection on the concept/theory.
c. A view on whether this cutting-edge aspect has the potential to become a classic.
The options for the assessment are listed in the learning guide. When choosing the classic text they wish to discuss in component one, students should be aware that this choice will determine the range of cutting-edge topics from which the marker will choose their second component. For example, if you choose a classic agenda setting text you will be asked about cutting-edge agenda setting theories or concepts.
Note that students cannot choose the same weekly topic on which they presented in the tutorial.
The learning guide offers more detail on this assessment. Students will also be supported by the teaching team via practice sessions ran during the lecture timetable. However, at its core, this is as an assessment that demands the fulfillment of two criteria: 1) the ability to accurately describe course texts; 2) a willingness to discuss them critically.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Discretionary extensions are not available for this task.
Extension will only be available where there are extenuating circumstances.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student does not address the question, shows no evidence of reading and minimal comprehension of the issues at hand. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student addresses the question poorly and shows very little evidence of reading. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: The student makes an effort to establish a single major argument for the essay and employs some research which is correlated with the argument. Makes a visible effort to achieve adequate grammar, spelling and punctuation. Evidence of attempting to achieve a recognisable narrative flow appears throughout the assignment. The student addresses the question and shows evidence of required research and a basic grasp of the issues at hand. However, falls short of satisfying all basic requirements for a Pass. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student makes a reasonable effort to provide evidence to support a visible argument and employs an adequate research base to support the argument. Achieves a reasonable, if not completely coherent standard of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. A recognisable narrative flow is sustained throughout the essay. The student answers the question and shows evidence of adequate research and a degree of understanding of the issues at hand. |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student provides suitable evidence to support an argument and employs a comprehensive research base that directly relates to the topic, though it may not completely support the argument. Achieves decent levels of competence in grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct, well supported fashion and shows evidence of some wide reading and a reasonable understanding of the issues at hand. |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student demonstrates a very good grasp of the chosen topic and provides a considerable amount of evidence to support a clearly stated argument. The student employs a reasonably extensive and well-organised research base to structure evidence in support of the argument and achieves a high level of competence in grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct, reasonably sophisticated fashion, employs wide research and shows a sound understanding of the issues at hand. |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The student demonstrates a highly sophisticated grasp of the topic and succeeds in addressing the question by providing a high level of evidence to support a clearly stated argument. The student employs an extensive and well organised research base to structure evidence in support of the argument and achieves impeccable levels of grammar, spelling, punctuation and narrative flow. The student answers the question in a direct and elegant fashion, employs significant research and shows a deep understanding of the issues at hand. |
Additional course grading information
Grades will be awarded on the following basis:
1.ﾠ Failﾠ 1 - 19%
2. Failﾠ 20 - 44%
3. Failﾠ 45 - 49%
4. Passﾠ 50 - 64 %
5. Creditﾠ 65 - 74 %
6. Distinctionﾠ 75 - 84 %
7. High Distinctionﾠ 85 - 100 %
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Essay Guide
The School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide can be downloaded from the School’s Student Support webpage.
The Guide sets out guidelines you should follow in preparing written assignments.
Essay Writing Assistance
The School of Political Science and International Studies schedules regular “drop-in” sessions designed to provide one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing.
There is no need to make an appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you.
The day and time of these sessions will be finalized at the beginning of each semester and published on the Student Support webpage.
Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study, research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
Library Resources
UQ Library offers training in software, assignment writing, research skills, and publishing and research management.
The University’s library holdings for Political Science and International Studies are primarily located in the Central Library.
There is a help desk in the Library. Students are also welcome to contact the BEL/HASS Librarians for assistance.
Email: librarians@library.uq.edu.au
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Lecture |
1. Introduction |
Week 2 (04 Aug - 10 Aug) |
Lecture |
2. Agenda-Setting |
Week 3 (11 Aug - 17 Aug) |
Lecture |
3. Decision-Making |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (1) Agenda-Setting |
|
Week 4 (18 Aug - 24 Aug) |
Lecture |
4. Implementation |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (2) Decision-Making |
|
Week 5 (25 Aug - 31 Aug) |
Lecture |
5. Evaluation 1 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (3) Implementation |
|
Week 6 (01 Sep - 07 Sep) |
Lecture |
6. Evaluation 2 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (4) Evaluation 1 |
|
Week 7 (08 Sep - 14 Sep) |
Lecture |
7. Termination |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (5) Evaluation 2 |
|
Week 8 (15 Sep - 21 Sep) |
Lecture |
8. Stages |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (6) Termination |
|
Week 9 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Lecture |
9. Paradigms |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (7) Stages |
|
Mid Sem break (29 Sep - 05 Oct) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid Semester Break (No Class) |
Week 10 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Lecture |
10. Landscape |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (8) Paradigms |
|
Week 11 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Lecture |
11. Institutions |
Tutorial |
Tutorial (9) Landscape |
|
Week 12 (20 Oct - 26 Oct) |
Lecture |
12. Review |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.