U21 Certificate in Global Issues (Understanding Globalisation)

Universitas 21 (U21) is an international network of leading research-intensive universities. Established in 1997, U21 currently includes twenty one member universities in thirteen countries. These partner institutions are committed to advancing the internationalism of education and offer exemplary tertiary study across a variety of disciplines.

The Universitas 21 Certificate in Global Issues is the University of Melbourne's name for the U21 Programme in Global Issues. It is an undergraduate multidisciplinary concurrent certificate administered through the Faculty of Arts and taught by the University of Melbourne in conjunction with the Universities of British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong (China), and Nottingham (United Kingdom).

The Certificate is designed to address the particular demands of undergraduate students who have an interest in global studies and who wish to combine this study with a degree at the University of Melbourne.

Students are expected to complete fifty percent of the Certificate through at least one other partner university, whether online or by studying overseas on Exchange.

The U21 certificate in Global Issues has as its objectives that graduates should gain:

• knowledge of the current theoretical principles relating to globalisation;
• an ability to evaluate and synthesise the literature relating to globalisation, and its relationship to environmental, economic, political and social change;
• an understanding of the interconnectedness between individuals, societies, and countries by encouraging students to consider the cultural, environmental, economic and political dimensionals of globalisation.

University of Melbourne students accepted into the Certificate are required to complete 50 points of study comprising:

• one compulsory on-line subject, 919-490 UBC-Global Citizenship-Global Issues (12.5 points)

and

• elective subjects chosen from the lists below (37.5 points).

At least one of the three elective subjects must be taught (either on-line or via an exchange program) by a U21 Certificate partner University, ie. not by the University of Melbourne.

Campus-based subjects are grouped under two curriculum streams:

• Stream 1: Understanding Globalisation

• Stream 2: Global Business and International Finance

Subjects listed below and offered as part of the U21 Certificate are subject to availability. Students should check subject prerequisites with relevant teaching programs where it will be determined whether prospective students can satisfy prerequisites. Students may be asked to demonstrate familiarity with essential concepts gained through the completion of cognate subjects to meet prerequisite requirements.

Please note: Participating institutions may re-title the program and/or subjects listed below in order to meet their own institutional accreditation requirements.

Compulsory Subject

Online/ Elective Subjects

Select 3 subjects from the following lists:

Overseas Campus Based Elective Subjects

• World History Since 1500
• Globalization and Law

University of Hong Kong:

• Understanding Global Issues
• Globalization and Information Society
• Economic Development and Social Change
• Globalization and Culture
• The Foundations of International Trade and Finance in the Modern World
• Managing the Global Economy
• Globalization and Crime
• Human Security in the Global Context

University of Nottingham:

• Peace, Imperialism and War: Europe and the World 1814-1918
• Evolution o fthe International System
• International Security and World Order
• International Political Economy
• The Vigilant State
• The Impact of Globalisation: European National and Regional Responses to Global Structural Change

Melbourne University Campus Based Elective Subjects

Applicants must demonstrate an ability to manage independent, unsupervised study and must satisfy the following selection criteria:

• be concurrently enrolled in an undergraduate degree course at the University of Melbourne; and

• have obtained a weighted grade point average of at least H2B (70%) across all subjects so far completed in the concurrent degree course; and

• have completed at least 100 points of study in the concurrent degree course 1 ; and

• be at least six months (100 credit points) away from completing the concurrent degree course.

Once enrolled, students may not graduate from the Certificate until their degree studies have also been completed, and vice versa.

Students will be enrolled in the Certificate on the same fee-paying basis as their degree course.

The Certificate is available to students enrolled in a University of Melbourne degree course on a Commonwealth Supported Place, to incoming and outgoing Exchange students, and to Australian fee-paying students. It is not currently available to international or study abroad students.

Application forms for University of Melbourne students are available from the Faculty of Arts Student Service Centre (Ground Floor, Old Arts Building) or in PDF format from the following site http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/futurestudents/programs/ug_apply.html .

Places in the Certificate are limited to 20 students per year. Applications will be assessed on a competitive basis.

The closing dates are:

• 1 July for semester two (late July) commencement,

• 1 February for semester one (late February) commencement*.

* Students wishing to commence the U21 Certificate with one of the following on-line subjects taught in January/February;

• 919-490 UBC-Global Citizenship-Global Issues ;

• 919-491 UBC-Working in International Health ;

• 919-492 UNott-The Contemporary World Since 1945 ;

• 919-494 UHK-Human Security in the Global Context ;

• 919-495 UHK-Globalisation & Information Society ;

must apply by 1 July. Successful applicants may defer the commencement of the Certificate until on-line classes begin. However, for both new and re-enrolling U21 Certificate students, enrolment at the University teaching the subjects above must be completed by 1 September in the year prior to the start of on-line classes in January/February.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Graduates of the U21 Certificate in Global Issues should develop the following generic skills:

• problem solving-techniques and an ability to communicate these techniques in verbal and written form;

• sensitivity to the impact of globalisation on the world from a variety of theoretical, individual and international perspectives;

• a sound attitude towards undertaking life-long learning in this field;

• a well-developed capacity to understand and participate as an individual and in collaborative, multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, as a leader or as a team member;

• practical skills in the use of simulations, interactive material and technologies designed to enhance collaborative and team work;

• an understanding of students' own choices and responsibilities within their political, social, cultural and professional contexts;

• an ability to participate as an active global citizen.