Master of Ageing

The Master of Ageing is designed to produce leaders in the emerging field of Ageing. The subjects proposed for this course adopt an interdisciplinary, international and intergenerational approach to respond to the complex and growing challenges of an ageing worldwide population. This is the first course of its kind and is influenced by national and global politics, economics, ethics and social equity. It is grounded in a material analysis of the ways in which medicine, finance, technology and design can support healthy ageing for both individuals and populations.

This course provides specialised knowledge and skills to understand ageing as more than health related experiences. The innovative subjects are taught by academics throughout the University of Melbourne in public health, medicine, physiotherapy, social work, architecture and design, engineering and business along with internationally known professionals in the field. All of the instructors bring outstanding pedagogical skills, substantive knowledge and practical experience.

Students from around the globe work together to address the worldwide implications of ageing, including workforce and retirement challenges, increased demand on health care spending and how recent technological advancements can revolutionise the future of ageing. This is an exciting new course that opens up the possibilities of ageing with massive implications for older adults, clinicians, health care administrators, urban planners, service providers, policymakers, and researchers.

The Master of Ageing course requires completion of a total of 150 points of study and is structured to suit individual needs and study preferences. Students to have the option of enrolling in a Master degree (150 points) or one of the nested awards Graduate Diploma (100 points), Graduate Certificate (50 points) or Specialist Certificate (25 points).

This course is designed to be available to students at different stages in their careers, including career starters, career changers and career enhancers, those who currently work and wish to further their qualifications. The coursework responds to all three groups of students by allowing individual tailoring to find the optimal approach.

The Master of Ageing is designed to prepare students to become leaders in the emerging field of Ageing. The learning outcomes reflect this aim by providing graduates with a solid interdisciplinary foundation in ageing in order to have the knowledge and skills needed to respond to the complexity involved in an ageing worldwide population.

Upon completion of this Master of Ageing, graduates will be able to:

• Describe and appraise systems, structures and policies in Australia and other countries that address ageing;
• Describe and critically access strategies aimed to promote healthy and productive ageing across the lifespan (i.e. legislation, policy and community development);
• Articulate the ways in which age, gender, ethnicity and Indigenous status, society, culture, geography, the environment, disability and socio-economic status influence the ageing experience;
• Identify and discuss current and key challenges in ageing from a global perspective;
• Apply comprehensive knowledge of the ageing experience from conceptual and practical dimensions of the course to develop solutions to complex ageing issues;
• Design and manage a detailed investigation of an ageing issue in a substantial project, with a high level personal autonomy and accountability;
• Critically review and reflect on individual performance or processes undertaken in the management of a substantial project in ageing.

FOUR core subjects, SIX elective subjects and either a Research Project or Professional Practice unit.

CORE SUBJECTS

Students must complete the following four CORE subjects:

ELECTIVE SUBJECTS

Students must choose SIX electives from the following:

CAPSTONE

Students must choose EITHER the Research Project of Professional Practice Unit.

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• an undergraduate degree in any discipline, or equivalent; and
• at least two years of documented relevant professional work experience.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic performance; and
• professional work experience.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.

Notes.

(a) Successful applicants with

1. an undergraduate degree and a minimum of two years of documented relevant work experience, and having achieved post-graduate coursework in the ageing field OR
2. an undergraduate degree and a minimum of five years of documented relevant work experience

may be granted up to 50 points advanced standing for the Master of Ageing.

(b) All core subjects are taught online and students are able to achieve the full masters degree online.

The Master of Ageing is not registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions. It is only available to international students via distance learning.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Description, Course Objectives and Generic Skills of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website.

Students will embody a number of the key graduate attributes of the University of Melbourne. In particular, they will have a deep understanding of their social and civic responsibilities in the domain of public policy, health care provision and as private individuals. With the ability to recognise, explore and critically analyse issues of ageing and their proposed solutions from an informed perspective, students will be confident in contributing to a meaningful public discourse in this field.

Academically excellent across disciplines
The Master of Ageing will be subject to a continuous cycle of review through constant refinements in teaching and learning principles and approaches, particularly in adapting to the latest technical advancements in online learning design. Subject coordinators are members of the Master of Ageing Steering Committee, which meets regularly to ensure appropriate integration and complementary teaching and learning approaches. In addition, the mandatory completion of an integrated suite of four core subjects that span multiple disciplines, a compulsory culminating capstone experience, along with a choice of elective subjects taught by several different faculties at the University of Melbourne all lead to a strong interdisciplinary experience. All of the instructors involved with the Master of Ageing subjects bring outstanding pedagogical skills, substantive knowledge and practical experience.

Leaders in communities
The Master of Ageing facilitates the development of excellent interpersonal and communication skills through subject content and assessment practices, and through commitment to small-group interactive teaching and learning environments. The provision of research and knowledge transfer opportunities enables the development of public discourse skills and an extensive awareness of community issues and global needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity
The Master of Ageing offers students a sustained and detailed education in aspects of cultural diversity and identity. One of the core subjects, Ageing in Society, is concerned specifically and analytically with cross-cultural perspectives on how prevailing social contexts shapes ideas, relationships and practices with implications for older people. In addition, the subjects in the Master of Ageing course include international examples of policies, case studies and strategies as well as plan to include students from different parts of the world. Students will have ample opportunity to learn from experiences outside their own immediate cultures.

Active global citizens
Master of Ageing graduates will be equipped to be active global citizens by virtue of their academic excellence, their interdisciplinary knowledge, their community leadership capabilities and their cultural awareness.

Students who complete this course should develop a number of generic skills that will enhance their capacity in:

• Integrating a range of disciplines to take a comparative and global perspective;
• Research through competent use of advanced information sources and retrieval of appropriate information;
• Critical and theoretical thinking through presentations, research papers, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming arguments from conflicting evidence, and by critical analysis;
• Time management and planning through organising workloads and substantial projects;
• Team work through team projects, online discussions and peer feedback.