Overseas Aid and International Development
UndergraduateMUR-SUS2072025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Appraise how effective Australian overseas aid and development policies are. Form a picture of key development agencies. Unpack the motivations behind international aid. Engage in historical and philosophical analyses of the ongoing debates in this field.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 20 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Price from
- $2,125
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Overseas Aid and International Development
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- participate in critical discussion concerning the nature of interactions between development agencies and target communities within the developed and the developing world
- demonstrate a critical understanding of the principal concepts theories and practices of overseas aid and international development
- reflect critically on recent debates informing development, the motivations behind international aid, and the attendant difficulties in its delivery
- analyse why overseas aid and international development remain so contested within international relations and such a problematic context for altruistic notions of help
- work both independently, and collaboratively in a respectful manner with a range of people
- communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
- Introduction;
- Development in Contex
- Big Theories
- Development as Discourse
- Doing Development
- Australian Aid Policies;
- Tourism and Development;
- Capacity Building;
- Development and Involuntary Displacement
- Chinese Soft Power
- Fair Trade
- Microfinance
This subject was previously known as AID204 Overseas Aid and International Development.
Why are aid and development important? What are the differences between humanitarian emergency responses and long term development? How can we encourage people to take ownership for their own sustainable development? What are the barriers to this for them and us? What is is it to be the beneficiary of a development intervention? This unit aims to give a historical and theoretical grounding to respond to these questions and to give us a more detailed picture of what development entails.
Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.
- Reading presentation (15%)
- Wiki/Blog post (25%)
- Online Discussion (10%)
- Written Critique (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-based university in Perth has a strong interdisciplinary focus and a reputation for outstanding teaching and ground-breaking research. With more than 25,000 students and 2,400 staff from over 90 countries, and campuses in Dubai and Singapore, Murdoch embraces free thinking, shared ideas and knowledge to make a difference, and Open Universities Australia is certainly part of that.
Learn more about Murdoch University.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 27
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 26
Entry requirements
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
MUR-AID204 (Not currently available)
MUR-COD204 (Not currently available)
Others
Students must have completed 18 credit points (6 OUA subjects) at Level 1 before enrolling in this subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Bachelor of Arts (International Aid and Development)
UndergraduateMUR-AID-DEG
Bachelor of Arts (Sustainable Development)
UndergraduateMUR-ASD-DEG
Bachelor of Arts (Community Development)
UndergraduateMUR-CDV-DEG
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