Postgraduate Diploma in Management (Public and Development Management)

The PDM-PDM is a one-year programme aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of current public sector administrators and development practitioners from across the continent. It enables them to advance their careers and contribute to good governance and effective development in their organisations and communities. It provides them with an opportunity to explore new ideas, expand their analytical and managerial skills, interact with leading academics and practitioners, and reflect on their values, goals and careers.

It is also aimed at recent graduates with some work experience who wish to embark on a career in public administration or development, equipping them with the skills they need to become effective public administrators and development practitioners.

Lastly, it provides a solid foundation to students who wish to proceed to the Masters programme.

Participants wanting to register for a Master’s degree in Public and Development Management who do not have a solid academic grounding at Honours level in public management will be required to complete the PDM courses before embarking on the requirements of the Master’s Degree.

PADM5233A: Introduction and Orientation

This course re-introduces candidates to the world of study. It prepares them how to balance the demands of work, studying and returning to learning. The course is structured to allow degree convenors to discuss the design and overall learning outcomes of a particular degree programme and how it impacts their work and career. The course covers academic reading and writing; avoiding plagiarism; group dynamics and independent learning. This module - which has no credits - also introduces candidates to the Wits Computer LMS and Library Systems.

PADM5243A: Governance, Leadership and Public Value

This course, through a study of contemporary understandings of state and society, aims to develop a deep understanding of how government institutions and agencies function, their relation to civil society and their location in local, national and regional social, economic and political contexts. It will examine the characteristics of the public service sector, the complex challenges facing it, and the meaning and implications of governance, leadership and public value for the functioning of states and public institutions. Different models of governance and leadership are explored in relation to how states and societies structure authority, distribute economic, political and social resources and create public value.

PADM5244A: Public Finance

This course introduces candidates to key theoretical concepts in public finance and public sector economics broadly, as well as providing an opportunity to analyse applied public finance issues in the South African context. The course consists of an examination of key topics including the public sector and the role of the state in the economy; the public sector in South Africa; public expenditure and growth; taxation – equity, efficiency, types of taxes; fiscal policy in South Africa; key social policy issues: education, health, social security, poverty and inequality; and Intergovernmental fiscal relations: fiscal decentralization, and IGFR in South Africa.

PADM5245A: Public Policy

This course will interrogate conceptual and theoretical frameworks of public policy, examine models of public policy making; offer a framework of public policy analysis and explore policy contexts in South Africa, Africa and globally. The course provides candidates with an understanding of the special challenges facing policy development and implementation and how to overcome them. This will include technical and skills requirements for evaluating policy, managing vested interests, consultation and public relations, monitoring and evaluation, and the management of inter-departmental coordination and relations.

PADM5247A: Analytical Methods

This course introduces candidates to statistical methods which are crucial in solving sustainability problems. It is designed to engage students in the statistical investigation process, that is, from developing a research question and data collection methods to analyzing, interpreting and communicating the results. This course further introduces candidates to basic descriptive and inferential statistics through the use of traditional and simulation approaches which include confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Candidates will also be exposed to real world applications of statistics purely designed to enhance conceptual understanding of statistics

PADM5248A: Development

The course will explore sessions around themes in the development field. The course reviews current conceptual debates on development and explores notions of development, the state and markets and their role and implications to policy and socio-economic development prospects. The course also examines the role of local communities, global actors, private and non-governmental sectors and the effects of processes of marketisation and deregulation to developing contexts.

PADM5249A: Economics for Public Managers

This course introduces candidates to fundamental economic concepts with a view to enhancing their understanding of how modern real-world economies function. The course examines key topics including the definition of ‘economics’; micro- and macro-economic; economic systems; microeconomic concepts such as costs in economics, production and consumption, demand, supply, specialization and production; macroeconomic concepts such as employment and unemployment, the national product and economic growth, inflation, the balance of payments, income and wealth distribution, and economic growth vs. development; fiscal and monetary policy; the role of the state in the economy and economic policy in South Africa since 1994.

PADM5265A: Change Management

This course facilitates knowledge and experience that would enhance effective management of organisations in both public and development sectors. It explores organisational theory and models of change, particularly the challenges inherent in managing change within the sectors.

PADM5246A: Strategic Public Management

This course focuses on strategy, culture, scenario analysis, managing people, performance, change, systems, operations, organisational development and human resources. The course examines the management of the bureaucracy to facilitate policy implementation across the broad mandate of the public sector, and interrogates the types of data and analysis that is required for decision making in organisations. The course will also include the development and validation of operational plans for effective and efficient delivery of services.

• Applicants require a solid Bachelor’s degree transcript or equivalent and preferably two years of relevant work experience in the public, parastatal or NGO sectors.

When lodging a formal application for the Postgraduate Diploma you will be required the following documentation:

• A brief letter of motivation indicating why you would like to study for your Postgraduate Diploma or Masters at the Wits School of Governance.
• A curriculum vitae, detailing your degrees, your employment experience.
• Official transcripts of your qualifications showing degree, courses and results (if you are still studying for a qualifying degree, please provide your interim mid-year results).
• Your graduation certificates (certified copies and then originals).
• Verification and comparison of any foreign qualifications from the South Africa Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
• IELTS Language Proficiency scores (if your previous qualification was not through the medium of English).

• Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process.
• Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
• Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
• Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.

Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.

International students, please check this section.

For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.