University of Sydney Handbooks - 2021 Archive

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Advanced Coursework Social Sciences

 
Unit outlines will be available though Find a unit outline.
 

Errata
Item Errata Date
1.

Sessions have changed for the following unit. They now read:

ECOS4212 Economics of Program Evaluation Sessions: now available in Semester 2

 13/7/2021

Table A Advanced Coursework Social Sciences

Advanced Coursework requires completion of a minimum of 24 credit points, including;
(i) a research, community, industry or entrepreneurship project of at least 12 and up to 36 credit points.
Students must complete at least 24 credit points from a single subject area relevant to Table A;
Social and political sciences; or Economics
Students can complete 4000-level electives or project units of study where relevant.

Social and political sciences

Advanced Coursework units of study

SSPS4101 Social Sciences and Social Change

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr workshop/week, 1x1hr curated online discussion forum/week Prerequisites: ANTH3998 or ANTH3999 or CRIM3998 or CRIM3999 or ECOP3998 or ECOP3999 or GOVT3898 or GOVT3900 or SCLG3998 or SCLG3999 or SLSS3998 or SLSS3999 Assumed knowledge: 36 credits points towards a major in a relevant subject area in the social sciences or humanities Assessment: 1x1000wd project outline (short answer questions) (25%), 1x1000wd online discussion contribution (25%), 1x2500wd change proposal (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
Life today is characterised by mounting concerns over inequality, oppression and environmental sustainability. Following Karl Marx's insistence that "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it", the unit engages with exploring other possible ways of organising the world in which we live. Social scientists are well placed to diagnose and propose responses to the biggest challenges we face. Students will apply a social science lens to persistent problems in our economy, society and environment. The unit evaluates prevailing and alternative policy models in the context of the forces shaping and contesting states and economies.
SSPS4102 Data Analytics in the Social Sciences

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x3hr workshop/week Prerequisites: ANTH3998 or ANTH3999 or CRIM3998 or CRIM3999 or ECOP3998 or ECOP3999 or GOVT3898 or GOVT3900 or SCLG3998 or SCLG3999 or SLSS3998 or SLSS3999 Assumed knowledge: 36 credits points towards a major in a relevant subject area in the social sciences or humanities Assessment: 1x1000wd Short essay (20%), 1x1500wd Data visualization and communication exercise (40%), 1x2000wd Big data analysis exercise (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
Our lives are increasingly shaped by data, not only from official government agencies but from diverse sources in our social world. As the sources, form and content of data diversify somust the social science techniques for analysing and using that data. This unit of study focuses on the world of big data. It equips students with an understanding of how the emergence of big data has expanded the power and scope of the social sciences and of how to make use of big data for social science purposes. It introduces some key techniques for presenting, communicating, and analysing data, including data visualisation and pattern discovery.

Advanced Coursework project units of study

SSPS4111 The Future of Work

Credit points: 12 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr seminars/week, 1x2hr workshop/week Prerequisites: ANTH3998 or ANTH3999 or CRIM3998 or CRIM3999 or ECOP3998 or ECOP3999 or GOVT3898 or GOVT3900 or SCLG3998 or SCLG3999 or SLSS3998 or SLSS3999 Assumed knowledge: 36 credits points towards a major in a relevant subject area in the social sciences or humanities Assessment: 1x2500wd Literature Review (20%), 3x500wd equivalent Quiz (15%), 4x500wd equivalent Research Minutes (Group) (15%), 1x6000wd Research Report (Group) (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
Technological disruption, demographic change, globalisation and economic transformation are having a profound impact on the quantity and quality of jobs, how and by whom work is undertaken as well as the distribution of income and well-being. Such changes make the future of work challenging for all societies in the 21st Century. This project unit offers students the opportunity to explore the historical, contemporary and potential future(s) of the role of 'work' in the national and international context. Students will engage in primary and secondary research, with research experts within and external to the University, and apply social science expertise to contemporary public debate.

Economics

Advanced Coursework units of study

ECOS4201 Advanced Microeconomic Policy

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ECOS3997 or ECON3999 or ECON3998 Assessment: 1x2000wd take-home final exam (40%), 2x5min presentations (15%), 3x500wd written assignments (15%), 1x1500wd project (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
This unit covers topics in applied microeconomics for public policy. It will focus on a small number of major applied micro and behavioural economic theories such as incentives, discrimination and gift exchange, and apply these theories to examine empirical and experimental evidence in a large range of potential contexts from education and health to labour markets, volunteerism, charitable behaviour, finance and government policy. For each topic, students will be introduced to the traditional theoretical approach, followed by empirical and experimental evidence, and alternative academic perspectives. Students are challenged to develop their own perspectives towards policy implications.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
ECOS4202 Advanced Macroeconomic Policy

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1X3hr seminar/week Prerequisites: ECOS3997 or ECON3999 or ECON3998 Prohibitions: ECOS3902 or ECON4902 or ECON4910 or ECON4915 Assessment: 1x1250 words Analytical Report (25%), 1x1250 words Policy Research Essay (25%), 1x2hr exam Final exam (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
This unit of study aims to provide students with advanced theoretical knowledge and skill sets for analysing macroeconomic policy issues and practice in Australia and internationally from both a historical and contemporary perspective. This unit introduces a set of modern macroeconomic models that provide insights into policy debates and can also be used for analysing contemporary government policies. Examples will be drawn from various policies not just within Australia, but also from countries and regions such as the US, Asia, South America and Europe.
ECOS4211 The Economics of Corporate Finance

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x3 hr lecture/seminar per week Prerequisites: ECOS3997 or ECON3999 or ECON3998 Assessment: Weeklyx1000wds equivalent Assignments (10%), 2x1.5hr Mid-semester exams (50%), 1x2hr Final exam (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
This unit aims to equip the student with skills to evaluate economic aspects of corporate finance and corporate governance. It will emphasize the role of informational asymmetries in the underlying interactions. The unit will allow the students to explore cutting-edge topics in microeconomics and the theory of incentives. The themes covered will include the structure of the firm, the models of credit rationing and determinants of firm's borrowing capacity. We will further turn to corporate financing under asymmetric information and contract design, explore monitoring in corporate finance and design of securities, control rights and corporate governance.
BUSS4933 Adv Machine Learning for Business Insights

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: Students must meet the entry requirements for the Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Advanced Coursework), including completion of a pass undergraduate degree and a relevant major including (QBUS3600 or ECMT3185). Assumed knowledge: Students are assumed to be familiar with statistical modelling, Optimisation and Machine Learning. Assessment: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Business (Business School)
This unit bridges the gap between theory and practice by integrating knowledge and consolidating key skills in ML developed across the Business Analytics major. The problem-based approach to learning in this unit offers vital tools and techniques for business decision makers in the big data era through the use of very large and rich data sources. The unit casts the knowledge of statistical learning in modern machine learning context and exposes business students to a range of state-of-the-art machine learning topics with the emphasis on applications involving the analysis of business data.

Advanced Coursework project units of study

ECOS4206 Economics Project A

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ECOS3997 or ECON3999 or ECON3998 Assessment: 1x1000wd Literature Review (20%), 1x2500wd Research proposal (60%), 1x1000wd Quantitative Assignment (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
This unit deals with the nature and practice of research and inquiry in applied economics. Topics covered will include: the scientific method; inductive thought and deductive logic; research as an orderly process of inquiry; preparation of research proposals; sources of data for economists; quantitative methods used to work with data, writing skills, ethics in research and other relevant topics. Examples of research in theoretical economics, empirical/applied research and wider debates in scientific disciplines will be used to illustrate topics.
ECOS4207 Economics Project B

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ECOS4206 and (ECOS4201 or ECOS4202) Assessment: 1x1000wd Presentation (30%), 1x3500wd Final Report (70%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences
In this unit students will be presented with a research question in economics based on a real-world problem or issue. Initially, the research problem will be presented by the instructor or a guest lecturer. Supporting lectures will be delivered on appropriate theoretical concepts and quantitative methods required to conduct the research. Students will interact with the instructor to define the detail of the research problem, the approach for analysis and feedback on their work. Following this, students will construct a detailed literature review, collect and analyse data, and present the research results in written form.