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Full-time: 3 years | Part-time: 6 years
On Campus and Online
Full-time / Part-time / On Campus / Online · 10 hours of study per week; three hours facilitated and seven self-directed
01 Jun 2026 | 14 Sep 2026
Course Overview
Where You Can Study
Eligibility
Career & Study Pathways
Quality & Recognition
Academic Regulator
TEQSA
Accreditation Status
AccreditedCourse Content
Critical Literature Review
Practical planning, searching, recording, analysing, interrogating and writing skills for conducting a literature review. Develops mastery in identifying research gaps from the literature to establish future research directions, culminating in a project statement for further scholarly research.
Developing the Research Proposal
Develops foundations of research, critical problem solving and evidence-based decision-making skills. Students gain understanding of the core structure of the research proposal, research integrity and positioning a research project to offer significant contribution to new knowledge.
Methodology and Research Design
Builds methodological literacy for higher degree research, addressing methodological questions and specific issues connected with the choice of research methods. Covers advanced topics in qualitative and quantitative research methodology and research design.
Preliminary Research Thesis
Provides students with skills for planning, conducting, analysing and reporting for a research project. Develops understanding of responsible conduct of research including ethical review for projects involving human research participation.
Research Communication
Provides essential skills and conventions of academic writing, authorship, research communication and dissemination of research outcomes. Prepares students for targeting communication to appropriate audiences.
Leading Research Innovation and Commercialisation
Offers students an opportunity to develop a business case for commercialisation of an idea resulting from a student's own research. Focuses on building traits of entrepreneurial leadership for research and innovation.
Workplace Learning & Research
Assists students to develop knowledge and skills to learn effectively in the workplace as a senior professional. Guides how to learn from- and in-action and to reflect on experience in a structured manner.
Professional Portfolio 1
Students think strategically and apply concepts and tools learned in the course to develop a portfolio of advanced professional practice, preparing a project with real-world consequences that will make an impact on the profession.
Professional Portfolio 2
Facilitates work-integrated investigation and advanced professional practice contributions for the professional practice portfolio. Requires students to undertake and document original project work and learning that bridges theoretical-practice.
Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health
Designed to make students conceptually clear about the need for and importance of qualitative research in public health, adopting a stepwise approach of designing and implementing qualitative research.
Qualitative Research Methods
Students develop core knowledge and skills for designing qualitative research including collecting, analysing, interpreting, and presenting qualitative data. Topics include ethnography, observation, case studies, focus groups, interviews, and participatory action research.
Biostatistics
Learn how to investigate basic statistics and concepts used in public health research and practice to interpret results in journals and government reports using a practice-based approach to statistical analysis.
Statistics and Applied Analytics
Covers essential techniques such as descriptive statistics, distributions, machine learning, and recommendation systems. Students apply statistical techniques to different datasets using various tools to perform analysis and reporting.
Thesis Unit 1
Thesis subjects focus on substantial writing for thesis and analysis for the thesis project. Students demonstrate high-level skills in independent research and/or analysis and in written expression.
Thesis Unit 2
Thesis subjects focus on substantial writing for thesis and analysis for the thesis project. Students demonstrate high-level skills in independent research and/or analysis and in written expression.
Thesis Unit 3
Thesis subjects focus on substantial writing for thesis and analysis for the thesis project. Students demonstrate high-level skills in independent research and/or analysis and in written expression.
Thesis Unit 4
Thesis subjects focus on substantial writing for thesis and analysis for the thesis project. Students demonstrate high-level skills in independent research and/or analysis and in written expression.
Thesis Unit 5
Thesis subjects focus on substantial writing for thesis and analysis for the thesis project. Students demonstrate high-level skills in independent research and/or analysis and in written expression.
Research and Innovation
Culminates in the development of a synthesised project proposal that can form the foundation for an incubator project. Students develop and consolidate their understanding of various research practices to analyse and review quantitative and qualitative data.
User Research
Introduces students to the tools and methodologies required for both user research and user experience research. Students use various research methods such as surveys, interviews and observations to provide insights to user needs, behaviours and attitudes.
Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
Provides a solid mathematical background for studies of Artificial Intelligence, covering linear algebra, differentiation and optimisation, vectors and matrices, statistics and probabilities.
Machine Principles
Provides an in-depth understanding of the methodologies, technologies, and algorithms currently used in machine learning. Explores classification, linear models, supervised and unsupervised learning.
Deep Learning
Introduces the basics of deep learning and how to build neural networks, covering natural language processing, speech recognition, and computer vision.
Design Futures
Introduces designers to research methodologies as a basis for identifying problems which can be the catalyst to bring about change. Students gain skills in analysis of research data using grounded theory and phenomenography.
Social, Behavioural and Cultural Factors in Public Health
Introduction to the principles of public health and fundamentals of public health practice. Considers the way major social determinants of health affect a population's health outcomes.
Global and Environmental Health Issues
Examines the impact environmental factors have on the health and safety of local and global communities, including elements that comprise an environment and casual links between chemical, physical and biological hazards.
Common Questions
The Professional Doctorate (Applied Research) integrates research training with coursework and practical application, fostering reflective practice to generate new knowledge within the discipline. Students produce a portfolio of applied practice-based learning and a thesis with an original contribution to professional practice and industry. A PhD is listed as a potential further study pathway for graduates of this program.
During their studies, students will produce a portfolio of applied practice-based learning and a thesis with an original contribution to professional practice and industry. The thesis requires 150 credit points of thesis writing, and the professional portfolio subjects require a Portfolio Proposal, Reflective Narrative, Project Overview, and Reflective Portfolio.
The Professional Doctorate (Applied Research) comprises nine core subjects, five thesis subjects, one Work Integrated Learning subject, and eight electives, requiring 10 hours of study per week — three hours facilitated and seven self-directed. Assessments may include activity-based assignments or online quizzes, and there are no formal exams.
Graduates will have demonstrated their preparedness for a career in research and analysis within government, higher education, research centres and private enterprises. They will have demonstrated intellectual leadership, positioning them for roles in policy research, research projects, research & development, academic research, industry and government advising, and further study including a PhD.
The course is delivered both on campus and online. Campus locations include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Online. It is available for both domestic and international students, with a full-time duration of 3 years and a part-time duration of 6 years. Intake dates include 01 Jun 2026 and 14 Sep 2026.
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Priya Sharma
India
Master of Nursing · Griffith University
