The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT) is a pan-African School with a footprint spanning 20 African countries. We bring globally recognised faculty members to the classroom with a rich combination of research and practical experience at senior levels of policymaking and implementation.
About
The Nelson Mandela School offers postgraduate programmes in development policy and practice. The programmes provide students a dynamic and experiential learning environment that bridges relevant context-embedded theory with context-based practice. The core curriculum is developed from the School’s dynamic analytic framework on leadership for social transformation. The framework consists of building blocks such as democratic governance, sustainable economic transformation, social cohesion, democratic developmental state, and implementation of public policies. The programmes aim to address the challenges of driving effective and transformative reforms at all phases of the policy process.
How do you apply for the PGDip or MDDP? All postgraduate applications must be made online via the UCT application portal. You need an active email address and your South African identity number; for international applicants, you need a passport number. Follow this link to apply online.
Please keep the following documents nearby during the application process:
- Current CV with referee details
- Certified academic transcripts
- A letter motivating your participation in the programme
| Postgraduate diploma | Masters degree | |
| Skills and overarching learning outcomes | • Leadership development • Applied knowledge of development policy • Exposure to development policy issues across the content • Effective communications in development policy |
• High-level strategic public leadership development • Strategic thinking and strategic application • Applied problem-solving-based research |
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Specialisations |
Most assignments provide space for student chosen topics | Most assignments provide space for student chosen topics. The research components provide an opportunity to focus on a topic of interest |
| Platform | Fully online synchronous | |
| Admission criteria |
The Nelson Mandela School also has capacity for a limited number of PhD students with preference given to those already familiar with the School's academic approach.