Master of Philosophy in HIV/AIDS Management

Given the purposes of the MPhil. (see below)) the purpose of this programme is to equip the students with a systematic and comprehensive knowledge base, skills and understanding to enable them to:

1. Explain the need for a macro perspective on human resource management with a depth of knowledge in the HIV/Aids areas, informed by current developments in the field.
2. Define, describe and analyse strategic human resource management
3. Have an informed and critical understanding of the principles and theories of HIV/Aids in the work place and how it impacts on strategic human resource management
4. Explain the strategic purpose of human resource management by acquiring the ability to identify, analyse and deal with concrete and abstract problems using evidence-based solutions and theory-driven arguments.
5. The ability to research and monitor of HIV/Aids issues in the workplace using behaviour. change models as point of departure.
6. An ability to identify, conceptualize, design and implement research projects that address complex, ill-defined problems at the cutting edge of the HIV/Aids management field.

The purposes of the Master of Philosophy (HIV/Aids Management) qualification are

• to equip students with a broad and multi- or interdisciplinary understanding of central dimensions of a problem (complex) or phenomenon (cluster), from the perspective of the humanities (including the social sciences),
• to familiarize students with past and current attempts to generate a range of approaches to this problem (complex) or phenomenon (cluster), and to enable students to participate successfully in the search for solutions;
• to prepare students to participate in scholarly or public debates on the relevant problem (complexes) or phenomenon (clusters), and to convey their understanding about these to others;
• to prepare students for doctoral work;
• to produce individuals who have acquired a knowledge base that enables them to identify and help solve significant problems in the private and the public sectors.

Post Graduate Diploma (HIV/AIDS Management) or relevant level 7 qualification (there have been students with MBChB degrees and PhD's doing the diploma programme).

N/A

Based on research the student will, after the completion of the course, have the critical understanding, knowledge, competencies and managerial skills to be able to:-

• Develop and review work place policies based on a critical understanding of the most advances research, methodologies, techniques and technologies in the HIV/Aids field of study.-
• Implement behavioural modification and Surveillance Surveys.
• Develop and implement HIV Peer Education And Training programmes.
• Establish a Voluntary Counselling and Testing program within an organization.
• Influence and facilitate: strategic human resource planning, business planning, manage productivity, and do performance evaluation and strategic re-thinking within the HIV/AIDS context.
• Analyse, understand and communicate the potential impact of HIV/AIDS on the work environment.
• An ability to effectively present and communicate the results of research and opinion to specialists and non-specialists audiences using the full resources of knowledge acquired and the production of a thesis which meets international standards of scholarly/ professional writing.

The successful Master of Philosophy (HIV/Aids) student will have

• Mastered research skills and the logic of scholarly argument and the art of public debate;
• Developed a capacity for theoretical, self-reflexive and critical thinking, and solving of problems;
• The ability to think in terms of theory, as an instrument for understanding reality;
• The ability to work systematically and independently in approaching and solving abstract and complex problems;
• The ability to present and challenge scholarly positions in forums/publications of substance;
• The ability to identify and apply criteria of relevance and significance pertinent to various contexts of inquiry.
• Have broad knowledge of the theoretical, methodological, and/or the practical traditions relevant to a particular problem (complex) focused upon in a specific programme;
• Be familiar with the academic, ethical and/or professional standards in the disciplines dealing with the relevant issues;
• Be able to identify and critically analyze the relevant dimensions of a specific problem (complex) or phenomenon (cluster) or professional field;
• Be able to critically appraise accepted solutions to the relevant problems by identifying and evaluating the assumptions on which they rest;
• Be able to develop and apply, in a self-critical way, new/more adequate solutions to these problems;
• Be able to report findings in the appropriate scholarly format.

• The assessment used for this qualification complies with the stated purposes of the qualification.
• A range of formative and summative assessments is used, such as written and oral examinations, practice-oriented assignments, simulations, case studies, and work-place evaluations of the student's understanding of the theoretical and trans-disciplinary dimensions of an issue, and a thesis or research assignment or series of assignments that has to display the desired problem-solving and research-based outcomes.
• The appropriate kinds of assessment are used in an integrated manner to determine whether the specified outcomes have been achieved (see 8 below).
• The assessment used meets the standard and level of achievement for NQF level 8a.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment of the programme contains formative as well as summative assessment, both on a continuing basis throughout the one-year of study. Summative assessment includes several assignments and written examinations. A final examination is set at the end of the study period and the content of the program is assessed as an integrated whole during the evaluation. A dissertation is submitted at the end of the study.