In today's globalised world, fostering inclusive and equitable cultures in workplaces and educational institutions is more critical than ever. The Australian National University (ANU) recognises the significance of creating a diverse and inclusive environment and is committed to becoming a national leader in this area. This course examines the latest research on institutional equity, diversity, equity, and inclusion (EDI), enabling students to develop transdisciplinary problem-solving skills to address the remaining barriers.
The course draws on sociological concepts of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, social closure and intersectionality, which serve as the foundation for student collaborative research. Additionally, students develop skills to use and critically assess quantitative methods used to generate EDI data. Two distinct streams are available: the beginner stream and the application stream for students with prior exposure to computational and statistical methods.
The main objective of this course is to enable participants to learn, share, consolidate and apply a range of EDI theories and quantitative methodologies used by social scientists and data scientists, including the use of appropriate software. The unit adopts a student-centred approach, with teaching and learning centred around a research project designed and completed individually or in teams throughout the course. By the end of the semester, students will have acquired the practical skills and theoretical knowledge necessary to advance EDI practices in diverse institutional settings.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- collaborate to critically assess the leading theories and methodologies used in studies of equity, diversity and inclusion;
- understand the study design and ethical considerations in research on equity, diversity and inclusion;
- design a small project aimed at solving an EDI problem, using appropriate methodologies and computational approaches;
- utilise appropriate cross-disciplinary approaches and computational software to complete an EDI research project; and
- collect primary data or analyse secondary data and present the project's findings to non-technical audiences.
Other Information
Students will have an opportunity to learn and consolidate their basic R coding skills as well as use other software, including but not limited to Stata to interrogate visual, numerical and textual data.
Indicative Assessment
- Research Project Proposal (20) [LO 2,3,4]
- Research Project Report (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Lectures and Readings Quizzes 2 x 10% (20) [LO 1,2]
- Workshop Participation (20) [LO 1,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
There are 130 total hours of student learning time, which includes both scheduled class time and self-directed study. Contact time with students may consist of lectures, workshops, seminars, tutorials, and group work.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Not applicable.
Preliminary Reading
Bohnet, I. (2016). What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Harvard University Press.
Cech, E. A. (2022). The Intersectional Privilege of White Able-Bodied Heterosexual Men in STEM. Science Advances, 8(24), 1-14.
Salganik, M. J. (2019). Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age. Princeton University Press.
Walter, M & Suina, M. (2019) Indigenous Data, Indigenous Methodologies and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 22:3, 233-243
Assumed Knowledge
All students possess numeracy skills at the upper secondary education level. Students must be prepared to learn or consolidate their basic programming in R, Stata or a similar software package.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5580 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3858 | 17 Feb 2025 | 24 Feb 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | 23 May 2025 | In Person | View |