Why Study / Key Benefits

The Master of Social Impact was designed for high-performing professionals seeking to develop and advance their careers in social impact. Swinburne describes it as suitable for professionals and social entrepreneurs working across philanthropy, not-for-profit organisations, private companies and corporate environments.

The programme combined social-impact education with business specialisations. The Business Analytics specialisation focused on using machine learning and data visualisation to generate business insights.

Key academic benefits included:

• Business analytics and data-driven decision-making.
• Machine learning in business.
• Data visualisation and interpretation.
• Social entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Social investment and philanthropy.
• Corporate responsibility and accountability.
• Evaluation and impact measurement.
• Leadership and organisational skills.
• Opportunities to engage with organisations through industry-connected learning.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The retained Swinburne structure identifies the Master of Social Impact as combining core social-impact study with business specialisations/electives.

Core Social Impact subjects

The published course material identifies the following social-impact units:

• Opportunity Discovery, Creativity and Design – ENT60009
• Corporate Responsibility and Accountability – SIP60001
• Leadership for Social Impact – SIP60002
• Social Impact: Entrepreneurs and Social Innovation – SIP60003
• Social Investment and Philanthropy – SIP60004
• Evaluation and Impact Measurement – SIP70014
• Strategic Philanthropy – SIP80015
• Social Venture Development – SIP80017

The exact combination depended on the course version and the student's selected specialisation/electives.

Business Analytics specialisation

Historical course information identifies Business Analytics as one of the business specialisations available within the Master of Social Impact.

The Business Analytics unit list associated with the Swinburne business-specialisation framework included:

• Business Analytics and Visualisation – INF70008
• Cloud Enterprise Systems and Analytics – INF60012
• Mobile Business and Social Media – INF60013
• Business Information Systems Internship Project – INF80005
• Applied Business Analytics and Data Visualisation – INF80031
• Predictive Analytics – INF80040
• Artificial Intelligence and Insights – INF80051

The historical structure generally required a selection of four business-specialisation/elective units, subject to the applicable course rules and unit availability.

Disciplines / Specialisations

The archived Swinburne course page lists a range of business specialisations, including:

• Accounting
• Business Analytics
• Business Information Systems
• Digital Marketing
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Financial Technologies
• Human Resource Management
• International Business
• Project Management
• Research
• Supply Chain Innovation

For the programme requested here, the selected specialisation was Business Analytics.

Its principal academic themes were:

• Machine learning in business.
• Business analytics.
• Data visualisation.
• Predictive analytics.
• Artificial intelligence.
• Cloud enterprise systems.
• Mobile business and social media.
• Business information systems.

Programme Highlights

Historical highlights of the Master of Social Impact included:

• Specialist postgraduate education in social impact.
• Business specialisation options, including Business Analytics.
• Focus on philanthropy, social enterprise and social innovation.
• Evaluation and impact measurement.
• Corporate responsibility and accountability.
• Strategic philanthropy.
• Social venture development.
• Industry connections through the Centre for Social Impact.
• Blended learning.
• Hawthorn campus.
• AACSB-accredited business education environment.

Career Outcomes

Swinburne's historical course material described the programme as preparing professionals for social-impact leadership and career transformation. Examples included:

• Philanthropy manager.
• Social-impact leader.
• Social entrepreneur.
• Leadership roles in for-purpose organisations.
• Roles in philanthropy and not-for-profit organisations.
• Corporate social responsibility-related roles.
• Government and public-sector policy roles.
• Social enterprise and innovation roles.

With the Business Analytics specialisation, graduates could also develop skills relevant to analytical and technology-focused positions involving:

• Business analytics.
• Data analysis.
• Data visualisation.
• Predictive analytics.
• Business intelligence.
• Technology-enabled social-impact decision-making.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

The most important current update is that this programme has been discontinued for new admissions.

Swinburne's current retained course page explicitly states that the Master of Social Impact would not take applications from 2024.

Swinburne's Centre for Social Impact likewise describes the Master of Social Impact as a "course in transition" and directs prospective students to the Master of Business Administration specialising in Social Impact.

Therefore:

• There is no current 2027 intake for the requested Master of Social Impact.
• The historical Business Analytics specialisation is documented, but it is not a current new-student pathway.
• The CRICOS code historically associated with the course was 095609C.
• Students seeking a current Swinburne postgraduate programme in this area should examine the current Master of Business Administration specialising in Social Impact. 

International Student Visa Requirements

Because the requested programme is no longer accepting new applications, an international student cannot currently obtain a new CoE for this specific programme. The following therefore describes the general Australian Student visa requirements that would apply to an eligible Swinburne course rather than creating a visa pathway for this discontinued programme.

Student visa subclass 500

The Australian Department of Home Affairs states that Student visa subclass 500 applicants must:

• Be enrolled in an eligible course.
• Hold a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) when the visa is decided.
• Hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), unless exempt.
• Meet applicable visa requirements.
• Comply with Australian laws and visa conditions.