Course Curriculum

Course Outline

ACSC(J) is an attendance course of 46 weeks duration commencing in mid-January, and is itself preceded by an orientation week for overseas Course Members. ACSC(J) finishes in early December. The course is comprised of the following modules and units, listed in chronological order:

• Foundation Studies. This module lays the intellectual foundation for the entire course, and is designed to deliver the education that underpins the four supporting course objectives. It comprises the following units:

• Communications and Critical Thinking.
• Command, Leadership and Ethics.
• Australian Defence Management.
• Defence Re-Orientation.

• Strategic Studies. This module encompasses the international environment, national power and the conduct of military operations. While it covers military strategy, it also reviews the economic, political, social and other factors that provide the essential context for military thinking and military operations. The module comprises the following units:

• War, Politics and the Use of Force.
• Australian Strategic Environment.

• Elective Studies. This module is comprised of eight separate elective areas of study. Course Members will be invited to select one of the elective subjects listed below, with confirmation of choices occurring early in the academic year. The elective areas of study are:

• Strategic Studies – Global.
• Strategic Studies – Regional.
• Public Sector Management.
• Human Resource Management.
• Project Management.
• Individual Research Elective.
• Complex Planning and Operations.
• Logistics Management.

• Single Service Studies. This module comprises the Service specific areas of study, with Course Members completing the module of their own Service. The module both broadens and deepens Course Members’ knowledge, and brings them to a high level of service mastery. Though some differences exist between the Services, the broad elements are:

• Navy/Army/Air Force Command, Leadership and Management.
• Maritime/Land/Air Operations.
• Future Maritime/Land/Air Warfare.

• Joint Operations Studies. The capstone element of the course, this module prepares Course Members to lead a joint staff planning team to develop and execute joint operational plans as part of a whole of government approach, in a complex, contemporary environment. It comprises the following units:

• Evolution of the Operational Art.
• The Joint Planning Process.
• Planning a Joint Campaign.
• Executing a Joint Campaign.

The ACSC also conducts part time ARES and RANR courses that are designed to meet the needs of the Reserve component of the ADF. These courses are delivered by a mixture of residential and distance learning.