Research Proposal: MPA Student Intentions and Goals

This research proposal examines the long-term intentions of international students from Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, and India pursuing a Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) in Australia. The study aims to understand the students' goals and aspirations, the reasons behind choosing the MPA program, and the strategies they plan to employ to achieve their objectives. The proposal outlines the research scope, methodology, including data collection methods based on primary and secondary sources, and a literature review exploring the rationale behind international students selecting the MPA course in Australia. It also addresses the mechanisms available to students for goal accomplishment, project milestones, and a Gantt chart for the research timeline. The study's objectives include identifying the reasons for enrolling in the MPA program, determining post-graduation goals, and suggesting methods for achieving these goals, considering the cultural backgrounds of the students. The research highlights the benefits for academia, industry, and government, emphasizing the cultural exchange and economic contributions of international students. The proposal references a variety of sources to support its claims and provide a comprehensive overview of the research topic.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research proposal
What & why is the long-term intention of four (Bangladesh, Nepal,
Philippines, India) different culture-origin students studying MPA in
Australia; and how & why do they intend to accomplish those goals?
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Aim of the study..............................................................................................................................1
Research scope:...............................................................................................................................2
Research methodology.....................................................................................................................2
Data collection method....................................................................................................................2
Background of the study..................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives of the study.....................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................4
Rationale behind international students choosing the MPA course in Australia.............................4
Mechanism and means.....................................................................................................................5
Mechanism available to the students to accomplish their goals......................................................6
Project milestone.............................................................................................................................7
Gantt chart.......................................................................................................................................8
Created by the author.......................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Aim of the study
The aim of the paper is to present a research proposal on the issue of international
students of the four regions (Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines and India) taking up the MPA
studies in Australia. The aim of the study is to find out the reasons and the procedure of the
international students opting accounting courses in Australia with the case study of two students
from each of the provinces. This paper will also try and highlight the issue of the difficulties and
nuances of the international students at the universities of Australia.
Research scope:
This research will be helpful in providing insight into the issue of rationale behind the
international students of different cultural background opting for the MPA course in Australia.
This will also be helpful in highlighting the issue of how these students are able to achieve their
goals within the after the successful completion of their course.
Research methodology
Data collection method
The study will be based on the collection of primary and secondary data for
understanding the subject of the research from two different sources. The primary sources of data
would be helpful in understanding the first hand experiences of the students at the international
university who belong to the different cultural background. The secondary sources based on the
peer-reviewed journals and books (Choy 2015). The collection of the primary data would be

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
based on the personal interviews of the international students from different regions of the four
provinces given
Background of the study
It has been previously observed that the Master of Professional Accounting in Australia is
one of the most prestigious courses of the country. It offers the professional outlook with the
theoretical knowledge of the subject along with the skills and expertise to become analytical
practitioner in accounting .What is unique about this course is that it is designed even for the
non-accounting students who wish to know more about the field of professional accounting. It
has been argued that international students apply for such courses in reputed Australian
university since this course will help to provide the overview of the issue of accounting. It has
also been argued that the knowledge about accounting is vital to any organization and over half
of the total populations of the international students at the Australian university are enrolled in
courses of accounting (Edwards et al. 2015). Moreover there are limited numbers of countries
that offer accounting courses for the students with non-accounting background, hence students
are provided with a better chance of getting enrolled international universities (Edwards et al.
2015).
Academia benefits
This research would be highlighting the issue of higher demand of MPA courses within
the context of Australia and the understanding of the procedures and nuances of it (Velliaris et al.
2015). This will also be important to provide foundation for courses like MPA and focus on the
rationality of choosing this course especially for the students of different cultural background.

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Industry benefits
 Differential skill set : This course will helpful in developing the differential skill set fpr
the students which is essential for the real world knowledge of accounting .This will also
be important for developing the analytical skills from the diverse fields of economics,
accounting and management. This will be helpful in building the foundation for the
industry experiences (Wong et al. 2015).
 Great career opportunity: this will help to develop and enhance better career opportunity
for the students. These courses would be helpful in providing career opportunities that is
inclusive of high payment options and reputed positions. Moreover it is one of the
internationally recognized degrees that offer technical knowledge to the students better
exposure to the accounting subjects.
Government benefits:
 One of the primary advantages of the international students taking up MPA courses in
Australia is the cultural exchange between the countries of Asia and South-east Asia with
that of Australia. At the diplomatic relation management, this cultural exchange helps to
act as a bridge between the countries to enhance their interests cooperatively. In case of
the development and growth of the economy since it brings a large flow of financial
surplus and contribute to the overall development of the Australian economy (Velliaris et
al. 2015). Moreover it is also important to consider that the Australian university offering
internationally acclaimed courses to build the student’s capacity helps the government to
draw the international attention to the country’s education system. Hence it is to be
considered that the development of governmental aspect is another important pillar of the

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL
bilateral diplomatic ties between the government of Australia and the countries of the
culturally different International students. This engagement between the government of
the respective countries help in bringing the economic, social, cultural growth for both of
the countries (Wong et al. 2015). Hence it can be concluded that engagement of the
international students enrolled in the MPA courses of Australia not only contributes to
the academic and industry benefit rather it is equally contributing to the development and
growth of the government of the countries.
Research Objectives of the study
The objective of the study is to understand what and why of the international students of four
countries (Nepal, Bangladesh, Philippines and India) taking up the Master of professional
accounting courses in Australia. What are the goals this course will help these students to fulfill?
Hence the research objectives are:
 To understand the reasons behind international students enrolling into the MPA course in
the international universities based in Australia.
 To find out the goals and achievement of these international students after completion of
their MPA course in Australian university.
 To suggest the ways and means of accomplishing these goals for the culturally different
students at the Australian universities.

6RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Literature review
Rationale behind international students choosing the MPA course in Australia
The primary objectives of the international students for enrollment in the Australian
accounting courses are found to be their college education system (Velliaris et al. 2015).
Australian education system is one of the robust educational systems of the world which offers
quality education at minimal cost. Over 47 Australian universities are directly funded by the
Commonwealth government which offers number of perks to the international students (Foster et
al. 2015). According to the National strategy of the international education, international
students are provided number of scholarships and monetary incentives in comparison for the
national students. One of the reasons for the international students to choose the courses at the
Australian universities is reduced cost attached to the professional and non-professional courses
at affordable prices (Foster et al. 2015). It has also been argued that onshore percentage of
enrollment has increased in the recent past due to the factors like bilateral trade and investment
relationships of Australia with the South and East –Asian countries which has led to the
enhanced chances of the international students to have better quality education in some other
countries (Wong et al. 2015). Hence it has been argued that the professional courses like MPA
are the vast of knowledge and international degree that this course offers (Harmon et al. 2015).
This is also to be noted that the primary objectives of the students in choosing this particular
discipline is the non-availability of similar course for the non-accounting background students in
many countries (Velliaris et al. 2015). It is also to be understood that this course is one of the
tools of the new business world which is offered to the students without any prejudice of any
discipline and subjects (Foster et al. 2015). Hence it is interesting to note that the selection of the

7RESEARCH PROPOSAL
course in based on the critical analysis of number of forces and the quality education offered by
the international universities at the Australian context is one of the primary one.
Mechanism and means
It has been observed that the international students taking MPA courses at the universities
of Australia have higher chances of getting jobs at the international platforms for the post of
management consultant, investment banker, finance related jobs and many other coveted posts at
the international posts (Velliaris et al. 2015). Courses like this which include higher level of
specialization is important to gather exposure at the international level since the students coming
for such courses are from diverse cultural background and it is important to have idea of the
knowledge at the real world situations. Students gets the chance at the international level to
gather knowledge of the accounting subjects like finance which includes the study of accounting
theory recognized by the CPA Australia and it is considered to be the pathway for the
professional accountant (Hughes 2016). Moreover it is interesting to note that Australia has one
of the largest numbers of international students for multiplicity of course due to number of
factors. One of the factors of this is that IELTs score for the international students are
comparatively low in comparison to other countries (Velliaris et al. 2015). It allows the
international students to get enrollment at the international course at 6.0 score which is an
advantage for some of the students of the South-Asian region. International students also find
such options lucrative since it opens up the array of opportunities in multiple fields like banker,
professional accountant, stockbroker and further development in the same discipline of MPA. In
addition to this , it is also important to note that the factors of cultural diversity is one of the
factors that attract number of applicants to the course since there are higher level of
acceptability when it comes to the diverse cultural background of the students. Teaching

8RESEARCH PROPOSAL
methodology and the course structure of the course is made to be interactive and backed by the
extra support of the tutorials, lectures and the seminars (Tawagi et al. 2015). A course like MPA
offers the sharing of theoretical and practical knowledge of the subjects like finance, accounting,
economics information systems and the managerial accounting. It is also interesting to that
student from countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Philippines are one of the majorities of
international students who opt for MPA courses based in Australia due to the lack of support of
such courses for the educationally brighter students in their home countries (Farley et al. 2015).
Hence such courses overseas help them to enhance their academic qualification at the
international institutions which is given preferences in times of employment. Moreover these
courses help the students get diverse and comprehensive knowledge about the subjects of other
disciplines like law, taxation and quantitative methods of study.
Mechanism available to the students to accomplish their goals
This course is accepted by almost all the reputed universities of the country. At the entry
level students have to acquire a graduate degree for the enrollment at this course. It is available
for the national and international students from the technical and the non-technical background.
Students from any background can successfully enroll and fulfill their goals and objectives by
enrolling in that course (Wong et al. 2015). It can be complete through the online platforms or
getting it filled through their official website. This mechanism is available for the students in
order to have easier accessibility to their course at the global level. This has been at the national
and international level for the students in order to provide an exposure to the quality education
for the course of professional accounting; this is also to enhance the level of educational
achievement by the international students who are not able to gain similar knowledge articulation
at their home countries.

9RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Hence it has been observed that a professional course of this stature at the reputed
universities of the world requires consideration of multiple factors. It has been observed in the
recent past that the percentage of international students from different cultural background have
increased to a great extent and there are evidences of students being able to achieve their targets
after successful completion of MPA courses hence it is important to consider the reasons for
behind their options of international universities for professional course like MPA. (Velliaris et
al. 2015)
Project milestone
Key milestone Start date End date
Selection of the topic 10April 2019 12 April 2019
Data collection from
secondary sources
16 April 2019 16 June 2019
Literature review 20 June 2019 21 July 2019
Analysis and
interpretation of collected
data
22 July 2019 5 August 2019
Formation of draft 6 August 2019 6 August2019
Submission of final work 10 September 2019 15 September 2019
.

10RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Activities 1st
to 3rd
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4th
to 10th
week
11t
h to
13th
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14th
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18th
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22n
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24th
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Selection of the topic 
Data collection from
secondary sources
 
Creating layout 
Literature review   
Analysis and
interpretation of collected
data
  
Findings of the data  
Conclusion of the
study

Formation of draft  
Submission of final
work

Gantt chart
Created by the author

11RESEARCH PROPOSAL
References
Choy, L.T., 2014. The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison and
complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR Journal of Humanities
and Social Science, 19(4), pp.99-104.
Edwards, D. and McMillan, J., 2015. Completing university in Australia: A cohort analysis
exploring equity group outcomes. Joining the Dots Research Briefings, p.12.
Farley, H., Murphy, A., Johnson, C., Carter, B., Lane, M., Midgley, W., Hafeez-Baig, A.,
Dekeyser, S. and Koronios, A., 2015. How do students use their mobile devices to support
learning? A case study from an Australian regional university. Journal of Interactive Media in
Education, 2015(1).
Foster, G., 2018. Education Policy Reforms to Boost Productivity in Australia. Australian
Economic Review, 51(2), pp.253-261.
Gribble, C., Blackmore, J. and Rahimi, M., 2015. Challenges to providing work integrated
learning to international business students at Australian universities. Higher education, skills and
work-based learning, 5(4), pp.401-416.
Harmon, G., 2015. Australia as an higher education exporter. International Higher Education,
(42).
Hughes, O.E., 2016. MPA Programs in Australia. Chinese Public Administration Review, 3(1/2),
pp.24-29.

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Mit.edu.au. 2019. Master of Professional Accounting | Melbourne Institute of Technology,
Melbourne, Sydney Australia. [online] Available at:
http://www.mit.edu.au/study-with-us/programs/master-professional-accounting [Accessed 8 Apr.
2019].
Norton, A. and Cherastidtham, I., 2016. Mapping Australian higher education 2016.
Panneerselvam, R., 2014. Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt.Ltd..
Tawagi, A.L. and Mak, A.S., 2015. Cultural inclusiveness contributing to international students'
intercultural attitudes: Mediating role of intergroup contact variables. Journal of Community &
Applied Social Psychology, 25(4), pp.340-354.
Velliaris, D.M., Willis, C.R. and Pierce, J.M., 2015. International student perceptions of ethics in
a business pathway course. In New voices in higher education research and scholarship (pp.
232-250). IGI Global.
Wong, G., Cooper, B.J. and Dellaportas, S., 2015. Chinese students’ perceptions of the teaching
in an Australian accounting programme–an exploratory study. Accounting Education, 24(4),
pp.318-340.