The initiative to establish a Master's degree programme in Pancasila and Civic Education (PPKn) was conceived by the Department of Civic Education and Law, Faculty of Social Sciences (FIS), Yogyakarta State University (UNY) in early 2012. The formal steps for proposing the establishment of this study programme involved submitting Forms 1, 2, and 3 online through the website of the Directorate of Institutional Affairs and Cooperation, Directorate General of Higher Education (prodibaru.dikti.go.id) on 17 August 2012, shortly before the implementation of a moratorium on the opening of new study programmes by the Directorate General of Higher Education (Ditjen Dikti) of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemdikbud).

In May 2013, the Directorate General of Higher Education sent an email regarding registration number 20130524847 for the opening of the Master's Degree (S2) programme in Pancasila and Civic Education (PPKn) with programme code 87-122 (PPKn) instead of programme code 87-105 (PKN) as proposed in the Form 4 file code that was submitted, and subsequently Form 4 was submitted on 20 November 2013. After the submission of Form 4, on 10 January 2014, the Directorate General of Higher Education, through the website prodibaru.dikti.go.id, stated that the proposal to establish this new study programme was ‘RECOMMENDED’, although there was no detailed explanation of the evaluation results for Form 4, and the complete results would be announced no earlier than 18 February 2014.

During the process of awaiting the results of the Directorate General of Higher Education's evaluation of Form 4 for the proposed UNY Civic Education Master's programme, the Head of the Department of Civic Education and Law at FIS UNY received information from the Dean of FIS UNY regarding the Director General of Higher Education's letter No. 83/E.E2/DT/2014, which was sent through the UNY Postgraduate Programme (PPs) regarding the implementation of study programmes. The continuation of the mandate to open a new study programme has prompted the complete preparation of the documents required for the establishment of the UNY PPs Master's Degree Programme in Civic Education, both academically and non-academically.

The academic preparation for the establishment of the UNY Postgraduate Program in Civic Education was carried out by developing a curriculum and academic regulations for the program. Referring to Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 8 of 2012 concerning the Indonesian National Qualifications Framework (KKNI), the Master's Degree Programme in Civic Education at UNY formulates the competency qualifications of its graduates so that they have the qualifications of a master's degree (S2) graduate. The learning outcomes of the PPKn Study Programme curriculum are the consolidation of interdisciplinary PKN studies covering political, legal, moral and pedagogical aspects to build the character of Indonesian citizens who are critical, participatory and responsible for themselves, their nation and their country in the national and international arena, through research and development activities. These learning outcomes are outlined in the PPKn Study Programme curriculum. To oversee the achievement of the KKNI for the PPKn Study Programme at PPs UNY, six lecturers with relevant educational backgrounds have been assigned to the Study Programme's home base, assisted by existing educational staff at PPs UNY.

Non-academic preparations for the establishment of the UNY PPKn PPs Study Programme include the availability of educational facilities and infrastructure. These preparations, in addition to utilising existing equipment, also involve planning the needs of the UNY PPKn PPs Study Programme for the first three to five years as a new study programme, such as learning media and resources; e-library collections and hardcopy library materials to strengthen PPKn studies in the fields of politics, law, morals and PPKn pedagogy, such as handbooks, encyclopaedias, textbooks and reference books, as well as relevant national and international journals; and a UNY PPs culture that is conducive to the formation of PPKn Master's Programme graduates.