Social Impact and Policy Analysis

The Public Policy specialization prepares students to play a role in policy debate and deliberation by developing critical conceptual, analytical and quantitative skills. By studying the application of social science theories and methods to the analysis of issues of public importance, students develop the critical conceptual, analytical and quantitative skills to develop and assess alternative policy responses to public issues and urban problems.

Students will learn how to approach questions such as:

  • Should governments fund the arts?
  • How can cities formulate and implement policies for growth and development?
  • Should we be moving boldly to stem global warming?
  • What are the most meaningful next steps in combating obesity and its associated health problems?
  • What policies are most effective at minimizing racial disparities?
  • How can education policy improve the performance and equity of US educational systems?

Required Specialization Courses

Students must complete the following 12 credits:

Students are required to take one of the following policy formation courses:

Students are generally expected to take the following course to complete the specialization (necessary for quantitative analyst positions)

Clustering Elective Courses

Students may wish to organize their electives around particular analytical methods or content areas, such as:

Capstone

All Capstone projects begin in the fall and are completed at the end of the spring semester. Full-time students who begin in the spring semester typically need 2½ years to complete their degree. Policy students choose one of the following Capstone courses:

* Recommended for students interested in quantitative analyst positions

“If we are to make headway on decreasing disparities in society, we need to fully understand what drives them, and what policy approaches actually work.”

Katherine O'Regan

Note

Students who plan to specialize in Policy should earn a "B" or better in CORE-GP 1011 Statistics, CORE-GP 1018 Microeconomics, and CORE-GP 1022 Introduction to Public Policy. All full-time Policy students should enroll in these three courses during their first semester of study, as they are prerequisites for several advanced Policy courses.

Upcoming Events

10/04/2013
International Student Workshop: Social Etiquette

09/20/2013
International Student Workshop: Academic Integrity and the U.S. Classroom

More Events