Public Policy and American Institutions focuses on the formation, implementation and evaluation of solutions to social, economic, and political problems in the United States. Among the policy areas covered are education, health care, urban welfare, law, technology, race, and gender. Students may choose to specialize in a specific substantive area of public policy on policymaking and policy analysis more generally.
1. Core courses required of all concentrators (five courses): POLS 0100; ECON 1110 or 1130 (or EDUC 1130); POLS 1600, ECON 1620 or 1630, EDUC 1110, or SOC 1100; POLS 1050 or PPAI 1700T; POLS 1200 or EDUC 1160.
2. Additional requirements (five courses): (1) at least three courses in political institutions, one of which must be in comparative institutions; (2) two courses in public policy problems, preferably in the student's area of specialization.
3. One of the five required courses listed above in 2) must be from the list of Public Policy 1700/1701 Junior/Senior Seminars.
4. Honors. Candidates for honors should apply in the Spring term of their third year. Successful candidates will enroll in the Public Policy Colloquium and prepare a senior honors paper.
The concentration also offers two special tracks. A special track in Law and Public Policy offers students a contemporary, interdisciplinary view of the legal system. This track is open to all interested students and is not intended as preparation for law school. The track requires the five core courses of the concentration, a comparative institutions course, and one course in policy problems. Additionally, this track requires two courses in legal institutions, one multi-disciplinary perspectives course related to law, and either PPAI 1700T or PPAI 1700N.
A special track in Economics and Public Policy focuses on the economic analysis of governmental programs. It requires the five core courses of the concentration and at least three courses in political institutions, one of which must be in comparative institutions. In addition, the track requires ECON 1480 and two courses in economic policy problems.
Page last updated in December, 2007.