Wondering how society might mitigate climate change, eliminate poverty, address immigration, or provide affordable health care? Our Public Policy AOC is ideal for students who want to acquire the skills to analyze policy and policymaking and be an effective agent of change.
About the Public Policy Area of Concentration
Students declare Public Policy as a special AOC and work with a faculty mentor to design a plan of study that matches their specific interests and goals. The AOC is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to address the major public policy issues facing society. The goal is to allow students to examine policy problems within a non-partisan, objective framework, and to formulate effective policy solutions to such problems. Policy issues are inherently multi-faceted, and, as a result, require an array of analytical tools to understand. Economic factors and the political process are fundamental to policy issues, and thus the disciplines of political science and economics constitute the core of the Public Policy AOC.
Beyond the courses and tutorials students plan with their mentors, many of our students complete internships or work in organizations to gain the experience needed not only to understand but also to participate in the policy process. Each student’s program of study culminates in a senior project under close guidance of a faculty member. Our program is particularly useful to students who wish to go into government service, law, nonprofit advocacy, the private sector in a policy-heavy field, journalism, and graduate school.
Featured Course
Introduction to American Politics
POLS 2100Recent Courses
- Introductory Microeconomics
- Introductory Macroeconomics
- Public Finance – Government Expenditures
- Public Finance – Taxation
- Introduction to American Politics
- Power and Public Policy
Career Pathways
- Urban Planning
- Social Services
- Communications
- Diplomacy
- Law
- Politics
- Nonprofit Administration
Pre-Law Program
In an effort to share valuable resources and create strong connections between students, the pre-law program is designed for students interested in pursuing a legal career. Pre-Law Professional ProgramContact Us
Public Policy Faculty
-
Richard Coe Professor of Economics
-
Tracy Collins Associate Professor of Economics
-
Sarah Hernandez Associate Professor of Sociology & Caribbean and Latin American Studies Co-Director of the Initiative on Diversity and Equity in Academics
-
-
Jack Reilly Associate Professor of Political Science