2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin
Public Policy and Public Service, BA Major in
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 Return to: Majors and Minors
The BA in public policy and public service (PPPS) educates students on challenges facing policymakers, communities, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), activists, and other stakeholders in addressing contemporary issues. Geared to students interested in public service, the degree offers grounding in theory and methodology of both governmental and non-governmental public policy and service, while also providing opportunities for fieldwork with public officials, think tanks, NGOs, labor unions, community leaders, and interest and advocacy groups, including social movement organizations. The degree is unique in that it links ideas of public policy with public service on issues ranging from local to global. Students may take courses and seek mentorship with a range of faculty in areas such as government and international affairs, civic engagement, community governance and leadership, social justice and human rights, sustainability, geographic information systems, urban planning, statistics, economics, and economic development, globalization, cultural and religious diversity, and ethics. Students are encouraged to develop interdisciplinary curricula by selecting electives based on their own interests, in consultation with their public policy adviser and the program dean.
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Program Requirements
- See Also: Complete BA Requirements
- Completion of at least 30 s.h. of course work. Courses with grades lower than a C- do not count toward the total number of hours required for the public policy major.
- At least 15 s.h. must be completed in-residence.
A. Required Courses – Semester Hours: 9-10
B. An internship - Semester Hours: 3
(Department or field will depend upon the selection of a concentration.) C. One course from each of the following four core areas.
i. Cross-Cultural and Global Affairs
This area gives students an understanding of people, culture, politics, and policy making around the world. Students will analyze issues at the global scale, or will examine closely the policy-making process and public service in other nations. ii. Ethics and Public Policy
This area develops in students an ability to reflect systematically on the proper aims of public policy and public service. Courses introduce to students to systematic reasoning about ethics, and to a range of contemporary ethical issues of concern to policy makers, non-governmental organizations, communities, governments, and others involved in public service and policy at local, national, and global levels. iii. Institutions, Policy Making, and Historical Development
This area is concerned with the structure of government and its interactions with society to create public policy at the local, state, national, and international levels. These courses examine how and why government and other institutions are organized and influenced, and how they develop public policy. They also explore approaches to policy assessment. iv. Interest Groups and Social Movements
This area examines how people work in groups – social, non-profit, political, and others – to develop public policy. These courses evaluate how non-institutional actors influence the policy-making process, from idea development to policy implementation. D. Concentration Course work - Semester Hours: At least 18
Concentrations may be proposed by any student in consultation with a faculty adviser or by any department or program, whether within or outside the school. Concentrations may be composed of courses taken entirely or partly from the four core areas and may include elective courses from outside the core areas. Concentrations may not include courses listed under parts 3A and 3B of the program requirements. Students may construct concentrations with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary programs (e.g., civic engagement, sustainability, women’s studies). Concentrations should reflect a focused and coherent program of study in public policy and public service and must be approved by the executive dean and the PPPS program council.
Recommended Program Sequence - Total Hours: 124
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