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Go to: Program Requirements
Administrative Assistant: Lee Price, G-B 132, 702-7134
The program of study for the Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy studies
is designed to introduce students to policy analysis and implementation, equip
them to use quantitative and economic techniques and methods, train them in
policy research, and give them a command of at least one particular policy
area.
Students may focus their interests on domestic policy concerns or on
international or foreign matters. Those interested in domestic issues can
assemble an outstanding selection of courses from offerings in political
science, economics, and sociology. For example, students can specialize in
urban problems, the influence of the labor market, the family, and social
attitudes on the status of various income and racial groups. As a further
example, students can specialize in policy implementation, taking courses in
the economics of public management, organizational decision making, and complex
organizations, among others.
The program also encourages students to have an internship experience either
during the academic year or during the summer. Public Policy 296 offers
academic course credit for students completing an approved, policy-oriented
internship. Students may inquire about internship opportunities and
requirements through the program's administrative assistant.
Second Year. The following three-quarter sequence is required of all
students in the program. These courses are usually taken in the student's
second year:
Public Policy 221. Politics and Policy
Public Policy 222. Economics and Policy Analysis
Public Policy 223. Problems of Policy Implementation
Students are also required to take Economics 200, The Elements of Economic
Analysis I, no later than the autumn quarter of their second year and are
encouraged to take at least one additional economics course. Appropriate
courses include Economics 201, 202, 270, and 271.
Third Year. In the third year, students may complete the following
courses:
1. At least one course in statistics. Students are strongly encouraged
to take Statistics 220, especially if they anticipate taking several economics
courses or the more analytical political science courses. Statistics 200 is an
acceptable substitute for Statistics 220. A second statistics course is
recommended. Students should consult with the undergraduate program director
for help in selecting appropriate courses from the many statistics courses
offered by the University.
2. Courses in an area of specialization. Students are required to
complete three substantive policy courses that make up a specialization in a
public policy field. Students may meet the specialization requirement in one of
two ways: (1) by taking three courses that logically connect (For example,
courses in urban politics, urban economics, and urban society would count as an
urban specialization; or courses in international relations, international
finance, and history of the common market might be an international
specialty.), or (2) by taking three courses beyond the introductory course in
one discipline other than public policy. (Common choices here are economics,
political science, sociology, and statistics. Two of these courses should be
taken in the third year.)
Go to top of document 3. Research practicum. Students must participate in a two-quarter
practicum (Field Research Project, Public Policy 262-263). This is a group
project that exposes students to real-world policy-making questions. Students
are given responsibility for particular aspects of the research project, and
the final report integrates the findings. In previous years, practicums have
dealt with the employment and housing conditions facing Latinos in metropolitan
Chicago, juvenile recidivism, and patterns of racial integration and
segregation in the suburbs of Chicago.
Fourth Year. Students must write a B.A. paper in the fourth year.
Ordinarily, the B.A. paper should not be an expansion of the third-year
research study. In the spring quarter of the third year or early in the fourth
year, students who plan to write a B.A. paper should seek a faculty adviser for
the project.
Further assistance is available in a seminar course (Public Policy 289) offered
in the autumn quarter and required of all concentrators. The seminar informs
students about sources and methods of research. During the second half of the
course, students offer preliminary statements about the mode of inquiry,
sources, and treatment of evidence for their B.A. papers. Students may also
take one or two quarters of Public Policy 295 (Reading and Research) for
credit.
Courses. Many policy-related courses in political science, economics,
sociology, education, and history will count as public policy studies courses.
Examples of courses frequently offered are:
All economics courses
Education 218/318, 258/458, 266/366, 268/368, 287/387, 293/393
History 197, 291
Political Science 248, 253/363, 259/356, 263/393, 266, 267, 273, 275/375, 288,
290/398, 291/391, 295/395
Sociology 203/304, 209/331, 212/312, 214/514, 216/316, 222, 223, 224, 227/361,
228/370, 230/338, 233/339, 235/335, 239, 247, 251, 255/328, 267/367, 275/337,
289/489
If you are in doubt about other courses, please see the undergraduate program
director.
General Math 131-132 or equivalent
Education
Concentration 1 Math 133 or equivalent
3 PubPol 221-222-223
1 Econ 200
1 or more courses in statistics
3 substantive policy courses
2 PubPol 262-263 (research practicum)
1 PubPol 289 (senior seminar)
- PubPol 295 (senior paper)
12 (total)
Recommended: An additional course in economics (Economics 201 or Economics
202) and one quarter of Public Policy 295.
Grading. Students interested in taking a public policy studies course
P/F must obtain consent from Richard Taub, director of the undergraduate
program, and the instructor.
Honors. All seniors are candidates for honors. Students will be recommended
for honors if their B.A. papers are of substantial quality and their grade
point average in the concentration is 3.0. Students wishing to graduate with
special honors must submit their papers to two faculty readers by the beginning
of the seventh week of the quarter in which they wish to graduate.
DON COURSEY, Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy
Studies and the College
DORIS B. HOLLEB, Professorial Lecturer, Social Sciences Collegiate Division and
the Committee on Geographical Studies
D. GALE JOHNSON, Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor
Emeritus, Department of Economics and the College; Chairman, Economics Program
in the College
BARRY D. KARL, Norman and Edna Freehling Professor, Department of History and
the College
EDWARD O. LAUMANN, George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor,
Department of Sociology and the College
HOWARD MARGOLIS, Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy
Studies and the College
SUSAN E. MAYER, Assistant Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public
Policy Studies and the College
JOHN PADGETT, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and the
College
HAROLD A. RICHMAN, Hermon Dunlap Smith Professor, School of Social Service
Administration and the College; Director, Chapin Hall Center for Children at
the National Opinion Research Center
LLOYD I. RUDOLPH, Professor, Department of Political Science and the College
DUNCAN SNIDAL, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Irving B.
Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and the College; Director,
Program on International Politics, Economics, & Security; Chairman,
Committee on International Relations
RICHARD P. TAUB, Paul Klapper Professor of Social Sciences in the College;
Professor, Division of the Social Sciences; Chairman, Public Policy Studies in
the College; Research Associate, Ogburn/Stouffer Center for the Study of
Population and Social Organization at the National Opinion Research Center;
Director, South Arkansas Rural Development Study
MARTA TIENDA, Professor, Department of Sociology and the College; Chairman,
Department of Sociology
GEORGE S. TOLLEY, Professor, Department of Economics; Director, Center for
Urban Studies WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON, Lucy Flower Distinguished Service Professor, Department
of Sociology, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and
the College
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Go to: Summary of Requirements
Go to: Faculty
Public Policy Studies
Undergraduate Program Director: Richard Taub, G-B 223, 702-7927
Program of Study
Public policy studies offers College students an opportunity to pursue
interdisciplinary study of domestic and international policy issues. The
primary disciplines among the teaching faculty are economics, political
science, and sociology. Course work emphasizes the application of these
disciplines to real-world policy issues.
Program Requirements
First Year. During the first or second year, all students must take either (1)
one full year of calculus, or (2) two quarters of calculus plus one other
mathematically related class. Courses that meet this second requirement include
Statistics 221, econometrics, or any quantitative-oriented computer science
classes.
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Faculty
CHARLES E. BIDWELL, William Claude Reavis Professor, Departments of Education
and Sociology, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, and
the College; Director, Ogburn/Stouffer Center for the Study of Population and
Social Organization at the National Opinion Research Center