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Public Policy Studies
Undergraduate Program Director: Richard Taub, G-B 223, 702-7927
Administrative Assistant: Lee Price, G-B 132, 702-7134
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.
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.
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.
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
or econometrics (Economics 210 or 211) 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.)
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, 225, 232, 258/458, 266/366, 267/367, 268/368, 293/393,
372
History 186, 196, 204-205,
Political Science 223, 226, 233, 248, 253/363, 259/356, 266, 275/375, 288,
290/398, 291
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 consult the undergraduate
program director.
Summary of Requirements
General Education Math 131-132 or equivalent
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
It is recommended that students take 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 (undergraduate program
director) 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 or above. 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.
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
DON COURSEY, Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy
Studies and the College; Dean, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public
Policy Studies
DENISE DIPASQUALE, Visiting Associate Professor, Social Sciences Collegiate
Division and the College; Visiting Associate Professor, Irving B. Harris
Graduate School of Public Policy Studies
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, Associate Professor, Irving B. Harris Graduate School of
Public Policy Studies and the College
DEREK A. NEAL, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics 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, Departments of Sociology and Human Development; 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
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