Public Policy

Courses Taught

• Pub Policy 221 Introduction to Public Policy
  This course examines public policy and the policy process in the United States. Beginning with an exploration of the processes and institutions through which public policy is developed in the United States, we will pay special attention to how ideas get turned into policies and the central players in those processes. The course will then take an introductory tour of policy analysis: the assessment of policy alternatives to solve public policy problems. Finally, the balance of the course will be spent applying what we have learned to several policy areas. Although the course primarily explores policymaking in the American setting, we will make some cross-national comparisons when doing so helps to illuminate the American case. Prerequisite: POL 101, 102, 103, or 104.
• Pub Policy 251 Policy Research Design and Methodology
  This course is an introduction to the research process and is designed to make you both a better consumer and a better producer of research and knowledge. We will begin at its earliest stages and consider fundamental concepts, including how to conceive of – and write – good research questions and ask where data comes from. We will consider intermediate stages, including what available evidence exists that might answer our question or consider why this question has not been asked yet. We will end our journey by learning about specific tools or methods you can use to answer specific questions and understand when which tool is best. Prerequisite: PP 221
• Pub Policy 305 Advanced Public Policy Analysis
  Interactive course combining study of fundamental texts with student-led research projects. Students learn how public policy problems are defined and policy responses are developed, evaluated, and implemented. Students work intensively with the professor to apply these principles to an issue that interests them. The final output is a comprehensive white paper on the issue and recommended policy response. Prerequisite: PP 221
• Pub Policy 323 Social Determinants of Health
  This course analyzes the social determinants of health – the non-medical and non-health factors that affect health outcomes. Social factors, such as education, race/ethnicity, income, environment, and housing, shape our health in obvious – and not-so-obvious – ways. This course outlines the historical causes of various social factors, illustrates how these social factors harm health, including the particular health outcomes linked with each of them, and examines public policies designed to mitigate the deleterious effects of these social factors.