Our Public Policy Major

Excited to make your world a better place? Start here.

Public policy makers change the world.

Your studies integrate a number of disciplines—all designed to help you analyze, explain and contribute to the development and implementation of policies to solve problems.

You'll be prepared to compete for jobs in the public and private sectors, or advance into graduate school after gaining valuable, relevant and practical experience outside the classroom.

Real-life experience

Forget essays; write policy memos and briefs, just like you'll do in your career. Take grant—and technical—writing classes. Learn cost management and organizational behavior. Intern with governments, hospitals and other institutions designed to serve the public.

Three separate tracks—domestic, international and public administration—let you focus on what's most important to you. From there you can dive further into topics such as health care, education, environmental policy and more. Whatever you decide to do, you'll get the skills and relevant experience to succeed from day one in many jobs.

From here to anywhere

Develop international policy in a foreign country. Fight for stricter environmental law. Coordinate emergency management with a large Boston hospital. These are the things our graduates and interns do.

Or be better prepared than your peers to go to graduate school by winning fellowships and presenting at conferences as an undergraduate.

Our nationally-recognized Global Opportunities program supports you as you travel to experience other cultures, and build competence which looks great on resumes.

Nicholas J. Clark, Ph.D.

Department: Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science

Email Address clarkn@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4726

Andrea M. Lopez, Ph.D.

Department: Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science

lopez@susqu.edu
570-372-4179

Rolfe D. Peterson

Department: Political Science
Assistant Professor of Political Science

Email Address peterson@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4170

Olu Onafowora, Ph.D.

Department: Economics
Professor of Economics

onafowor@susqu.edu
570-372-4187

Matthew C. Rousu, Ph.D.

Department: Sigmund Weis Sch. of Business
Dean of the SWSB

Email Address rousu@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4455

Katarina R. Keller, Ph.D.

Department: Economics
Associate Professor of Economics

keller@susqu.edu
570-372-4542

John J. Bodinger de Uriarte

Department: Sociology/Anthropology
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Email Address bodinger@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4759

Dave Ramsaran, Ph.D.

Department: Provost
Assistant Provost & Director of Institutional Effectiveness

ramsaran@susqu.edu
570-372-4757

Shari Jacobson, Ph.D.

Department: Sociology/Anthropology
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Email Address jacobson@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4754

Michael Smyth, Ph.D.

Department: Sociology/Anthropology
Associate Professor of Sociology

smyth@susqu.edu
570-372-4694

Jan Reichard-Brown, Ph.D.

Department: Biology
Associate Professor of Biology

Email Address reichardbrown@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4031

Kathy Straub, Ph.D.

Department: Earth & Environmental Sciences
Professor Earth & Environmental Science

straubk@susqu.edu
570-372-4318

Valerie A. Allison, Ph.D.

Department: Education
Associate Professor of Education

Email Address allisonv@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4240

Kirk Harris

Department: Political Science
Assistant Professor of Political Science

harrisk@susqu.edu
570-372-4371

Theresa Finley

Department: Economics
Assistant Professor Economics

Email Address finley@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4177

Public Policy Major. Students must complete 44 semester hours - 20 semester hours in the Core Curriculum and 24 semester hours in one of the tracks below -- all with grades of C- or higher.
Double-counting restriction: students majoring in public policy may double-count a maximum of 12 semester hours toward another major or minor. In no instance can a capstone from another major or minor be double-counted.

Semester Hours	View Full Course Catalog >>
20 Core Curriculum
4 Capstone (POLI-501 Senior Seminar) 4 POLI-212 Introduction to Public Policy 4 ECON-201 Principles of Macroeconomics 4 ECON-202 Principles of Microeconomics 4 POLI-205 Research Methods 0-4 Learning Internship (uncredited, or students may choose to apply for an additional 2 - 4 semester hours beyond what is required for the major)
Majors should select 24 semester hours from their chosen track. Courses should be selected to form a cohesive focus through consultation with their advisor. No more than 8 semester hours at the 100-level or lower and at least 4 semester hours at the 300-level or higher. Additional courses, beyond those listed, may be approved to count toward a particular track by the program coordinator.
Track 1: Domestic Policy (at least 16 semester hours from the below list and at least 8 semester hours focused on a specific policy area)
4 POLI-111 American Government and Politics
4 POLI-215 Law and Politics
4 POLI-300 Parties and Interest Groups
4 POLI-316 The American Presidency
4 POLI-317 The U. S. Congress
4 POLI-319 State and Local Government and Politics
4 ECON-341 Economic Policy
4 ANTH-413/SOCI-413 Race, Ethnicity and Minorities
4 SOCI-315 Social Stratification in Contemporary Society
4 SOCI-405 Law and Society
4 PHIL-150 Race, Class and Ethics
Education Policy
2 EDUC-101 Introduction to Education and Society
2 EDUC-102 Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education
4 EDUC-250 Educational Psychology
2 EDUC-380 Instructional Design
2 EDUC-389 Assessment
Environment Policy
4 EENV-242 Climate and Global Change
4 EENV-105 Energy and the Environment
4 ENST-335 Environmental Laws and Regulations
4 POLI-333 Development, Globalization and Society
4 PPOL-352 Environmental Policy
4 RELI-235 Environmental Ethics
Health Care Policy
4 BIOL-157 The Biology of Women
4 PSYC-242 Health Psychology
4 PSYC-243 Drugs, Society, and Behavior
4 HLCR-370 Human Health and Disease
4 HIST-323 History of American Medicine
Some departments, most notably the Biology Department, offer topics-based seminars that may be relevant to these policy areas and which may be approved as counting toward the chosen track by the program director.
Track 2: International Policy/Development Policy
4 ECON-330 International Trade and Finance
4 ECON-335 Economic Development
4 ECON-338 International Political Economy
4 ECON-341 Economic Policy
4 ECON-465 Global Financial Markets
4 PHIL-225 Just War Theory
4 POLI-121 Comparative Government and Politics
4 POLI-131 World Affairs
4 POLI-321 European Union
4 POLI-331 American Foreign Policy
4 POLI-323 Comparative Foreign Policy
4 POLI-334 International Organizations and Law
4 POLI-338 International Political Economy
Track 3: Public Administration/Non-Profit Management
4 ACCT-210 Legal Environment
4 ACCT-330 Cost Management
4 COMM-321 Crisis Management
4 ECON-315 Managerial Economics
4 ECON-332 Public Finance
4 ENGL-299 Professional and Civic Writing: Practice and Theory
4 MGMT-290 Non Profit Management
4 MGMT-360 Management and Organizational Behavior
4 POLI-111 American Government and Politics
4 POLI-215 Law and Politics
4 POLI-300 Seminar
4 PPOL-351 Public Administration
4 SOCI-374 Social Work

Minor in Public Policy. Students pursuing the public policy minor must complete 24 semester hours with a grade of C- or higher. The minor is comprised of POLI-212 Introduction to Public Policy, either ECON-201 Principles of Macroeconomics or ECON-202 Principles of Microeconomics, and 16 semester hours from a chosen track. No more than 8 semester hours for the minor may be taken at the 100 level, and at least 4 semester hours must be taken at the 300 level or higher.

Double-counting restriction for interdisciplinary minors: only 8 semester hours of this minor may be double-counted toward the student's major.

Contact Us

Public Policy Program

514 University Ave.
Selinsgrove, Pa. 17870

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Location

Steele Hall

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Phone & Email

Nick Clark, director
570-372-4726
clarkn@susqu.edu

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