Our Public Policy Major

What can you do with a public policy major?

You want to make the world a better place. Good. Let's work together to make that happen. By choosing public policy you can make a difference in domestic or international policy, working in policy analysis, public administration or non-profit management.

Integrating courses from a number of disciplines, this major will prepare you to analyze, explain and contribute to the development and implementation of policies to solve problems. Graduates will be prepared to compete for jobs in the public and private sectors, or advance into graduate school after gaining valuable and relevant practical experience outside the classroom.

Laws and regulations should be designed to serve the public. The ability to achieve this goal depends on people who are able to understand and balance the demands of politics and economics, with informed perspectives from business, social sciences, the natural sciences and applied academics.

The new public policy program at Susquehanna will provide you the specialized training and preparation you need to make a difference. The tracks within the major address important areas of challenge in today's society.

You can choose from:

Domestic policy, including education, environment or health care policy
International policy and development
Public administration and nonprofit management

Within each track, you'll obtain the knowledge necessary to analyze, explain and contribute to the evolution of policies designed to serve the public. You'll also participate in campus-wide discussions of domestic and international problems with relevant speakers and thought-provoking activities.

A faculty adviser will help you locate an internship, which is required. That's a great thing for you, because relevant practical experience is invaluable to understanding and critically evaluating the policy process. Such experience is also essential for you to compete for policy-related positions in the private or public sphere or for admission into a relevant graduate program.

Public Policy Major. Students must complete 44 semester hours - 24 semester hours in the Core Curriculum and 20 semester hours in one of the tracks below -- all with grades of C- or higher.

Semester Hours	View Full Course Catalog >>
24 Core Curriculum
4 American or comparative politics (POLI-111 American Government and Politics or POLI-121 Comparative Government and Politics) 4 Capstone (POLI-501 Senior Seminar, ANTH/SOCI-500 Seminar, or ECON-499 Applied Research Methods 4 POLI-212 Introduction to Public Policy 4 ECON-201 Principles of Macroeconomics 4 ECON-202 Principles of Microeconomics 4 Methods Course: EENV-360 Geographic Information Systems, ECON-322 Introduction to Econometrics, ANTH/SOCI-235 Qualititative Research Methods, ANTH/SOCI-245 Quantitative Research Methods, or POLI-205 Research Methods 0-4 Experiential Learning Internship (arranged, uncredited, or students may choose to apply for an additional 2 - 4 semester hours beyond what is required for the major Track 1: Domestic Policy (at least 8 semester hours from the initial list and at least 12 semester hours focused on a specific policy area) 4 POLI-300 Seminar when the topic is Interest Groups
4 POLI-215 Law and Politics
4 SOCI-315 Social Stratification in Contemporary Society
or SOCI-413 Race, Ethnicity and Minorities
4 ANTH-311 Regulating Bodies: Food, Sex, Drugs and the Economy
4 POLI-317 The U. S. Congress
4 POLI-319 State and Local Government and Politics
Education Policy
2 EDUC-389 Assessment
4 EDUC-250 Educational Psychology
2 EDUC-102 Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education
2 EDUC-380 Instructional Design
2 EDUC-101 Introduction to Education and Society
4 ANTH-162 Introduction to Anthropology
Environment Policy
4 EENV-242 Climate and Global Change
4 EENV-105 Energy and the Environment
4 ENST-335 Environmental Laws and Regulations
4 EENV-101 Environmental Science
4 POLI-333 Development, Globalization and Society
4 RELI-235 Environmental Ethics
Health Care Policy
4 BIOL-157 The Biology of Women
2 HLCR-080 The Business of Health Care
4 ACCT-330 Cost Management
4 PSYC-242 Health Psychology
4 PSYC-243 Drugs, Society, and Behavior
4 PHIL-224 Bioethics
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 POLI-331 American Foreign Policy
4 POLI-323 Comparative Foreign Policy
4 POLI-333 Development, Globalization and Society
4 ECON-335 Economic Development
4 ECON-465 Global Financial Markets
or ECON-330 International Trade and Finance
4 POLI-334 International Organizations and Law
4 ECON-338 International Political Economy
Public Administration/Non-Profit Management
4 ECON-311 Intermediate Macroeconomics
4 ACCT-210 Legal Environment
4 MGMT-360 Management and Organizational Behavior
4 ECON-332 Public Finance
4 SOCI-374 Social Work
2 PHIL-115 Social Justice Leadership
2-4 Choose from the following:
4 ACCT-330 Cost Management
2 ACCT-340 Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting
4 ECON-315 Managerial Economics
4 ECON-311 Intermediate Macroeconomics
4 ACCT-210 Legal Environment
4 MGMT-360 Management and Organizational Behavior
4 ECON-332 Public Finance
4 SOCI-374 Social Work
2 PHIL-115 Social Justice Leadership
4 ACCT-330 Cost Management
2 ACCT-340 Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting
4 ECON-315 Managerial Economics

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. Only 4 semester hours may be double-counted with the student's major or with another minor.