When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Public Policy
Public Policy is an interdisciplinary major that combines courses from a number of different disciplines so that students may obtain the knowledge necessary to analyze, explain, and contribute to the evolution of policies designed to serve the public. There are three different tracks in which students may focus: domestic policy, international/development policy or public administration, and non-profit management. These different tracks allow students to acquire the specialized expertise and skills required to work in different fields related to public policy and governance. Regardless of the track, the major is structured so that students develop the analytical and methodological skills necessary to identify the objectives behind different policies, understand the process by which policies are created, and evaluate the extent to which policies fulfill their objectives.
Internships
Relevant practical experience is invaluable to being able to understand and critically evaluate the policy process. Such experience is also essential for our graduates to compete for policy-related positions in the private or public sphere or for admission into a relevant graduate program. As such, students are required to find and secure an internship focused on an area of public policy or public administration relevant to their track and area(s) of interest. Students may apply to receive 2 - 4 semester hours of course credit for this internship. The program adviser works with students to identify and apply for relevant internships.
Learning Goals
- Students will develop the analytical and methodological tools necessary to study and explain the development and implementation of public policies.
- Students will be able to identify the objectives motivating different public policies and to evaluate critically the extent to which a policy fulfills its objectives.
- Students will possess factual knowledge relevant to a specific area of public policy (such as health care policy or development policy) and/or management of organizations focused on the policy process.
- Students will obtain practical experience relevant to the creation and/or evaluation of public policy.
- Students will frequently engage in discussion and debate related to current social, economic, cultural, and political issues, as well as possible solutions and strategies to address these issues.
Major in Public Policy
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. The capstone requirement is fulfilled for majors who have already successfully completed an approved capstone requirement from another degree program.
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 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 ECON-341 Economic Policy
4 ANTH-413/SOCI-413 Critical Race Theory
4 SOCI-315 Social Stratification in Contemporary Society
4 SOCI-405 Law and Society
4 PHIL-150 Race, Class and Ethics Education Policy
Education Policy
2 EDUC-101 Introduction to Education and Society
4 EDUC-250 Educational Psychology
2 EDUC-380 Instructional Design
2 EDUC-389 Assessment
Environment Policy
4 EENV-105 Energy and the Environment
4 EENV-242 Climate and Global Change
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
Health Care Policy
4 ANTH-311 Regulating Bodies: Food, Sex, Drugs and the Economy
4 BIOL-157 The Biology of Women
4 HIST-323 History of American Medicine
4 HLCR-370 Human Health and Disease
4 PSYC-242 Health Psychology
4 PSYC-243 Drugs, Society, and Behavior
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-335 Economic Development
4 ECON-465 Global Financial Markets
4 ECON-330 International Trade and Finance
4 ECON-341 Economic Policy
4 ECON-338 International Political Economy
4 POLI-121 Comparative Politics
4 POLI-131 International Relations
4 POLI-321 European Union
4 POLI-331 American Foreign Policy
4 POLI-333 Development, Globalization and Society
4 POLI-334 International Organizations and Law
Track 3: Public Administration/Non-Profit Management
4 ACCT-210 Legal Environment
4 ACCT-230 Managerial Accounting
4 COMM-321 Crisis Management
4 ECON-315 Managerial Economics
4 ECON-332 Public Finance
4 ENGL-299 Professional and Civic Writing
4 MGMT-290 Non-Profit Management
4 MGMT-360 Management and Organizational Behavior
4 POLI-111 American Politics
4 POLI-215 Law and Politics
4 POLI-300 Parties and Interest Groups
4 PPOL-351 Public Administration
4 SOCI-374 Social Work
