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.
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.
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. 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-330 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
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.
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.
The course will examine how rules, regulations, policies, court decisions and laws are actually implemented by what is often referred to as the bureaucracy or the administrative state. In that pursuit, students will become familiar with the origins and composition of the bureaucracy, with organizational structures that characterize bureaucratic bodies, and with theories on how to manage and finance administrative functions. The purpose of the course is to offer both theoretical foundations for understanding the practice of public administration and to prepare students who might be interested in engaging in public administration careers. 4 SH. The course will examine the political and policy-making environment, including the relevant institutions and actors, surrounding the creation and implementation of environmental policies. Students will learn the historical background of environmental policy, the different objectives to be achieved through environmental regulation, the various tools and approaches for achieving those objectives, and some of the current controversies that exist in environmental policy today. The course will also explore differences between how elected leaders, bureaucrats and private actors influence the policy process. 4 SH. This course examines contemporary issues and challenges in public education. It explores the history of education in the United States and discusses objectives behind creating a public school system. Theories and concepts related to the policymaking process are explored, and resulting policies are analysis and contextualize within the field of education. Finally, the course investigates recent education reforms and, where possible, seeks to analyze the consequences of these reforms. Same as EDUC-530. Prerequisites: EDUC 101, junior or senior standing. 4 SH. CC: Writing Intensive.
Associate Professor of Education Program Director of GO North Email Address allisonv@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4240 Professor of Sociology Department Head of Sociology and Anthropology Program Director of Go Iceland Program Director of Go Morocco Email Address bodinger@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4759 Professor of Political Science Director of the Innovation Center Director of Public Policy Department Head of Political Science Email Address clarkn@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4726 Assistant Professor of Political Science Director of International Studies Email Address harrisk@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4371 Associate Professor of Anthropology Email Address jacobson@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4754 Associate Professor of Economics Email Address keller@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4542 Professor of Economics Department Head of Economics Warehime Chair in the Sigmund Weis School of Business Email Address onafowor@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4187 Associate Professor of Political Science Email Address peterson@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4170 Provost & Dean of the Faculty Professor of Sociology Email Address ramsaran@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4127 Associate Professor of Biology Director of Health Care Studies Email Address reichardbrown@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4031 Dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences Director of Center for Environ Educ & Research Professor Earth & Environmental Science Email Address straubk@susqu.edu Phone Number 570-372-4318 
