Public Policy / Bachelor of Science

Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours:  39

The Public Policy major is offered through the Political Science Department. This is an interdisciplinary major in which students take a core of mostly Political Science courses and select electives based on their career interests: Environmental Policy; Gender, Sexuality, and the Family; International and Foreign Policy; Society and the Legal System; and Transportation Policy. Students preparing for careers in government, law, non-profits, or business learn about how the public policy-making process works at the local, state, national, and international levels of government. All Public Policy majors take an internship in their senior year.

Majors in Public Policy may not double major or minor in Political Science.

Degree Requirements

Program: BS-PUBP-A

I. Core Courses (21)

POLS-20000American National Government

3

POLS-25000Research Methods

3

POLS-34200Public Finance

3

POLS-38100Public Policy Formation and Analysis

3

POLS-38200Issues in Public Policy

3

POLS-39800Internship in Political Science

1-3

PSYC-30300Statistics for the Social Sciences

3

II. Program Electives (6)

Choose 2 courses from the following:
ECON-20100Basic Microeconomics

3

ECON-33000Government and Business

3

POLS-21000State and Local Government

3

POLS-35300Congress

3

POLS-35500American Presidency

3

III. Electives (12)

Students may select any courses from any policy area. Nonetheless, students are encouraged to select an area of study appropriate for their career paths.

A. Environmental Policy

BIOL-23300Principles of Environmental Science

4

BIOL-37500Issues in Environmental Science

3

POLS-38400Environmental Politics

3

SOCI-10600Topics in Sociology

3

CSJS-27000Environmental Protection Enforcement

3

B. Gender, Sexuality, and the Family

POLS-36500Women and Politics

3

POLS-36600The Politics of Life and Death

3

POLS-36700The Politics of Reproductive Technologies

3

SOCI-10800Introduction to Women's Studies

3

SOCI-22000Marriage and the Family

3

SOCI-37000Sociology of Gender

3

SCWK-20900Social Welfare Policy

3

SCWK-31400Social Services for Children and Adolescents

3

SCWK-31700Social Services for the Elderly

3

CSJS-35100Topics: Gender and Crime

3

C. International and Foreign Policy

ECON-34600Business-Government Relations in the Global Economy

3

POLS-33100International Relations

3

POLS-33300International Human Rights

3

POLS-33400Political Violence

3

POLS-33600American Foreign Policy

3

POLS-33800International Political Economy

3

D. Society and the Legal System

POLS-37100Constitutional Law

3

POLS-37200Civil Liberties

3

SOCI-10600Topics in Sociology

3

CSJS-28600Domestic Violence

3

CSJS-34000Drugs: Incidence and Abuse

3

CSJS-35100Topics: Race and Crime

3

CSJS-35700Victims and Victimization

3

CSJS-49300Organized Crime

3

E. Transportation Policy

AVTR-32100Transportation Legislation

3

AVTR-35300Air Transportation

3

AVTR-39700Topics in Aviation and Transportation

3

IV. Advanced Writing Requirement

The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
POLS-25000Research Methods

3