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The request to revise the Public Policy PhD Curriculum

Memo Date: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
To: 
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
From: 
Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: February 15, 2013
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Summer 2013

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs.  Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

Public Policy

  • Ph.D. in Public Policy

 

Public Policy Program

704-687-4520 6215

publicpolicy.uncc.edu

 

Graduate Program Director

Dr. David SwindellBeth A. Rubin

 

Graduate Faculty

 

Criminal Justice

 

Bruce Arrigo, Professor

Beth Bjerregaard, Associate Professor

Robert Brame, Professor

M. Lyn Exum, Assistant Professor

Paul Friday, Professor

Shelley Listwan, Assistant Professor

Vivian Lord, Professor

 

Criminal Justice (Affiliate Faculty)

Bruce Arrigo, Professor

Anita Blowers, Associate Professor

Jennifer Hartman, Associate Professor

Joseph Kuhns, Associate Professor

 

Economics  

 

Steve Billings, AssistantBillings, Assistant Professor

John Gandar, Professor

Benjamin Russo, Associate Professor

Peter Schwarz, Professor

Jennifer Troyer, Associate Professor

 

Finance

Steven Ott, Professor

 

Geography and Earth Sciences

Harrison Campbell, Associate Professor

Kenneth Chilton, Assistant Professor

Owen Furuseth, Professor

Bill Graves, Assistant Associate Professor

Edd Hauser, Professor

Gerald Ingalls, Professor

Jiyeong Lee, Assistant Professor

Tyrel Moore, Professor

Heather Smith, Professor

Deborah Strumsky, Assistant Professor

Jean-Claude Thill, Distinguished Professor

Wei-Ning Xiang, Professor

Qingfang Wang, Assistant Associate Professor

 

Geography and Earth Sciences (Affiliate Faculty)

William Graves, Associate Professor

Edd Hauser, Professor

 

Public Health Sciences

Larissa Huber, Assistant Professor

Elizabeth Racine, Assistant Professor

James Laditka, Professor

 

Public Health Sciences (Affiliate Faculty)

Yvette Huet, Professer

Sarah Laditka, Associate Professor

 

History

Gregory Mixon, Associate Professor

Heather Thompson, Associate Professor

 

Philosophy

 

Gordon Hull, Assistant Professor

Rosemarie Tong, Professor

 

Political Science and Public Administration

 

Theodore Arrington, Distinguished Professor

Claudia Avellaneda, Assistant Professor

William Brandon, Distinguished Professor

Jacquelyn Chattopadhyay, Assistant Professor

Robert Christensen, Assistant Professor

Ken Godwin, Distinguished Professor

Robert Kravchuk, Professor

Martha Kropf, Assistant Associate Professor

Suzanne Leland, Associate Professor

Tiffany Manuel, Assistant Professor

Gary Rassel, Associate Professor

David Swindell, Associate Professor

John Szmer, Assistant Professor

 

Political Science and Public Administration (Affiliate Faculty)

Justin Conrad, Assistant Professor

 

Sociology

Charles Brody, Professor

Yang Cao, Assistant Associate Professor

Scott Fitzgerald, Assistant Professor

Rosemary Hopcroft, Associate Professor

Roslyn Mickelson, Professor

Stephanie Moller Smith, Assistant Associate Professor

Beth Rubin, Professor

Teresa Scheid, Professor

Murray Webster, Professor

Joseph Whitmeyer, Professor

Diane Zablotsky, Associate Professor

 

Sociology (Affiliate Faculty)

Charles Brody, Professor

Scott Fitzgerald, Associate Professor

Rosemary Hopcroft, Professor

Elizabeth Stearns, Associate Professor

Joseph Whitmeyer, Professor

Wei Zhao, Associate Professor

 

Other Affiliated Faculty

Gregory Mixon Professor of History

Jay Wu, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

 

Ph.D. In Public Policy

 

The Ph.D. in Public Policy at UNC Charlotte is an interdisciplinary program focusing on the study of policy development, implementation, and evaluation.  It stresses the development of skills, tools, and specialties, as well as a theoretical understanding of them, that contribute to our understanding of the structure of institutional systems and sub-systems and of how policy should be shaped within political environments.

 

The Ph.D. in Public Policy at UNC Charlotte prepares students to be researchers, decision makers and policy analysts in local, state or federal governments, not-for-profit agencies, for-profit institutions, and academia.  The Program stresses applied and empirical policy research grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation. Students will become versed in analytical techniques suitable for research and policy analysis to address substantive issues and problems in varied geographic and political contexts. The intellectual focus of the Program is guided by three overarching themes: 

 

  1. Interdisciplinary Perspective: Effective policy analysis and policy formation are not informed by any single discipline. Rather, public policy requires knowledge of the historical, cultural, political, institutional, geographic, and economic dimensions of policy problems facing any community.
  2. Applied and Empirical Policy Analysis: Public policy is an inherently applied endeavor that seeks practical solutions and cogent analysis. While theory informs all research and analysis, the purpose of policy research is to elevate public discourse and improve public decision-making.
  3. Place-Based Research: To exercise applied policy analysis in an interdisciplinary context, policy research must be place-based. Real policy analysis, based on real data, applied to actual geographic and political settings is a strength of the Program.

 

Admission Requirements

The following are general guidelines for successful admissions into the Ph.D. in Public Policy Program:

 

  1. A master's degree in a social science or other field related to policy studies is required for admission to full standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy.
  2. Exceptional performance at the master’s level is required. This means a GPA of at least 3.3 in a master’s degree program is required for admission. Students with baccalaureate degrees may be admitted on a conditional basis if they have an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2 5 and are currently enrolled in a master’s level program at UNC Charlotte in a field related to policy studies. But such students will not formally be admitted to the Ph.D. program until completion of the requirements for the master's degree.
  3. Admission to the program will require strong scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytic sections of the Graduate Record Examination. The Graduate Record Examination is a required part of the application package.
  4. Three strong, positive letters of recommendation, at least two of which must come from faculty in the student’s previous academic programs. All letters should be written by individuals in a position to judge the applicant’s likely success in a Ph.D. level program. Letters should address the applicant's suitability for a Ph.D. program and ability to complete the program in a timely fashion. Letters from the student’s master’s level program are preferred.
  5. Admission to the program of students who are not native English speakers will require strong scores on the TOEFL exam.  The TOEFL exam is a required part of the application package for non-native English speakers.
  6. Students entering the program will be expected to remedy any coursework deficiencies identified by the Admissions Committee and Program Director in the first semester after enrolling in the Program. The amount and kinds of remedial coursework required for the program will depend on the background of the student and will be established by the Admissions Committee and the Program Director. Possible deficiencies are indicated in the prerequisites for the required core courses of the program. However, it is important to note that thisThis program will emphasizes the quantitative and analytical skills necessary to confront the challenges of contemporary policy dilemmas confronting that communities face at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

 

Documents to be submitted for application for admission:

  1. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
  2. Official GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical)
  3. The UNC Charlotte application for graduate admission form
  4. Three letters of reference from academics who have taught or worked directly with the applicant
  5. An essay that addresses professional goals and motivation for pursuing the degree, suitability for the program, career goals following the degree, and the policy specialty the applicant would pursue within the Program
  6. TOEFL scores (if the student is not a native English speaker)

 

Admission Assessment

  1. An Admissions Committee will review applications and recommend to the Program Director whether each applicant should be admitted and, if so, under what conditions.
     
  2. The Program’s Admissions Committee will assess each student's previous academic coursework in light of the student’s stated direction of study. This assessment will be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s previous academic history and to suggest specific coursework for the student’s public policy program. Any remedial coursework required for the program will depend on the student’s background and will be established by the Admissions Committee and the Program Director. The Admissions Committee may also suggest specific coursework based on the student’s intended direction of study within the program. The Admissions Committee will conduct this assessment upon the student’s acceptance and formal declaration of intent to attend.  For each entering student, a member ofof the Director of the Public Policy Faculty Program will be selected to serves as his her or her his major advisor for the first year in the Program before the student chooses his or her committee chair.

 

Student Responsibility

Students entering the program must present evidence that their background is sufficient to undertake the coursework required of them. Such evidence must include:

 

  1. Familiarity with political and legal processes, behaviors, and institutions
  2. A graduate level social science methods or statistics course
  3. College coursework in both macro- and micro- economics
  4. Substantial background in a public policy specialty area

 

Students may have completed appropriate courses to provide this background elsewhere. Normally, transcripts will provide the evidence required by the Admissions Committee. , Howeverhowever, if the student’s previous experience is offered as evidence, the student must document such experience. A more detailed list of the types of prerequisite coursework can be found online at publicpolicy.uncc.edu.

 

Admission to Candidacy Requirements

After completing the core courses, students will be required to write a qualifying examination covering the nature of the field, methodology, and economic analysis skills.  After completing the qualifying examination, students take their policy field courses and then, with the guidance of their advisor, develop a topic paper that outlines the policy area on which their dissertation will  focus. will be required to write and orally defend a comprehensive examination covering their area of policy expertisea topic page focused on their area of expertise.  Successful completion of both core core courses and the qualifying and comprehensive examinations allows students to proceed to the dissertation proposal preparation and defense stage. The dissertation proposal defense includes an oral presentation and written proposal.  During the oral component of the defense, the student addresses not only the specific research topic about which they will write but situates that topic in the larger body of  relevant policy literatures. Procedures for establishing the dissertation committee are addressed in the Student Handbook and in the Public Policy Seminar course. Procedures for establishing the comprehensive and dissertation committees are available online at publicpolicy.uncc.edu.

 

Assistantships

The Ph.D. in Public Policy is committed to academic year funding for all full-time students.  Additional support for summer sessions may be available through research grants working with Program faculty.  Available options for funding include graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships for those interested in careers in academia, and scholarships.  For more information on funding options contact Dr. David SwindellBeth A. Rubin, Director, Ph.D. in Public Policy.

 

Tuition Waivers

A limited number of out-of-state and in-state tuition waivers are available for qualified students.  For full-time students with a Graduate Assistantship or Teaching Assistantship, full or partial tuition support is also available, including health insurance.

 

Degree Requirements

The total number of hours will be established by the student’s advisor according to a plan of study that must be presented after the successful completion of 18 hours of coursework.  However, tThe Ph.D. Program requires:  24 hours of core course credit, at least 6 hours of advanced analysis coursework, 18 hours of dissertation credit (enrollment contingent on admission to candidacy) and a minimum of 15 hours credit for specialty electives.  It is unlikely that students will be able to complete this degree, including mastery of a subject-matter specialty, in 65 hours; 70-75 hours is a more likely norm.  Students progress through the program in five stages:

 

  1. Core courses
  2. Qualifying examination
  3. Advanced analysis coursework and specialty policy field courses
  4. Comprehensive examinationDissertation proposal defense
  5. Dissertation

 

Core Courses:

The Ph.D. program requires 24 hours of core course credit.

 

The Nature of the Field

PPOL 8600  Policy Process I

PPOL 8602  Research Design

PPOL 8635  Ethics of Public Policy 

PPOL 8690  Seminar in Public Policy*

 

Methods of Analysis

PPOL 8620  Quantitative Analysis I

PPOL 8630  Advanced Program Evaluation

 

Economic Analysis

PPOL 8640  Economic Analysis I

PPOL 8641  Economic Analysis II 

 

*PPOL 8690 is a one credit hour course. Students must enroll in it three separate times. 

 

Advanced Analysis Coursework

Prior to eligibility for the comprehensive examinationdefending  a dissertation proposal, students must complete at least six (6) credit hours of advanced analysis coursework at the doctoral level.  These credits may be taken outside the PPOL program with the approval of the Program Director.  Students are encouraged to choose courses that cover the types of analysis that are prevalent in the student’s policy area of interest.

 

Track DescriptionsSpecialty Areas

In addition to completing 24 core course hours and 6 advanced analysis course hours, the student is expected to have broad knowledge of a relevant subject matter specialty.  Students are required to complete a minimum of 5 courses (15 hours) in a coherent specialty area determined in cooperation with the student’s advisor.  The Public Policy Ph.D. program currently has the strengths into the following specialty areas:  health policy, social policy, urban regional development, criminal justice policy, economic policy and environment/infrastructure policy. As faculty personnel and interests change; other policy areas may also be represented such as employment and labor policy, family policy, foreign policy and so forth. A student mayStudents are encouraged to work with their advisor and the Program Director to design a program of study tailored to their policy interests bywith a different focus by combining courses in several of these specialty areas areas.with the approval of the student’s advisor and the Program Director.  While the particular courses required in each specialty area may vary according to pre-requisites needed by the student or individual programs of study, the minimum number of required courses in any given specialty area is five (5) for 15 credit hours.

 

Examples of such areas and typical course sequences include:

 

Urban Regional Development and Infrastructure

The Urban & Regional Development Policy Field stresses applied and empirical policy research that is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation. Students will be prepared in analytical techniques suitable for research and policy analysis through courses addressing several topics at the neighborhood, city and regional levels, including: Economic Development; Transportation Policy; Infrastructure Provision; Public Service Delivery; Growth Management; Regionalism and Governance.

 

Required cCourses for this specialty typically include:

PPOL 8610  Urban Regional Environment

PPOL 8611  Metropolitan Governance and Administration

PPOL 8613  Transportation Policy 

 

Two additional courses from these or other choices:

PPOL 8612  Theory of Urban Development

PPOL 8614  Colloquium in 20th Century Black Urban History

PPOL 8615  The Restructuring City

PPOL 8616  Urban Planning Theory and Practice

PPOL 8617  Law and Management

PPOL 8618  Growth Management Systems

PPOL 8642  Regional Economic Development

PPOL 8643  Rural Development Issues

PPOL 8644  Public Budgeting and Financing

and others as available

 

Health Policy

The Policy Field in Health Policy focuses on applied research in the organization, delivery and financing of healthcare and population-based issues in health (including mental health). A multidisciplinary faculty in epidemiology, health economics and finance, health policy, medical sociology, bioethics, and health law is ideally suited to prepare quantitative health service researchers and health policy analysts. Qualified students without a relevant Master’s degree can prepare for the Ph.D. by completing coursework in the master in health administration (MHA), the MA in medical sociology, or the MS in Health Promotion while enrolled in the Ph.D. with a field specialty in Health Policy.

 

Required coursesCourses for this for this specialty typically include:

PPOL 8661  Social Organization of Healthcare

PPOL 8663  Health Policy

PPOL 8665  Analytic Epidemiology

PPOL 8667  Economics of Health and Healthcare

PPOL 8669  Investigating Health and Health Services

 

Justice Policy

The Justice Policy Field provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of crime and society's response to it. This concentration prepares students to conduct research and policy analysis on local, state, and national policies and policy initiatives and provide information for policy makers. The primary goal of this specialization is to provide students with the tools necessary for critically and objectively assessing policies related to the administration of justice. Toward that end, students gain the appropriate analytical skills, an understanding of the nature of criminal behavior and its impact, and knowledge about the criminal justice system as well as about a variety of issues related to the control of crime. They also become familiar with the process of making and implementing justice policy and with those organizations involved in this process.

 

Required cCourses for this specialty typically include:

PPOL 8671  Criminal Justice Policy

PPOL 8672  Theories of Crime and Justice

PPOL 8673  Law and Social Control

PPOL 8681  Race, Gender, Class and Public Policy

One other course from the other Policy Fields

 

Social Policy

The Policy Field in Social Policy prepares scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to address crucial social issues facing communities and our nation including social welfare, education, poverty, housing and homelessness and the role of public, nonprofit, and private sectors in alleviating and contributing to such problems. In addition to dealing with these topics in their own right, the social policy field focuses on the complex interrelationships among these issues and the manner in which they are influenced by--and in turn influence--prevailing patterns of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. The social policy specialization provides the theoretical background, methodological training, and substantive knowledge that will allow students to make important contributions to the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policies addressing the most vexing and important social issues of our time.

 

Required cCourses for this specialty typically include:

PPOL 8681  Race, Gender, Class and Public Policy

PPOL 8682  Stratification and Social Policy

PPOL 8683  Population Dynamics and Social Policy

 

Two additional courses from these or other choices:

PPOL 8685  Aging and Social Policy

PPOL 8687  Education Policy

PPOL 8688  Political Economy & School Reform

PPOL 8689  The Social Context of Schooling 

 

Environmental/Infrastructure Policy

The Policy Field in Environmental/Infrastructure Policy focuses on environmental issues impacted by energy production and consumption, growth, pollution, and population change. This specialty allows interested students to gain knowledge on the economic factors related to environmental degradation and improvement. It also allows them the opportunity to become familiar with the scientific aspects of urban air, water, and earth systems. Policy making and policy analysis related to these issues will all be covered by courses in this specialty.

 

Required cCourses for this specialty typically include:

PPOL 8600  Transportation Policy

PPOL 8650  Environmental Policy

PPOL 8652  Energy and Environmental Economics

 

Two additional courses from these or other choices:

PPOL 8653  Urban Air Quality

PPOL 8655  Watershed Science and Policy

PPOL 8656  Earth Systems Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles

 

Economic Policy

 

The Policy Field in Economic Policy focuses on the study of policy issues related to market, government, firm, and individual behavior.  The specialty allows students to build knowledge regarding economic theory and tools used by economists to consider policy issues.  In addition, the specialty offers several courses in which theoretical and statistical tools are applied to specific policy areas, including public economics, urban and regional economics, and health economics.

 

The following advanced quantitative methods courses are strongly recommended, and students are encouraged to work with their advisor to identify other relevant advanced methods courses:

BPHD 8120  Econometrics I

BPHD 8130  Econometrics II

 

Students are encouraged to choose courses of interest from the following offerings: 

PPOL 8667 Economics of Health and Health Care

PPOL 8705 Advanced Urban and Regional Economics

PPOL 8707  Game Theory and Experiments

PPOL 8709  Public Economics

PPOL 8711 Monetary and Financial Theory

 

In addition, the following economic theory courses are recommended for students without Master’s level training in Economics:

PPOL 8701 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory

PPOL 8703 Advanced Microeconomic Theory

 

Other courses appropriate for each specialty may be available and students may take these or in some instances substitute them for one of the listed classes in consultation with their Advisor and the Ddirector of the Program.

 

Students may also are encouraged to develop a focus in other related fields or design their specialty based on faculty resources available. As with all programs, such a program would need the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of the Program. Program faculty will continue to develop additional substantive and methods courses.

 

Advising/Committees

While the Program Director serves as the de facto advisor for each student for the first year, the Program Director will work with the students and faculty to help the student work with a suitable advisor. Once the student is matched with the advisor, Students will be assigned to an advisor soon after enrolling in the Program andthey will work closely with that advisor on suggested schedules of classes, research options, and other issues important to success. A peer advisor will also be assigned to each incoming student from among more senior students to aid in the early stages of integration into the Program.  After approximately one year in the program, each student is expected to have identified a the faculty member with whom they would like to mentor, with the expectation that this mentor would ultimately serve on the student’s committees.  Following completion of the policy field courses, students establish the comprehensive examination committee.  Following completion of the comprehensive examinations, students will choose aestablish their dissertation advisor and form a dissertation committee.  The procedures for establishing these committees are available online at publicpolicy.uncc.eduin the student handbook and are addressed in the Public Policy seminar.

 

Grade Requirements

A student must maintain a cumulative average of 3.0 in all coursework taken for graduate credit. An accumulation of two C grades will result in termination of the student’s enrollment in the graduate program. If a student receives a grade of U in any course, enrollment in the program will be terminated.

 

Transfer Credit

The Program will accept up to two courses in the core curriculum as transfer credit from other regionally accredited doctoral institutions, providing that the Admissions Committee determines that these courses are equivalent to those offered in the core or one of the specialty areas. The acceptance of transfer credit is subject to the approval of the Graduate School. The grade in these transfer credits must have been A or B. All of the dissertation work must be completed at UNC Charlotte.

 

Language Requirement

There is no foreign language requirement. 

 

Dissertation

The program requires that the student complete 18 hours of dissertation credit. Enrollment in dissertation credit is contingent on admission to candidacy. The dissertation topic may be proposed after the student has passed the comprehensivequalifying  exams.  The doctoral student advances to candidacy after the dissertation proposal has been defended to, and approved by, the student's advisory committee and reported to the Director of the Ph.D. in Public Policy and the Dean of the Graduate School.  The student must complete and defend the dissertation based on a research program approved by the student's dissertation committee that results in a high quality, original, and substantial piece of research.

 

Other Requirements

PPOL 8690  Public Policy Seminar Series.  Students in the Program will develop their appreciation of the varied nature of policy applications and improve their communication skills by participating in at least three seminar series throughout the course of their program.  This seminar also serves as a clearinghouse, introducing students to the varied faculty in the program. Each term, a series of guest speakers will prepare monthly seminars reflecting a range of policy issues and challenges.  Students engage in activities aimed at professional development for both practitioners and for those interested in pursuing careers in academia.  

 

 

Research Opportunities

The Ph.D. Program in Public Policy has an extensive pool of professors to enhance the research opportunities and experiences for the students. Each program of study could be individually tailored for the research of the student with the possibility of individual studies under the supervision of an advisor.

 

Application for Degree

Each student should make application for his/her degree by completing the online Application for Degree through Banner Self Service no later than the filing date specified in the University Academic Calendar.  After successful defense of the dissertation, a student will be conferred with the doctoral degree.

 

Residency Requirement

Students must satisfy the residency requirement for the program by completing 21 hours of continuous enrollment, either as coursework or dissertation credits. Residence is considered continuous if the student is enrolled in one or more courses in successive semesters until 21 hours are earned. All 18 hours of dissertation credit must be earned at UNC Charlotte.

 

Time Limits for Completion

The student must achieve admission to candidacy within six years after admission to the program. All requirements for the degree must be completed within eight years after first registration as a doctoral student. These time limits are maximums; full-time students will typically complete the degree requirements in five years.

 

Courses in Public Policy (PPOL)

 

Notes:

  • The core courses listed below are available only to students admitted into the Ph.D. in Public Policy or to students admitted to other Ph.D. programs.
  • Permission of the instructor is required on all courses in the Public Policy Ph.D.
  • There are no specific prerequisites for many of the courses listed below; however, the general levels of preparation are described in greater detail on the program’s website and in the student handbook.
  • Many of theseOccasionally these courses will be offered during one of the summer sessions as well as during the semester specified in the course description.

Changes to the core or the specialty area courses can be found online at publicpolicy.uncc.edu or graduateschool.uncc.edu.

 

PPOL 8000. Topics in Public Policy. (1-4) Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Study of selected topics in Public Policy.  Maybe repeated for credit. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8600. Policy Process I. (CORE) (3) Prerequisites: Prior coursework or experience relevant to political and legal processes, behaviors, and institutions. Examination of the field of public policy analysis to include both theory and practice. Process includes everything from sources of public problems to feedback mechanisms after policy implementation. Emphasis on the policy process in growing urban regions and the ability to communicate with stakeholders to determine value conflicts and to communicate policy solutions. Examination of the context (legal, institutional, historical, philosophical, social, political, physical and spatial) within which policy is made with sensitivity to gender, race and ethnicity, and class concerns. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8601. Policy Process II. (3) Prerequisite: PPOL 8600. Continuation of Policy Process I. Includes more specific application of theory to specific public problems in a variety of specialties, and the variation in communication problems that arise in these sub-systems. Emphasis on interaction of all aspects of urban regions, which produce public problems and determine which policies will be acceptable and effective. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8602. Research Design in Public Policy. (CORE) (3) Introduces students to various quantitative and qualitative approaches to doing policy research. Considers such major issues in philosophy of science as causality, measurement, and post-positive approaches to research. Students may use the course to prepare their dissertation proposals or research grant and contract proposals. Students should have completed at least two quantitative analysis courses and one qualitative analysis course before registering for PPOl 8602. (Spring(Fall)

 

PPOL 8610. Urban Regional Environment. (3) Cross-listed as GEOG 6123 and 8123.  Prerequisite: Prior coursework or experience relevant to the nature of urban regions. Examination of the nature of urban regions. The basic factors that shape urban regions as they grow. Impact of: geography; history; social factors; economic factors; concerns about gender, race and ethnicity, and class; and other determinants of the nature of urban regions, their problems, and possible policy solutions. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8611. Metropolitan Ggovernance and Aadministration. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Introduction of major issues in urban politics and related trends and problems in urban governance and administration. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8612. Theory of Urban Development. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Analysis of urban economics and politics within the context of public policy and planning. Focuses on theory and application to understand the rationale for and effects of urban policy, urban economic development, and planning. Provides basic understanding of the operation of urban real estate markets and the motivation for public sector interventions. Applies theoretical foundations to the study of current urban problems and controversies. Familiarity with introductory microeconomics is required. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8613. Transportation Policy. (3)  Cross-listed as GEOG 6600 and 8600.  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the instructor. Examines surface transportation from a broad public policy perspective with a special focus on its institutional components and the changing role of government in transportation policy-making including the evolution of, and relationships among, various federal, state and local policies that affect investment decisions in transportation infrastructure. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8614. Colloquium in 20th Century Black Urban History. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Examination of major and topical monographic works in African-American urban history during the twentieth century. The focus will be on such topics as” classical urban examinations by black scholars, ghettoization and alternative theories, community and its institutions, riot sand urban rebellions, biography, black mayors, and urban policy. (Fall as needed)

 

PPOL 8615. The Restructuring City. (3)  Cross-listed as GEOG 6210 and 8210.  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. This course places at center stage the causes and consequences of contemporary urban restructuring and evaluates the theoretical, planning, and policy challenges inevitably presented. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8616. Urban Planning Theory and Practice. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Alternative planning theories and application of theories in urban planning practices. (Alternate years)

 

PPOL 8617. Law and Management. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Constitutional and administrative law issues, including a survey of academic debates over contested issues, and selected areas in constitutional law on civil liberties and civil rights. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8618. Growth Management Systems. (3)  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Exploration of growth management programs, legal and planning issues, and legislation to determine their merits, weaknesses and abilities to promote more sustainable development patterns. Will emphasize difficulty of changing traditional procedures of development and land use. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8620. Quantitative Methods in Public Policy I. (CORE) (3) Prerequisite: graduate level social science methods or statistics course. Advanced quantitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems. Use of quantitative methods to analyze public problems; devise appropriate, effective, acceptable public policies; evaluate public programs; and present the results of quantitative analysis to appropriate audiences. (Fall(Spring)

 

PPOL 8621.  Quantitative Methods in Public Policy II.  (3)  Prerequisite:  PPOL 8620.  Advanced quantitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems.  Use of quantitative methods to analyze public problems, devise appropriate, effective, and acceptable public policies; to evaluate public programs; and to present the results of quantitative analysis to appropriate audiences. 

(On demand)

 

PPOL 8622. Qualitative Methods in Public Policy (3) Pre-requisite: Advanced qualitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems. Use of qualitative methods to analyze public problems; to devise appropriate, effective, acceptable public policies; to evaluate public programs; and to present the results of qualitative analysis to appropriate audiences. (On demand)Quantitative Methods in Public Policy III.  (3)  Advanced quantitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems.  Use of quantitative methods to analyze public problems, devise appropriate, effective, and acceptable public policies; to evaluate public programs; and to present the results of quantitative analysis to appropriate audiences.  (On demand)

 

PPOL 8625. Advanced Seminar in Spatial Decisions Support Systems. (3)  Cross-listed as GEOG 8625.  Prerequisite: GEOG 5120 or permission of the Instructor. Theoretical aspects of spatial DSS including technical, social, political and psychological considerations; system s design; systems manipulation; and case studies. Three hours of lecture and one-two hour lab per week. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8630. Advanced Program Evaluation. (CORE) (3) Development and application of policy analysis to the evaluation of existing public policies. Particular attention to the use of multiple techniques of analysis and presentation of program evaluations to relevant audiences. (FallSpring)

 

PPOL 8635. Ethics of Public Policy. (CORE) (3) Ethical questions in the study, formation, implementation, and evaluation of public policies. Ethical dilemmas faced by the public policy analyst, and the importance of use of values analysis. Emphasis on understanding how values are communicated by a variety of stakeholders in policy systems and how communicating public policy solutions involves an understanding of the role of values in successful policy formation and implementation. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8636.  The Social Context of Mental Health.  (3)  Cross-listed as SOCY 6635, SOWK 6635, and PSYC 8636.  Prerequisite:  Admission to graduate program or permission of instructor.  This course draws upon contributions from the field of psychiatry, psychology, social work, and anthropology.  The focus is on mental health and illness it is social context, with an emphasis on the relationship between social structure and mental health/disorder.  We will examine the social factors which shape psychiatric diagnosis, the effects of socio-demographic variables on mental health, and the role of social support and stress for different groups.  The course also examines the organization, delivery, and evaluation of mental health services, and mental healthcare policy.  (Every other year)

 

PPOL 8640. Economic Analysis of Public Policy I. (CORE) (3) Economic role of government, efficiency versus equity, externalities, and public goods, market failures and government failures, economics of centralized versus decentralized decision making, public choice theory, economics of privatization, economic role of non-profits and non-governmental organizations. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8641. Economic Analysis of Public Policy II. (CORE) (3) Prerequisite: PPOL 8640. Economics of taxation and government borrowing, benefit-cost analysis, regional growth and development, econometric analysis of local and regional public policy issues. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8642. Regional Economic Development. (3)  Cross-listed as GEOG 6302 and 8302.  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy; PPOL 8610; Intermediate microeconomics; or permission of the Instructor.  Course covers classical, neo-classical and contemporary theories of trade, economic geography, and regional development. Topics include:  theories of urban and regional growth, location theories, human capital, labor force and entrepreneurial contributions to growth.  Policy dimensions of urban growth and development are addressed from theoretical and empirical perspectives. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8643. Rural Development Issues. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. This course provides research experiences that focus on policy formulation, and demographic, economic and planning issues in rural areas. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8644. Public Budgeting and Financing. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Focus is on the public budget process as a means of policy development, analysis and implementation. It will also address in more depth issues of financing the policies authorized in the budget and for which appropriations are sought.  (Spring)

 

PPOL 8650.  Environmental Policy. (3)  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. This course draws upon concepts and tools from economics, geography, law, sociology, political science, and planning to explore the concept of sustainable development, a central tenet of environmental policy. Environmental policy will be analyzed within the federalist framework. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8652.  Energy and Environmental Economics. (3)  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Economics issues of both energy and environment.  Energy issues include the historical development of energy resources, supply and demand considerations, and projections of the future energy balance.  Environmental issues are externalities, common property resources, and government regulation.  Policy considerations include environmental standards, pollution charges, and property rights.  Cost-benefit analysis and microeconomic theory are applied.  (On demand)

 

PPOL 8653.  Urban Air Quality. (3)  Prerequisites: Ph.D. student and permission of instructor. Examination of the relationships between climatic processes and urban air quality with emphasis on trends and patterns. Topics will include health and environmental effects of air pollution, ozone climatology, pollutant transport, transportation related emissions, risk assessment, and air quality management. (Fall)

 

PPOL 8655. Watershed Science Policy. (3)  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Examination of the cycling of water and chemical elements within forested, agricultural and urbanized watersheds.  Land use regulations designed to protect water quality are examined with respect to hydrologic and biogeochemical process that operate at the watershed scale. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8656. Earth Systems Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Examines the Earth’s water and major elemental cycles including those of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and the major crustal elements. Uncertainties in the current state of global elemental cycles are examined. Special emphasis is placed on how these cycles are currently being modified through human activities. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8661. Social Organization of Healthcare. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Focuses on the structures and operations of healthcare institutions and providers. The topics covered include the socio-historical development of the existing healthcare system, healthcare occupations and professions, professional power and autonomy, professional socialization, inter-professional and provider-client relations, healthcare organizations, and how change affects the delivery of healthcare services. (Spring, Summer)

 

PPOL 8663. Health Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy and a graduate level course providing an adequate introduction to the U.S. healthcare system such as  HADM 6112HADM 6100, MPAD 6172, KNES 8112 or permission of the Instructor. This doctoral seminar examines the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of health policy at national, state, and local levels through extensive readings in relevant health and policy literatures. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8665. Analytic Epidemiology. (3)  Cross-listed as HCIP 6260, HLTH 6260, and HSRD 8003.  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy and a graduate level courses such as KNES 6189 and HADM 6103HLTH6202, HADM6104  or permission of the Instructor.  Principles and methods of studying advanced epidemiology, with emphasis on analytical approach. Includes advanced techniques in the establishment of disease causation in groups and communities. Such topics as risk assessment, environmental exposures, stratification and adjustment, and multivariate analysis in epidemiology are covered. (Fall/Spring)

 

PPOL 8667. Economic of Health and Healthcare. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6260 and HSRD 8004.  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy, PPOL 8640 and PPOL 8641 or permission of the Instructor.  Uses economic theory and econometrics to analyze the functioning of the healthcare sector and appropriate public policy. Topics include:  how markets for medical care differs from other markets, the demand for medical care, the demand and supply of health insurance, the role of competition in medical markets, managed care, managed competition, and the role of the public sector in regulating and financing healthcare.  (Fall)

 

PPOL 8669. Investigating Health and Health Services. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy and PPOL 8620 and PPOL 8621 or permission of the Instructor.  The emphasis of this course is how to conduct and evaluate research necessary to health policy.  Students are expected to conduct research utilizing a variety of methodologies and will also learn how to access available secondary data sets relevant to healthcare and policy.  Topics include: multidisciplinary collaboration, measurement of health related constructs and healthcare outcomes, and health evaluation (cost, quality, access).  Students will be expected to develop their dissertation proposals as one outcomes of this course. This course is designed to be a seminar, and active participation in class discussion and activities is essential.  (Fall/Spring)

 

PPOL 8671. Criminal Justice Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examination of the criminal justice subsystems (law enforcement, courts, corrections) with particular focus on the development of policy and the effectiveness of current policies aimed at reducing crime. (Fall)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8672. Theories of Crime and Justice. (3)  Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor. Exposes students to mainstream and critical theoretical approaches to crime, justice, and criminal behavior.  An emphasis on both broad conceptual orientations allows us to assess the development of criminology within an array of historical and philosophical contexts during the past three centuries. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8673. Law and Social Control. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examines how the criminal law functions as a powerful tool of social control in our society.  Particular emphasis is given to understanding the constitutional limitations placed on construction of law, the elements of criminal offenses, and criminal defenses. (Spring)(Fall)

 

PPOL 8681. Race, Gender, Class and Public Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  An overview of major theories, trends, and debates on the topic of gender, race and economic inequality in the contemporary United States. (On demand)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8682. Stratification and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examines:  (a) structures and processes underlying social stratification in the United States, particularly the inequality that is grounded in social class, gender, ethnicity, and race; and (b) the social policy implications that follow from our analysis of the nature and sources of stratification. (On demand)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8683. Population Dynamics and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Basic population characteristics, such as age distribution, life expectancy, fertility, and trends in these characteristics are relevant to nearly all social policy.  An introduction to basic concepts and tools of demographic analysis and how they may be applied to the study of social policy including family policy, aging policy, and minority groups’ policy. (On demand)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8685. Aging and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Utilizes the concepts of social gerontology as a Springboard for examining social policy for an aging population.  Examination of the public policy making process with attention to aging policy.  Consideration of determinants of aging policy and institution and actors in the policy making process and piecemeal development of legislation analyzed as factors related to the making of policy for the aged. (On demand)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8687. Education Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examines equity, efficiency, and diversity tradeoffs among alternatives systems of delivering K-12 education. The course also examines how to evaluate educational policies and programs. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8688. Political Economy of School Reform. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examines between business leaders’ vision for school reform and the school restructuring movement, the reforms which arise from their construction of the problem, local educational restructuring efforts within the context of the larger national reform movement, and the opportunities and dangers of corporate-inspired educational policies. (On demand)(Spring)

 

PPOL 8689. The Social Context of Schooling. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the Instructor.  Examines the relationships among certain aspects of the contemporary social structure and educational processes and outcomes. It explores the ways that the social class structure, race, and gender stratification affect the ways individuals experience, understand, and acquire education. (On demand)(Fall)

 

PPOL 8690. Seminar in Public Policy. (CORE)  (1)  Prerequisite:  Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy or permission of the instructor.  Series of guest speakers and exercises on a range of policy issues.  Designed to increase familiarity with the variety of topics and methods covered by policy making and analysis as well as career options.  Student participation and oral critique of a selected speaker and their topic.  Must be repeated for a total of 3 credit hours.  (Fall, Spring)

 

PPOL 8701. Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6201. Prerequisites: Admission to graduate program and permission of program coordinator.  Theories of aggregate income determination, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and economic growth; macro-economic consumption and investment

behavior; the business cycle. (Fall, Spring)

 

PPOL 8703. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6202. Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program and permission of program coordinator.  Theories of the firm, of the consumer, and of resource owners; determination of prices under different market structures; general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics. (Fall, Spring)

 

PPOL 8705. Advanced Urban and Regional Economics. (3)  Cross-listed as ECON 6250. Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program.  Applications of microeconomic theory to problems of cities, metropolitan areas and regions; methods in regional analysis, location theory, land use planning, measurement of economic activity; transportation, housing, poverty, and growth issues. (Spring)

 

PPOL 8707. Game Theory and Experiments. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6206. Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate program coordinator.  The focus of this course will be on game theoretic analysis and the experimental methodology which can be used to test game theoretic models.  The primary topics in game theory covered will be static games with complete information, dynamic games with complete information, static games with incomplete information, and dynamic games with incomplete information.  Some topics will be introduced by way of an economic experiment, and the experiment will be followed by a rigorous analysis of the game theoretic solution to the game.  The latter part of the course will focus on how to design economic experiments as a means of testing the predictions of game theoretic models.  (Spring)

 

PPOL 8709. Public Economics. (3)  Cross-listed as ECON 6256. Prerequisite: MATH 1241 or equivalent, and permission of the program coordinator.  Public economics is the study of the way governments choose spending, taxation, and regulatory policy; the ways such policies may affect economic welfare; and mechanisms to evaluate the economic effects of such policies. (Yearly) 

 

PPOL 8711. Monetary and Financial Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6235. Prerequisites: ECON 6112 or equivalent and either ECON 6201 or 6202.  Theory and empirical tests of money supply, money demand, and financial markets; portfolio theory with special attention to portfolio choices of banks; term structure of interest rates; dynamic models of money and economic activity. (On demand)

 

PPOL 8800. Independent Study. (1-3)  Prerequisite:  Permission of the instructor and the PPOL Director.  Supervised study of a public policy topic or problem of special interest to the student and within the instructor’s expertise.  May be repeated for credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

 

PPOL 8801. Dissertation. (1-9)  Prerequisite: passage of qualifying examinations, and approval of dissertation topic by the student’s advisory committee.  In-depth study of a practical problem in public policy.  Analysis of the problem, preparation of a policy solution, and presentation of the solution to appropriate stakeholders and the public.  Graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis. Maximum of 18 hours allowed under this course designation. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

 

PPOL 8802. Dissertation Residence. (1)  Prerequisite: completed enrollment in 18 hours of dissertation with grade of IP, In Progress.  Allows a student who has taken all permissible 18 hours of dissertation to remain in residence to finish work on the dissertation. Graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis. Credit for this course does not count toward the degree. (Fall, Spring)

 

PPOL 9999. Doctoral Degree Graduate Residency Credit. (1)

 

GRAD 9999. Doctoral Graduate Residency Credit. (1) Meets Graduate School requirement for continuous enrollment during final term prior to graduation when all degree requirements (including dissertation) have been completed. This course is non-graded, and credit for this course does not count toward the degree. May be repeated once