Public policy school encyclopedia topics

Curriculum

Most public policy programs combine elements of political science, economics, statistics, law, international relations, international development, public finance, ethics, and public administration. Some schools also apply quantitative analysis, management information systems, organizational behavior, project management, and operations research to the public sector.

While degrees in Public Policy are generally at the graduate level (masters and PhD), some undergraduate degree programs still exist. Coursework for this designation requires an introductory course in Public Policy coupled with an applied course in Public Policy and is concluded with additional coursework in Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Public Policy.

Admission

In the United States, applicants must have graduated from an accredited university and are generally required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

The top programs in the United States

U.S. News & World Report provides rankings of Public Affairs (Master's) schools, as of 2008, via a peer reviewed process. The top 25 schools are:

1) Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University
2) Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
2) School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington
4) Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University
4) School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia
6) Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley
7) Department of Public Administration at the University of Kansas
7) Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan
7) School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California
10) Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University
10) Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University
10) Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University
10) Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago
14) School of Public Affairs at American University
14) School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University
14) Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University
14) Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University
14) Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY
14) School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles
14) Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota
14) School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
14) Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
14) Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington
14) La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
25) School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University
25) School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park

Further rankings are viewable here

Other Countries

Australia

Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University
Discipline of Government and International Relations at The University of Sydney

China, P.R.

France

Master of Public Affairs, Sciences Po Paris

Germany

Hungary

Department of Public Policy, Central European University

Italy

Iran

Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Tehran

Israel

The Federmann School of Public Policy and Government at the Hebrew University

Japan

Osaka School of International Public Policy at Osaka University

Netherlands

Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at the Delft University of Technology

Philippines

Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore

United Kingdom

School of Public Policy at the University College London
MPA Programme at the London School of Economics
Department of Politics at the University of York

Brazil

Public Policy Management at the University of São Paulo

Curriculum

Admission

In the United States, applicants must have graduated from an accredited university and are generally required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).