Public Policy Minor
Public policy as defined by Kraft and Furlong (2007) is “what public officials within government, and by extension the citizens they represent, choose to do or not to do about public problems. Public problems refer to conditions the public widely perceives to be unacceptable and therefore requiring intervention.” The minor in public policy is designed to give Bucknell students from a variety of academic majors the additional analytical and theoretical skills to supplement their academic majors and to participate knowledgeably and effectively in the public arena after they leave Bucknell, whether as policymakers or as engaged citizens.
The gateway course UNIV 225 Introduction to Public Policy is an introductory course that incorporates public policy theories and topics from two or more social sciences. The methods requirement ensures that students have exposure to at least one social science research discipline. Elective courses offered in various disciplines give students the opportunity to apply the basic theoretical and analytical tools to specific areas of public policy. These courses will prepare students completing the minor for graduate programs in public policy and other social science disciplines, as well as for fruitful careers in government and industry.
The minor consists of an introductory course, a social science research methods course, and three electives from the list below. If the student has fulfilled the methods requirement in their major, the minor consists of the introductory course and four of the elective courses. Sociology majors wishing to fulfill the public policy minor may count SOCI 208 Methods of Social Research or SOCI 209 Analyzing the Social World as their methods requirement, but these courses are not open to non-majors. Students must distribute their electives in the following way:
- For depth, they must take exactly two electives from a single department; and,
- For breadth, the third (and fourth, if applicable) elective must be taken from a different department.
- None of the electives may be in the same discipline as the student's major.
| Core Course 1 | ||
| UNIV 225 | Introduction to Public Policy | 1 |
| Methods Course in Social Sciences | ||
| Select one of the following: | 1 | |
| Field Research in Local Communities | ||
| Econometrics | ||
| Quantitative Research Methods | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Quantitative Methods | ||
| Qualitative Methods | ||
| Advanced Methods in Critical Community Psychology | ||
| Advanced Methods in Critical Multicultural Psychology | ||
| Advanced Methods in Abnormal Psychology | ||
| Advanced Methods in Developmental Psychology | ||
| Advanced Methods in Personality | ||
| Advanced Methods in Social Psychology | ||
| Field Research in Local Communities | ||
| Introduction to Social Science Research Methods | ||
| Electives in Different Disciplines 2 | ||
| Select three of the following: | 3 | |
| Rainforests and Eco-Politics in Latin America | ||
| Latin America: Challenges for the 21st Century | ||
| Gender, Power and Global Development | ||
| Environmental Anthropology | ||
| Anthropology of Tourism | ||
| Sustainable Transportation Planning | ||
| Economic Principles/Problems | ||
| Introduction to Behavioral Economics | ||
| Economics of Climate Change | ||
| Gender, Race and Poverty | ||
| Health Politics and Health Policy | ||
| The French Economy: Structures and Policies | ||
| Political Economy of Media and Advertising | ||
| Labor Economics | ||
| Public Economics | ||
| Money and Financial Institutions | ||
| Comparative Economic Systems | ||
| Health Economics | ||
| Industrial Organization Economics | ||
| Diversity, Equity and the Foundations of American Education | ||
| Immigrant Youth in U.S. Society | ||
| Remaking Public Education | ||
| Higher Education in the United States | ||
| Rainforests and Eco-Politics in Latin America | ||
| Environmental Planning | ||
| Water & Power | ||
| Environmental Politics, Policy, & Justice | ||
| Environmental Injustice and Activism | ||
| Advanced Topics in Environmental Policy | ||
| Borders and Politics of Mobility | ||
| Human Ecology | ||
| Climate Change | ||
| Food and the Environment | ||
| Africa and International Relations in Historical Perspective | ||
| Human Trafficking: Ancient to Present Day | ||
| Middle East Conflict and Revolution | ||
| Human Security | ||
| Political Economy of Global Resources | ||
| Global Governance | ||
| Foreign Policy Analysis | ||
| Rainforests and Eco-Politics in Latin America | ||
| Latin America: Challenges for the 21st Century | ||
| American Politics | ||
| American Public Policy | ||
| The American Congress | ||
| Political Psychology | ||
| Ethics and Public Policy | ||
| Race and Ethnicity in American Legal Thought | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| U.S. National Security Policy | ||
| Justice and Public Policy | ||
| Critical Community Psychology | ||
| Critical Multicultural Psychology | ||
| Remaking America: Latin American Immigration | ||
| Class and Politics in the US | ||
| Women and the Penal System | ||
| Integrated Perspectives Course (Climate Change, Science and Policy) | ||
| Gender, Power and Global Development | ||
| Women and the Penal System | ||
Faculty
Co-coordinators: John A. Doces, Christopher Ellis
Steering Committee: Soundarya Chidambaram, John A. Doces, Elizabeth Durden, Christopher Ellis, Abra N. Feuerstein, R. Douglas Hecock, Michael R. James, Janet T. Knoedler, Carl Shu-Ming Lin, Christopher S. P. Magee, Vanessa A. Massaro, Scott R. Meinke, Amy M. Wolaver, Amanda Wooden