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 policy makers 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 Community Psychology | ||
| Advanced Methods in 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 | ||
| Modern Africa | ||
| 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 | ||
| Cultivating Change | ||
| Economics of Climate Change | ||
| Gender, Race and Poverty | ||
| Health Politics and Health Policy | ||
| Urban Economics | ||
| The British Economy: Structures and Policies | ||
| 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 | ||
| Social Foundation of 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 Politics and Policies | ||
| Environmental Policy and Politics | ||
| Environmental Injustice | ||
| Advanced Topics in Environmental Policy | ||
| Borders and Politics of Mobility | ||
| Human Ecology | ||
| Third World Development | ||
| Climate Change | ||
| Food and the Environment | ||
| Africa and International Relations in Historical Perspective | ||
| Human Trafficking: Ancient to Present Day | ||
| The Politics of International Aid and Development | ||
| Middle East Conflict and Revolution | ||
| Human Security | ||
| Political Economy of Global Resources | ||
| Poverty Amid Plenty: Development in India and South Asia | ||
| Global Governance | ||
| Comparative Foreign Policy | ||
| Rainforests and Eco-Politics in Latin America | ||
| Latin America: Challenges for the 21st Century | ||
| Sustainable Development Management | ||
| Organizing for Justice and Social Change | ||
| 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 | ||
| Community Psychology | ||
| Multicultural Psychology | ||
| Law and Society | ||
| Medicine and Society | ||
| Nongovernmental Organizations | ||
| Remaking America: Latin American Immigration | ||
| Class and Politics in the US | ||
| Sociology of Medicine | ||
| Women and the Penal System | ||
| Integrated Perspectives Course (Climate Change, Science and Policy) | ||
| Gender, Power and Global Development | ||
| Women and the Penal System | ||
| 1 | Students may substitute the main anchor course, Introduction to Public Policy (UNIV 225), with American Public Policy (POLS 231). |
| 2 | Other courses may count as a public policy elective with the approval of the coordinator. |
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, Joseph Jozwiak, Janet T. Knoedler, Esra Kose, Carl Shu-Ming Lin, Christopher S. P. Magee, Vanessa A. Massaro, Scott R. Meinke, Amy M. Wolaver, Amanda Wooden