Major: Public Policy Analysis
USDA/Ken Hammond
Should people be allowed to smoke in bars? This is just one public policy debate taking place across the globe. Legislators and other public officials must decide whether the health benefits of a smoking ban outweigh the money that bars -- and even whole cities -- could lose if smokers take their business elsewhere.
Public policy refers to all of the laws, regulations, and other programs developed by governments to solve problems. And if you major in public policy analysis, you’ll make problem solving your specialty. Along the way, you’ll grapple with some of society’s most urgent issues, such as crime, health care, and the quality of the air we breathe.
Students of public policy analysis learn various methods for studying proposed solutions to public problems.
“[You’ll learn] how to use what we have to make a world. ”
Kobi, senior, public policy, Columbia University
Are You Ready To...?
- Learn how to distinguish between sound and faulty research
- Practice cost-benefit analysis (assigning monetary values to the positive and negative effects of a proposed solution)
- See firsthand how policy is developed by interning for a semester
- Work in a group with other students on a paper about, for example, health care policy
- Meet with community leaders to discuss economic development programs
It Helps to Be...
Interested in how things really work. You’ll be questioning the data, such as survey results, that most people accept at face value.
College Checklist
- Which department or school offers the public policy analysis major? How does this affect the program’s emphasis?
- Does the school library offer plenty of good and up-to-date print and electronic resources?
- What internship opportunities are available? Will you have the chance to work with local or national legislators?
Did You Know?
- Decisions about public policy are often based on statistics, so accurate numbers are essential.
Course Spotlight
You can’t analyze policy without a sound grasp of numbers. In an introductory statistics class, you’ll learn that numbers are not always what they seem. For example, public opinion polls can be affected by how questions are worded. Once you have learned the basics, you may analyze a set of real-life statistics with a group of fellow students. In any case, you’ll never look at poll numbers the same way again.
Explore this major in more depth on MyRoad™