Concentration in Public Policy & Management


Ph.D. Concentration in Public Policy and Management

The Concentration in Public Policy and Management offers University of Washington Ph.D. students in the social sciences and related applied fields an opportunity to broaden their background and credentials for the job market. This will be valuable for students seeking positions where public policy and management perspectives are pertinent, whether in the academic, government or policy research sectors. To earn the concentration, students take a series of four linked courses in the Public Policy and Management Ph.D. program at the Evans School of Public Affairs:

  • Advanced Microeconomics for Policy Analysis (PPM 506): This course provides a doctoral-level introduction to microeconomic theory and tools that are used to inform public policy analysis. The course covers individual and firm behavior, decisions under uncertainty, information, strategic behavior, property rights, transaction costs, externalities, public goods, and related topics. Offered Autumn quarter. Prerequisites: Successful completion of courses in intermediate microeconomics and multivariate calculus.
     
  • Institutional Perspectives on Management (PPM 504): This foundation course examines competing theories of institutional and organizational design and action that illuminate pressing challenges of policy, management, and leadership. Offered Autumn quarter.
     
  • Public Policy Processes (PPM 508/PolSci 575): This course is concerned with research about policy processes. It is structured as a research seminar that combines theoretical frameworks for studying policy processes with discussion of student research. Options for this course include domestic and comparative institutional perspectives. Offered Winter quarter.
     
  • Public Policy Analysis (PPM 510): This course engages students in an explicit consideration of the role of policy research and analysis in public decision-making and a review and synthesis of the policy research, analysis, and evaluation literature. Students assess the contributions and limitations of seminal and recent research, gain exposure to cutting-edge techniques, and identify unresolved and emerging research questions that offer opportunities for future research. Offered Spring quarter. Prerequisites: Successful completion of PPM 506 or equivalent and of graduate-level multivariate statistics (e.g., Sociology 506). (Soc 506 may be taken concurrently.)

Procedures: The courses should be taken in the sequence listed above. Admission to these courses for students from outside the Evans School is by permission of the instructor, who may exclude students who are not sufficiently prepared. Substitutions are possible by permission of the Evans School Ph.D. program faculty coordinator in consultation with the course instructor. The proposed substitute course must cover substantially the same material at a comparable (Ph.D.) level; standards for comparability are high.

Minimum Grade Point Average: Students must achieve a minimum grade of 3.0 in each of the four courses to satisfactorily complete the concentration.

Documentation: After completing all four courses, students must submit a packet including grades received and written work completed for the courses to the Evans School Ph.D. faculty program coordinator. The faculty program coordinator evaluates submissions in consultation with the Evans School Ph.D. committee.

Letter Documenting Concentration: Following this evaluation, a letter from the Ph.D. faculty coordinator, designed to accompany student transcripts, certifies that he or she has satisfactorily completed the required credits for the Concentration in Public Policy and Management.

Concentration in Public Policy and Management Contacts