B.A. in Public Policy

About

The pressing societal issues of our time—from climate change to national security, from immigration to inequality, from global economic development to domestic tax reform—are deeply intertwined with decisions made by governments. Public policy is the study of how government choices intersect with people’s lives. As a field of inquiry, public policy is interdisciplinary and problem-oriented in nature. Scholars of public policy consider a wide range of topics:

  1. the policy process (how policies are proposed and how problems are defined)
  2. program design (ranging from market design to administrative structure);
  3. bureaucracies and policymaking institutions;
  4. how to evaluate policies’ intended and unintended consequences;
  5. and the social, political, economic, and technological forces that shape each of these.

Public policy thus addresses questions that require expertise and insights from multiple disciplines, at scales that range from the local to the global, in the United States and around the world. The launch of the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy marks a major university investment in Cornell as a global leader in research, teaching, and outreach in the field of public policy. The new B.A. in Public Policy offers undergraduate students in

Arts & Sciences an unparalleled opportunity to pursue an undergraduate degree in partnership with Brooks that combines disciplinary rigor with an engaged and problem-driven approach to the challenges facing our world today.

Requirements

The B.A. in Public Policy will require a minimum of 69 credits, which correspond to fourteen required courses and at least five elective courses. Many of the requirements, including the required introductory coursework, some of the core policy analysis courses, the core politics courses, and the upper-level electives either draw exclusively on Arts & Sciences courses or have options for A&S courses within the choice set for majors.

To declare the Public Policy major, students will need to complete three disciplinary foundations courses (ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics; SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology; and GOVT 1111 Introduction to American Government and Politics or GOVT 1313 Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics or GOVT 1817 Making Sense of World Politics), Introduction to Policy Analysis (currently PAM 2300, new course number TBD), and one of three core courses in the politics of public policy (course numbers TBD), each with a grade no lower than B-

The major will consist of a suite of required core courses in policy analysis, politics, research methods, and race and racism, followed by upper-division elective courses in public policy. A description of the major coursework appears below (note that the department codes for PAM courses refer to the existing Policy Analysis and Management major, and will be replaced with Public Policy course codes).

Required Introductory coursework

(3 courses, currently 10 credits)

  • ECON 1110 – Introductory Microeconomics (3 credits)
  • SOC 1101 – Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)
  • GOVT 1111 Introduction to American Government and Politics or GOVT 1313 Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics or GOVT 1817 Making Sense of World Politics (4 credits)

 

Core Policy Analysis 

(4 courses, currently 16 credits)

  • PAM 2000 – Intermediate Microeconomics or ECON 3030 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (4 credits)
  • PAM 2030/SOC 2030 – Population and Public Policy (4 credits)
  • PAM 2040 – Economics of the Public Sector or ECON 4260 Public Finance: The Microeconomics of Government (4 credits)
  • PAM 2300 – Introduction to Policy Analysis (4 credits)

Core Politics

(3 courses, currently 12 credits)

  • GOVT 3032– The Politics of Public Policy in the United States (4 credits)
  • GOVT 3XXX – Comparative Public Policy (4 credits)
  • GOVT 3XXX – Global Policy (4 credits)

Race, Racism, and Public Policy Core

(1 course, currently 3 credits)

  • NUMBER TBD – TITLE TBD (3 credits)

Core Research Methods

(2 courses, currently 8 credits)

  • PAM 2101 – Introduction to Statistics for PP Majors (4 credits), or equivalent*
  • PAM 3100 – Multiple Regression Analysis (4 credits), or equivalent*

*With permission from the Director of Undergraduate Studies, these core methods course requirements may be satisfied with other courses on an introduction to statistics and multiple regression from an approved list.

Upper-division electives

(18 credits)

  • Minimum of 18 credits of PP-related classes at the 3000 level or higher

Additional major requirements

(3 credits)

  • Engaged learning requirement (minimum of 3 credits)

Enrollment

Enrollment for the B.A. in public policy begins in Fall ’25.  If you are interested in applying for this major, please contact XXX@cornell.edu