Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Policy
PROPOSED DEGREE PROGRAM. THE GRAHAM CENTER ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL FOR THIS PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. CHECK BACK AT A LATER DATE FOR PROGRAM AVAILABILITY.
The issues governments face are multi-faceted, reflecting a variety of economic, political, social, and technical forces. Because of this, academic programs in public policy typically draw upon multiple disciplines and perspectives to provide students with an analytic framework for addressing complex, multi-faceted policy issues in a rigorous fashion.
The proposed bachelors degree program in public policy consists of 36 hours of coursework from a variety of disciplines and perspectives that provide students with the skills and understandings needed to look at policy problems from multiple perspectives. The core consists of courses from political science, history, the Dial Center, and economics. Students will also be required to develop expertise in a substantive policy area (e.g. energy, welfare, foreign policy or environmental policy) by taking courses in at least two disciplines. In addition, each student will complete an approved internship. Policy students will also be encouraged to complete an honors thesis. In addition to their coursework, policy students will be able to draw upon the resources of the newly created Bob Graham Center for Public Service, including periodic workshops, speaker series, student research grants, and a proposed statesman-in-residence program.
The proposed program is part of a larger effort by the Graham Center to draw upon the considerable policy expertise of faculty throughout the university. Faculty in the departments of economics and political science, for example, are currently engaged in on-going research in regulatory policy and politics, health care, environmental protection, welfare reform, and defense policy. A number of those faculty members have served in government and hold leadership positions in a number of policy organizations and journals. Faculty in other departments and colleges boast similar records and add considerably to the range of policy expertise here at UF.
