2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog
Public Policy, BA
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Return to: School of Public and International Affairs
The SPIA Major in Public Policy is an interdisciplinary degree combining training in different academic disciplines with an emphasis on practical experience. The curriculum introduces students to various aspects of public policy including the economic, political, social, ethical and cultural dimensions.
Public policy processes and policy decisions affect every aspect of society — from how we provide police services, progress in civil rights, the safety of our water and food supplies, and our efforts to explore space. Students will understand how leaders at various levels of government assess and address contemporary challenges. This program offers a blend of theoretical knowledge and hands-on learning, paving the way for seamless transitions to advanced degree programs or employment in government, non-profit organizations, or the private sector.
Students in SPIA’s Public Policy Major learn how public policy processes work, the roles of elected officials, analysts, agencies, and interest groups, and how federal, state, and local jurisdictions cooperate and compete to create policy outcomes. Students learn to analyze policy issues from a range of ideological, demographic, and socioeconomic perspectives, including those underrepresented in the public policy process. Skills development focus on quantitative and qualitative tools to evaluate policy alternatives to real-world problems, communicating complex ideas and findings in written and oral forms as well as skills around ethical decision-making, management, and leadership.
The program leverages existing faculty expertise in the School of Public and International Affairs of 28 faculty doing research, teaching, and service related to public policy, broadly defined. SPIA is also host to 5 multi-disciplinary centers that conduct research and offer students learning opportunities on a range of policy issues - from international security, human development, to gender equality and police accountability.
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Prerequisites (7 credits)
We strongly recommend that students take these courses prior to entering the major. By requiring students to take an ECON course as a pre-requisite, students enter the major better prepared for PIA courses. Microeconomic principles are important to courses like PIA 0201 Skills for Policy Research and Analysis and PIA 0602 Ethics and Equity in Public Policy, while introductory statistics sets the stage for PIA 0700 Applied Data Analysis for Public Policy, PIA 0201 Foundation for Policy Analysis, as well as other courses.
Required Major Courses (21 credits)
The required courses in the major include two foundational courses and five additional courses.
Foundational courses. We recommend that students take the foundational courses, PIA 0101 and PIA 0102 prior to declaring the major where possible. This gives them exposure to the school and to the major, which allows them to make a more informed decision. By taking these courses early, students are also able to connect with peers in the field.
Students are required to complete the following courses:
Public Policy Electives (12 credits)
The elective structure leverages both topical and methodological expertise among SPIA faculty. Students have the option to do one of the following:
- Not to declare a specialization OR
- Build their own area of focus (e.g. global policy, quantitative analysis cluster)
Students must take 12 credits of approved elective courses. Additional elective courses may be added.
Breadth/Secondary Field Requirement (9 credits)
Students must complete a secondary field of study outside of SPIA to emphasize the intersections of public policy with other disciplines. Thus, students will be required to achieve some depth of study within another discipline. This may be satisfied in the following ways:
- Completion of a minor
- Completion of a dual degree
- Completion of an approved certificate
- Completion of an approved 9 credit related area (e.g. regional focus, language training, relevant study abroad, cognate discipline such as political science, economics, history, sociology, urban studies, public health, social work)
General education requirements
Students may come to the Public Policy upper-division major via a variety of pathways, including as transfer students (internal or external) or as pre-public policy majors. For transfer students, we will review general education requirements holistically because we do not want general education requirements to deter a student from following their passion into a career of service.
The number of credits to complete the General Education Requirements (GER) depends on prior schooling and overlap with majors or other credentials that are approved.The General Education Course Catalog includes the list of courses that fulfill the GER in each category. It is noted below where public policy courses also meet those same requirements for the purpose of SPIA’s general education requirements
Writing/Communication
- Freshman writing seminar — ENGCMP 0200 (3 credits)
- Two additional intensive writing courses (6 credits) - one is satisfied by PIA 0601 Ideas to Impact: Persuasive Communication for Policymakers
Algebra and Quantitative and Formal Reasoning
- Algebra (3 credits) - exemption with SAT MATH 620 or above or ACT MATH 27 or above, or appropriate high school math coursework
- University level math where Algebra is pre-requisite (3 credits) - satisfied by the STAT pre-requisite.
Language
Diversity
- 3 credits - also satisfied by PIA 1102 City of White Supremacy: Race, Space and Policy in American Cities
Humanities and Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences
- Literature (3 credits)
- Arts (3 credits)
- Creative Work (3 credits)
- Philosophical Thinking or Ethics (3 credits) satisfied by PIA 0602 Ethics and Equity in Public Policy
- Social Science (3 credits) satisfied by the ECON pre-requisite or another breadth requirement
- Historical Analysis (3 credits)
- Natural Sciences (9 credits) - we would recommend pre-public policy students to take courses in geology, psychology, neuroscience or biology as potentially useful background to important public policy issues.
Global Awareness and Cultural Understanding
- Global issues (3 credits) satisfied by PIA 0102 Intro to Global Policy: Global Challenges, Global Solutions
- Geographic region specific (3 credits)
- Cross cultural analysis (3 credits)
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