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Public Policy / Bachelor of Science

Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours:  39

The Public Policy major is offered through the Political Science Department. This is an interdisciplinary major in which students take a core of mostly Political Science courses and select electives based on their career interests: Environmental Policy; Gender, Sexuality, and the Family; International and Foreign Policy; Society and the Legal System; and Transportation Policy. Students preparing for careers in government, law, non-profits, or business learn about how the public policy-making process works at the local, state, national, and international levels of government. All Public Policy majors take an internship in their senior year.

Majors in Public Policy may not double major or minor in Political Science.

Degree Requirements

Program: BS-PUBP-3

I. Core Courses (21)

POLS-20000American National Government

3
-OR
POLS-21000State and Local Government

3
POLS-30000Research Methods

3
POLS-35300Congress

3
POLS-38100Public Policy Formation and Analysis

3
POLS-38200Issues in Public Policy

3
POLS-39800Internship in Political Science

1-3
PSYC-30300Statistics for the Social Sciences

3

II. Program Electives (6)

Choose 2 courses from the following:
ECON-20100Basic Microeconomics

3
ECON-33000Government and Business

3
POLS-20000American National Government

3
POLS-21000State and Local Government

3
POLS-35500American Presidency

3

III. Electives (12)

Students may select any courses from any policy area. Nonetheless, students are encouraged to select an area of study appropriate for their career paths.

A. Environmental Policy

BIOL-23300Principles of Environmental Science

4
BIOL-37500Issues in Environmental Science

3
POLS-38400Environmental Politics

3
PRLG-32800Environmental Law for Paralegals

3
SOCI-35500Sustainable Communities

3

B. Gender, Sexuality, and the Family

POLS-36500Women and Politics

3
SOCI-10800Introduction to Women's Studies

3
SOCI-22000Marriage and Families

3
SOCI-37000Sociology of Gender

3
SCWK-20900Social Welfare Policy

3
SCWK-31400Social Services for Children and Adolescents

3
CSJS-35100Topics: Gender and Crime

3

C. International and Foreign Policy

ECON-34600Business-Government Relations in the Global Economy

3
POLS-30400Nonviolent Political Action

3
POLS-33100International Relations

3
POLS-33300International Human Rights

3
POLS-33400Political Violence

3
POLS-33600American Foreign Policy

3
POLS-33800International Political Economy

3
SOCI-21000U.S.-Mexico Border Experience

3

D. Society and the Legal System

CSJS-28600Domestic Violence

3
CSJS-44000Social Policy and Social Justice

3
CSJS-35100Topics: Race and Crime

3
CSJS-35700Victims and Victimization

3
CSJS-49300Organized Crime

3
INSY-23000Legal and Ethical Issues in Computing

3
INSY-35000Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy

3
POLS-37100Constitutional Law

3
POLS-37200Civil Liberties

3
PRLG-31800Family Law for Paralegals

3
PRLG-33000Immigration Law for Paralegals

3
SOCI-34500Youth, Justice, and Society

3
SOCI-35000Criminology

3
SOCI-36000Violence and Peace

3
SOCI-36010Social Deviance and Control

3
SOCI-40500Sociology of Hate and Violence

3

E. Transportation Policy

AVTR-32100Transportation Legislation

3
AVTR-35300Air Transportation

3
AVTR-397XXTopics in Aviation and Transportation

3

IV. Advanced Writing Requirement

The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
POLS-38200Issues in Public Policy

3