Social Policy
The Policy Field in Social Policy prepares scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to address crucial social issues facing communities and our nation including social welfare, education, poverty, housing and homelessness and the role of public, nonprofit, and private sectors in alleviating and contributing to such problems. In addition to dealing with these topics in their own right, the social policy field focuses on the complex interrelationships among these issues and the manner in which they are influenced by–and in turn influence–prevailing patterns of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. The social policy specialization provides the theoretical background, methodological training, and substantive knowledge that will allow students to make important contributions to the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policies addressing the most vexing and important social issues of our time.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
- PPOL 8681 Race, Gender, Class and Public Policy
- PPOL 8682 Stratification and Social Policy
- PPOL 8683 Population Dynamics and Social Policy
Two additional courses from these or other choices:
- PPOL 8685 Aging and Social Policy
- PPOL 8687 Education Policy
- PPOL 8688 Political Economy & School Reform
- PPOL 8689 The Social Context of Schooling
Other courses appropriate for each specialty may be available and students may take these or substitute them for one of the listed classes in consultation with their Advisor and the Director of the Program.
Students are encouraged to develop a focus in other related fields or design their specialty based on faculty resources available. As with all programs, such a program would need the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of the Program. Program faculty will continue to develop additional substantive and methods courses.