RICHARD N.L. ANDREWS, Chair
Richard N. L. Andrews, Environmental Policy
Douglas Crawford-Brown, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Policy
David D. Dill, Higher Education Policy, Concepts and Principles of Policy Analysis, Ethics and Public Policy
Michael I. Luger, Regional Economic Development, Technology Policy, Environmental Infrastructure and Finance, Urban Economics
Michael A. Stegman, National Housing Policy, National Urban Policy, Community Capitalism
Dale Whittington, International Development, Water Resources Policy, Environmental Evaluation, Cost-Benefit Analysis
Sudhanshu Handa, Human Resource Economics, Poverty, Impact Evaluation, Development, Applied Microeconomics
Daniel P. Gitterman, Political Institutions/Governance, Political Economy of Regulation, Health Policy
Krista M. Perreira, Health, Immigration, Social Welfare Policy
W. Hodding Carter III, Professor of Leadership and Public Policy and Parr Fellow of Ethics. Public Policy and the Media; the Emergent South
Duncan MacRae Jr., HIV/AIDS Policy, Education Policy
Jennifer A. Bremer, International Trade and Development
Walter C. Farrell Jr., Health Policy and Administration, Social Epidemiology, Community Mental Health
Harvey A. Goldstein, Economic Development, Technology Policy, Design of Policy Research, Planning Theory
Jonathan B. Howes, Environmental Policy, State and Local Government
James H. Johnson Jr., Interregional Black Migration, Interethnic Minority Conflict in Advanced Industrial Societies, Minority- and Women-Owned Business Development, Workplace Diversity Issues
John D. Kasarda, Aviation Industry, International Business, Economic Development, Urban Development, Demographics
Michael Munger, Policy Analysis, Statistical Methods, Political Institutions
Dennis K. Orthner, Social Psychology, Work and Family Welfare Policy
Joel Schwartz, Health Policy and Politics
David H. Schanzer, Terrorism and Homeland Security
John Hardin, Policy Analysis, Science and Technology Policy
Catherine S. Renault, Science and Technology Economic
Development; Evaluation; Entrepreneurship
The Department of Public Policy offers the PhD degree to students who wish to increase understanding of public policy problems, contribute new knowledge to the understanding of public policy decision-making and institutions, and develop and justify proposals for public policy solutions to societal problems. Graduates of the program are prepared to conduct sophisticated policy research that provides useful information to decision makers, and to advance the bodies of knowledge both about public policy-making in general and about their specific specialization field. Doctoral graduates of the Department of Public Policy hold academic positions in major universities, research positions in policy research organizations, and senior policy staff positions in government agencies and other policy development organizations.
The PhD in Public Policy combines core foundations in theory, empirical and normative analysis, public policy institutions and processes, and research methods with a field specialization area that is chosen and developed by the student with the approval of an individualized doctoral program committee. The curriculum is designed to help each doctoral student develop and use appropriate analytical approaches to solve problems in public policy areas such as economic development, education, health, children and families, environment, employment, housing and urban development, trade, industry, and international affairs.
Students are admitted to the doctoral program in public policy from diverse backgrounds in both academic preparation and experience, and such diversity is strongly welcomed. In preparation for doctoral study, applicants are encouraged to take preparatory courses in intermediate microeconomics, basic statistics, and quantitative analysis (including calculus); a master's degree and some public policy-related work experience are desirable. All entering students also normally take the ECON 700 course in basic quantitative techniques in economics during the August before the beginning of their first semester.
Applications for admission in the fall semester are received and reviewed throughout the year. However, applications must be received by January 1 for the following fall semester to receive full consideration for Graduate School competitive awards. All prospective students must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and applicants from non-English-speaking countries who do not have a degree from a U.S. institution must also submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Factors considered in the application review include the academic transcript, GRE scores, class rank, references, strength of undergraduate institution, and statements of interest and professional experience.
Applicants are encouraged to visit the campus for a personal interview with the faculty and to meet current students in the program.
Core courses. Once enrolled, each student completes a set of doctoral-level core courses in applications of economic and institutional theory to public policy issues, as well as research design, appropriate research methods, and a specialization in a particular subject area of public policy. Doctoral students are required to complete 50 hours of coursework, including 23 hours in core courses common to all students and 27 hours in a self-defined policy specialization field. Core courses include PLCY 710, 716, 780, 785, 788, 789, 801 or 802, and 810. Students who have successfully completed graduate courses elsewhere that approximate these required courses may petition to have up to nine such hours counted toward the PhD in public policy. Courses proposed for transfer must be approved as part of the student's program within the department, and material from those courses may be included as part of the comprehensive doctoral examinations. Students normally spend approximately two years in full-time coursework, and somewhat longer if they enter the program without key prerequisite courses or a master's degree in a related field. A dissertation is required.
Policy field specialization. Each student designs an individual course of study for a policy specialization field. The 27 credit hour requirement gives students rigorous training in the theory, methods, and subject matter of policy analysis within a substantive policy field. The specialization area course of study must include both doctoral-level understanding of the subject matter of the policy specialization area, and at least 9 hours of research methods, including at least 6 hours of quantitative methods through multivariate statistics. Students take no less than 9 credit hours of courses related to the theory and subject matter of their policy concentration, plus at least 3 credits (in addition to the core course on institutions) on politics and policy institutions related to the policy field specialization; up to 6 hours of specialization area credits may be taken as independent studies. The remaining 6 hours of required field specialization credits are normally completed as PLCY 994 during dissertation research. The student's research methods courses should provide the student with the ability to design and carry out dissertation research, to continue making scholarly contributions in his or her chosen field, and to conduct policy analyses. Each student is assisted by an individualized program committee in identifying courses, independent readings, and other sources of information to acquire both the substantive knowledge and the quantitative and other analytical skills appropriate for the student's policy field specialization.
Public Policy Research Seminar (PLCY 810). The department offers a weekly seminar series in which faculty, public policy scholars, government officials, and public policy doctoral students present their research and share their perspectives on policy issues. The seminars give students the opportunity to assess the relevance of their theoretical, analytic, and political training to the real world of policy analysis. Each student is expected to enroll in this one-credit seminar for two semesters.
Professional experience. It is the policy of this program to require all PhD students also to have obtained practical experience in a public policy-making or policy research organization in the United States by the time of their graduation. This experience may include internships or other project work for a local, state, or national government, directly or through a third party (or international agency such as the World Bank), or policy research for a client. Experience gained prior to enrolling in the program may also be used to satisfy this requirement.
Doctoral and master's students not enrolled in the Department of Public Policy may elect to minor in Public Policy. Requirements for the minor include 16 hours of approved coursework in public policy analysis for doctoral students, or 12 credits for master's students, approved by the Department of Public Policy and the student's major department. (These may not include double-counting of courses required for the student's major.) Prerequisite courses are intermediate microeconomics and probability and statistics. More information is available on the department's Web site at www.unc.edu/depts/pubpol/gradminor.htm.
Students can tap the considerable resources of the broader University community to support a wide range of policy interests. In the past, doctoral students have focused on problems ranging from comparative macroeconomic policy to health, national and international environmental policy, and state and local public finance and services. However, the Department of Public Policy has developed particular strengths in four broad areas of policy research and application:
Environmental Policy. The Department of Public Policy coordinates teaching, research, and public service activities with the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the Carolina Environmental Program, the Department of City and Regional Planning, and several other academic units with environmental interests. A large number of core and participating faculty members have research projects relating to environmental issues. The department also contributes to the operation of the UNC Environmental Finance Center. (Related faculty: Andrews, Crawford-Brown, Luger, Webster, Whittington, Hornstein, Howes)
Economic Development and Science and Technology Policy. A member of the core faculty directs the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Competitive Economies, a research center that helps to bring the considerable resources of the University to bear on problems related to income, job, and wealth creation in North Carolina, the southeast, the nation, and the world. The department works closely with other key units on campus with strength in economic development and science and technology policy, including the departments of City and Regional Planning, Sociology, and Economics; the School of Government; units in the School of Public Health; and the schools of Law and Business. Students have ample opportunities to work with economic development and science and technology organizations that are located in the region, including the Southern Growth Policies Board, the Rural Economic Development Center, the Southern Technology Center, Sigma Xi scientific research society, and others. (Related faculty: Dill, Handa, Luger, Stegman, Webster, Whittington, Bremer, Hardin, Goldstein, Johnson, Kasarda)
Social Policy, including Welfare, Education, and Low-Income Communities. This area of application includes collaborative activities with two centers: the Center for Community Capitalism, which is a cooperative effort between the Department and the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, and the Jordan Institute of Family Policy in the School of Social Work. The Center for Community Capitalism explores ways to apply private sector approaches to revitalization of America's distressed communities, focusing on policy strategies that are both effective in building wealth and assets in disadvantaged communities and sustainable from a business perspective. The Jordan Institute for Families develops and tests policies that strengthen families and engage communities. (Related faculty: Dill, Gitterman, Handa, Luger, Perreira, Stegman, Farrell, Howes, Johnson, Kasarda, Orthner, Schwartz)
Health Policy. Faculty in Public Policy study issues relating to mental health and substance abuse, AIDS, environmental health, health insurance and managed care, and health issues in developing countries, all with a focus on the economic and institutional basis of good policy making. The Public Policy faculty collaborate with considerable expertise and resources in the School of Public Health, the Department of Social Medicine, the Carolina Population Center, neighboring universities, contract research organizations, and international donor organizations. (Related faculty: Gitterman, Perreira, Schwartz)
When admitted, students are automatically considered for a range of financial support, including Graduate School fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. Many awards grant full tuition privileges and medical insurance coverage, substantially increasing their value to the student. Prospective students are encouraged to contact faculty members whose research is in areas of their potential interest and experience.
Faculty expertise and related units. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a distinguished tradition in public policy. A charter member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the Department of Public Policy currently has an eleven-member core faculty including nationally and internationally recognized expertise in policies for health, education, housing, environment, infrastructure and economic development, institutional design, and other policy areas. Many combine scholarship with valuable governmental experience, and many also hold joint appointments in related academic units. In addition to the PhD, the department offers a strong undergraduate major in public policy, a graduate minor for interested students in other academic units, and close cooperation with other policy-related graduate programs at both the master's and doctoral levels offered by the departments of City and Regional Planning, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Health Policy and Administration, the Public Administration program, and the schools of Education, Law, Business, Social Work, and Medicine.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosts visiting public policy scholars from around the world and exchanges students and faculty with several universities in Europe and Asia. The Department of Public Policy also hosts a USIA Hubert Humphrey Fellow Program, which brings approximately ten public policy professionals from around the world to UNC-Chapel Hill each academic year. Doctoral students in the department may enroll in classes at Duke University (to which there is a regular bus service) as well as nearby North Carolina State University without additional cost.
A wide range of University of North Carolina research centers and institutes, many of which conduct nationally and internationally distinguished policy-related research, also extend research opportunities. Examples include:
Carolina Environmental Program
Supports multidisciplinary research on many aspects of environmental science and decision-making.
Carolina Population Center
Coordinates University-wide programs on national and international population research.
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
Conducts studies related to delivery of health care services.
Center for Urban and Regional Studies
Conducts multidisciplinary research on urban issues and processes of urbanization, such as new community development, housing market dynamics and national home ownership policies, models of urban growth, residential preferences, coastal zone management, and planning for natural hazards.
Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
Fosters mutual understanding among people working in business, academia, and government to encourage cooperative efforts to strengthen private enterprise systems in the United States and worldwide.
Center for Community Capitalism
Conducts research to help fight poverty and inequality by creating more effective strategies to reintegrate America's disadvantaged communities and their residents into the market economy.
Carolina Center for Competitive Economies
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) conducts research and policy analysis to help address problems of economic competitiveness, primarily within the state of North Carolina. C3E is a pan-University activity and is housed in the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise.
Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science (IRSS)
The oldest institute in the United States for the cooperative study of problems in the general field of social sciences; maintains extensive survey and census archives, and assists in design and analysis of social research.
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
Pursues research to create new knowledge to enhance the lives of children and their families.
Highway Safety Research Center
Conducts research on prevention of collisions and injuries for state and local highway safety agencies.
Institute for Transportation Research and Education
Provides highway and transportation engineering research and technology transfer to local, state, and federal government agencies.
Jordan Institute for Families
Created in 1996 in the School of Social Work, the Jordan Institute promotes research and development efforts to improve the quality of services delivered to communities across the state and nation. It maintains four basic missions: (1) to facilitate faculty research; (2) to provide opportunities for students to work on research and development projects in the areas of human services; (3) to build professional relationships with research laboratories and centers across the campus; and (4) to serve as a resource to human service departments and programs in North Carolina.
School of Government
Provides teaching, research, and consultation to North Carolina state and local government officials
Water Resources Research Institute
Formulates research programs responsive to state water resource problems. Provides local, state, and federal agencies with research to make better decisions in managing water resources.
For more information, contact Admissions, Department of Public Policy, CB #3435, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3435. Telephone:(919) 962-1600. E-mail: acrowe@email.unc.edu. Web site: www.unc.edu/depts/pubpol.
460 [175] QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR PUBLIC POLICY (3). Prerequisite, STAT 155. Application of statistical techniques, including regression analysis, in public policy program evaluation; research design and data collection and management. Fall and spring. Staff.
480 [120] ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING (ENST 480) (3). Introduces factors shaping environmental decision making by individuals, businesses, governments, advocacy groups, and international institutions, and explores public policy incentives and action strategies for influencing them. Spring. Andrews.
490 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (3). Fall or spring. Staff.
496 INDEPENDENT STUDY/READING IN PUBLIC POLICY. (Var.) Fall or spring. Staff.
499 SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (3). Fall or spring. Staff.
510 [183] POLICY ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE (ENST 510) (3). Provides a real-world and relevant case study in which to apply material from multiple other courses, including public policy, economics, environmental science, and international studies. Teaches techniques for building policy models not covered elsewhere. Fall or spring. Webster.
520 [184] ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (INTS 520) (ENST 520) (3). Reviews environmental problems in developing countries. Analyzes proposed solutions, such as legal remedies, market instruments, corporate voluntary approaches, international agreements, and development policies. Discusses the link between trade and environment, environmental cases from the World Trade Organization, and sustainable development. Fall or spring. Staff.
526 [226] PUBLIC FINANCE FOR PLANNING AND POLICY (1.5). Introduces professional master's and advanced undergraduate students to principles of public finance, for use in planning and public policy in the U.S. Course builds on a foundation of intermediate micro theory. Spring. Luger.
527 APPLIED PUBLIC FINANCE (1.5). Applies principles of state-local finance to infrastructure and economic development. Prerequisite, PLCY/PLAN 526. Spring. Luger.
585 [185] AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY (ENVR 585) (PLAN 585) (ENST 585) (3). Intensive introduction to environmental management and policy, including environmental and health risks, policy institutions, processes, instruments, policy analysis, and major elements of American environmental policy. Lectures and case studies. Fall. Andrews.
590 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (3). Fall or spring. Staff.
596 INDEPENDENT STUDY/READING IN PUBLIC POLICY. (Var.) Fall and spring. Staff.
599 SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (3). Fall and spring. Staff.
686 [186] POLICY INSTRUMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (ENST 686) (ENVR 686) (PLAN 686) (3). Design of public policy instruments as incentives for sustainable management of environmental resources and ecosystems, and comparison of the effects and effectiveness of alternative policies. Spring. Andrews, Whittington.
690 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (3). Fall or spring. Staff.
696 INDEPENDENT STUDY/READING IN PP. (Var.). Fall and spring. Staff.
699 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (Var.) Fall or spring. Staff.
701 [204] AMERICAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (POLI 701) (3). Theory and practice of political institutions in the American context. Fall and spring. Staff.
710 [205] PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS (3). The roles of expertise in policy discourse; the place of values in policy analysis; summarizing preferences; benefits and costs; policy models; policy expertise and democratic political systems. Fall. Staff.
716 [216] NEW INSTITUTIONALISM: POLITICS, INSTITUTIONS, AND PUBLIC POLICY (POLI 716) (3). Examines leading theoretical approaches to study institutions and public policy. Draws on "new institutionalism" scholarship from political science, economics, and sociology to analyze public policy in historical and comparative perspectives. Emphasis on applying these theoretical insights to substantive public policy issues. Spring. Gitterman.
731 [701] SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY (SOWO 731) (3). Prerequisite, doctoral standing or permission of the instructor. Review of developments in United States welfare policy and economic, social, and political forces undergirding reform initiatives since the 1960s. Analysis of data on impacts of welfare policies and programs. Orthner.
761 [260] COMMUNITY CAPITALISM (MBA 850) (1.5). Seminar explores community capitalism perspectives, with emphasis on capital formation and innovations in community development finance and business-driven investment strategies. Spring. Stegman.
768 [258] SEMINAR IN COMMUNITY CAPITALISM (PLAN 768) (3). Limited to graduate students. Reflects the convergence of business and community development interests. Seminar explores theory and applications in inner city business and capital markets, development finance, and urban policies. Requires major research project. Fall. Stegman.
780 [231] ETHICS AND FORMAL ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES I (3). Ethical considerations are integrated with formal analytical approaches in policy advising. Topics include criteria for policy choice, user participation, and analysts' obligations in political situations. First semester: non-economic techniques. Fall. Webster.
785 [232] PUBLIC INVESTMENT THEORY AND TECHNIQUES (PLAN 785) (ENVR 785) (3). Theory and techniques of public investment planning and cost-benefit analysis involving synthesis of economic, political, and technologic aspects. Special focus on project and program evaluation in the Third World. Spring. Whittington.
787 [233] ETHICS AND FORMAL ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES II (3). Ethical considerations are integrated with formal analytical approaches in policy advising. Topics include criteria for policy choice, user participation, and analysts' obligations in political situations. Second semester: mainly cost-benefit analysis. Spring. Staff.
788 [288] ADVANCED ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR PUBLIC POLICY I (PLAN 788) (3). Economic theory applied to policy issues. Policy issues analyzed require microeconomic theory, including theory of utility and demand, organization and operation of product and factor markets, production theory, regulation, and welfare economics. Fall. Staff.
789 [289] ADVANCED ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR PUBLIC POLICY II (PLAN 789) (3). Prerequisite, PLCY 788. Additional public policy issues addressed to study further applications of economic theory. Issues require knowledge of risk and uncertainty, fiscal and monetary theory, and macro income determination. Spring. Staff.
799 SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY (Var.). Fall and spring. Staff.
801 [301] DESIGN OF POLICY-ORIENTED RESEARCH (PLAN 801) (3). Logic of designing research for the analysis of planning problems and the formulation of public policies. Elements of research design, case study, survey research, quasi-experimental designs, and the social experiment are covered. Spring. Goldstein.
802 [302] ADVANCED SEMINAR IN RESEARCH DESIGN: DATA, METHODS, AND EVALUATION (PLAN 802) (3). Prerequisite, PLCY 301. Three main objectives: to deepen students' understanding of important issues and topics in the design of empirical research; to further develop students' ability to critically evaluate research designs and policy-related products; and to aid in developing a research paper, dissertation, or other product. Spring. Staff.
805 [298] PUBLIC POLICY WORKSHOP (1-3). For graduate students in Public Policy Analysis who are undertaking team projects under faculty supervision. Projects vary from year to year. All will relate to public policy and will involve interaction with real clients. The intent is to provide students with an opportunity to apply theory and techniques of policy analysis in actual problem situations. Fall and spring. Staff.
810 [310] PUBLIC POLICY SEMINAR (1). Weekly forum for public policy scholars and officials to discuss the relationships between policy research and policy outcomes. Presentations by invited speakers and doctoral students. Fall or spring. Staff.
820 [220] AMERICAN WELFARE STATE: POLITICS, LAW, AND SOCIAL POLICY (3). This course will examine the American welfare state through a wide-ranging investigation of the origins, development, and future of the most critical features of U.S. politics, social policy, and law. Spring. Gitterman.
892 [353] PHD SEMINAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND POLICY (ENVR 892) (PLAN 892) (3). Prerequisites, doctoral standing and permission of the instructor. PhD seminar on theory, methods, and current research and literature in environmental management and policy. One to two seminar hours per week. Fall, spring, or summer. Andrews.
895 [295] TOPICS IN POVERTY AND HUMAN RESOURCES (3). Topics covered include poverty, welfare, and human resources from an economic perspective. For students wanting to specialize in social and behavioral approaches to the study of population and demographic phenomena. Spring. Handa.
901 [299] INDEPENDENT STUDY (Var.). This course allows graduate students in Public Policy Analysis to receive credit for work on individual projects, designed in conjunction with a faculty supervisor. It is intended for students who are interested in pursuing academic topics not covered in scheduled courses. Fall and spring. Staff.
910 [300] THE USE OF RESEARCH IN THE POLICY PROCESS (3). Systematically examines use and abuse of policy-relevant research in policy process; connects design and execution of policy research with participants in policy process; policy cases are emphasized. Fall. Staff.
955 [355] SEMINAR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY (3). Prerequisites, doctoral standing and permission of the instructor. Explores current issues in economic development and science and technology policy through a series of scholarly presentations and student research projects. Spring. Luger.
994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (Var.). Fall, spring, and summer. Staff.