The Program
Public policy refers to the work of government—how decisions are made, which actions are taken or not taken, and who is or should be involved in the process. Administration focuses on how policies are implemented– the public and nonprofit organizations that put policy into practice. Student interests among many others might include education, healthcare, environment, social welfare, and information technology policy and administration with relevance to all levels of government and international contexts.
The Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy and Administration is available to all University of Massachusetts Amherst undergraduate students regardless of their major. Students in this certificate program can develop a comprehensive understanding of public policy and administration issues from multiple perspectives and such disciplines as economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, communication, regional planning, and history.
Students can also master skills relevant to professional careers in public policy and administration including management, survey research, computer applications, technical writing, and public presentations. Working with their faculty adviser, students choose concentrations that match their interests with available courses related to public policy and administration.
Requirements
The certificate requires successful completion of eight courses, with an average grade of B or better. These consist of three required courses and five electives to be chosen by the student with the approval of a faculty adviser. No course used to satisfy the certificate requirements may be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Up to two of the five elective courses used toward the certificate may also be applied to the student’s major.
Prior to the start of the senior year, the student must submit a one-page proposal to a faculty adviser outlining both the policy concentration the student would like to pursue and how the five elective policy courses will meet this objective. The complete set of forms and a list of faculty advisers are available on the School of Public Policy website at the top of this page.
Students must take one course from each of the following areas:
Introductory Microeconomics
- ECON103 Introduction to Microeconomics
- RES-ECON102 Introduction to Resource Economics
- SPP203 Economics for Public Policy
- (or higher level by advisor permission)
Public Policy or Administration
- SPP190A Water, Oil, and Blood: The Middle East in Global Policy
- SPP110 Transforming Your World: Introduction to Community Engagement
- SPP181 Controversies in Public Policy (cross-listed with POLISCI 181)
- SPP280 Public Policy (cross-listed with POLISCI280)
- SPP320 Public Administration (cross-listed with POLISCI320)
Introductory Statistics
- PSYCH240Statistics in Psychology
- RES-ECON212 212 Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences
- SOCIOL212212 Elementary Statistics
- STATS111 Elementary Statistics
- STATS240 Introduction to Statistics
- ANTHRO281 Research Methods
- PUBHLTH223 Intro to Biostatistics for Public Health
- (or higher level by advisor permission)
Five Electives
- Elective courses are chosen by the student with the consent of the faculty advisor.
- All five elective courses must be at the 200 level or above. Three courses must be at the 300 level or above, unless the student receives approval from his or her faculty advisor.
- With the exception of SPP courses, no more than two courses from the same department will apply as electives for the certificate. For the purposes of this certificate, economics and resource economics are considered one department.