The Major

Requirements

Public Policy majors must complete 44 credits for the major and complete all General Education requirements. Classes for the Public Policy major must be taken for a letter grade with two exceptions. First, classes completed through AP, IB, or other high school exam-based credit do not require a letter grade. Second, students who complete applied coursework through research (SPP 398R) or an internship (SPP 398P) may complete those specific courses with a Pass or a letter grade.

Required Introductory Courses

One 100-level Gateway Course

This must be completed by the end of the second semester in the major.

Options:

SPP181: Controversies in Public Policy
SPP111: Policy in an Age of Precarity
SPP105: Introduction to Political Economy
SPP122: Creating a Sustainable Future
SPP151: Water, Oil, and Blood: The Middle East in Global Policy
Another SPP 100-level course

Three 200-level courses

It’s recommended that these be completed by the end of the fourth semester in the major.

Required:

SPP203: Economics for Public Policy (ECON103 or RESECON102 may substitute)
SPP204: Statistical Models for Public Policy (STATISTC240, RES-ECON212, PSYCH240, ANTHRO281, PUBHLTH223, OIM240 may substitute)
SPP280: Public Policy (POLISCI280 may substitute)

Students must achieve a cumulative average of 2.0 across the four introductory courses described above.

Upper-level Requirements

Students must also complete:

SPP301: Junior Writing Seminar: Communicating Public Policy (3 credits)
SPP302: SPP Practicum: Contemplating Your Career (1 credit)
SPP494DI: Capstone for Public Policy Majors (Students may substitute SPP499D, SPP499T, or SPP499P, which fulfill honors requirements; or SPP496D Independent Study Capstone. Honors students who complete an honors thesis or project in another department may be able to substitute for the capstone requirement if it significantly focuses on public policy. The student should consult the Public Policy Undergraduate Program Director for pre-approval. (4 credits)

Electives

In addition to the required courses, students will select elective courses to explore different interests, acquire additional skills and proficiencies, and develop a policy focus.

At least five elective courses are required for a minimum of 20 credits. At least 12 credits must be at the 300-level or above. A maximum of four credits earned through hands-on practicum units, SPP398R Undergraduate Research Experience Program and/or SPP398PI Public Policy Internship, may be applied toward the required 20 elective credits.

Electives must either be (1) taken with an SPP course prefix, (2) taught by a Public Policy faculty member, or (3) pre-approved to be taken through a domestic or international study program. Electives include:

SPP190SM Introductory Statistics with an Impact Mindset
SPP208 Defending Democracy in a Digital World
SPP228 Weighing the Evidence: Reasoning Under Uncertainty for Policy and Law
SPP230 The Politician and the Journalist
SPP290S Policy and Social Inequality
SPP309 Natural Resource Policy & Administration
SPP310 Environmental and Resource Economics
SPP312 Making a Difference: Policies and Strategies for Social Change
SPP320 Introduction to Public Administration
SPP341 Social Welfare
SPP352 U.S. Latin American Relations
SPP364 Gender and Race in U.S. Social Policy
SPP376 Catalyzing Change: Creating & Running a Nonprofit
SPP390C Comparative Social Policy
SPP390P Managing for the Public Good
SPP394LI Leadership for Social Impact
SPP394PI Politics & Policy in the American Police State
SPP398P Public Policy Internship
SPP398R Undergraduate Research Experience Practicum
SPP525 Governing the Commons
SPP540 Internet Governance and Information Policy
SPP585 Introduction to GIS
SPP590IM Advanced Statistics with Impact Mindset
SPP590STF Human Rights and Public Administration
SPP590STK Local to Global Sustainability

Courses Taken Outside the Department of Public Policy

Students who plan to take classes via study abroad or domestic exchange may count up to 12 course credits to fulfill Public Policy major requirements (with pre-approval).

Students with transfer courses, non-SPP prefix courses at UMass Amherst, and/or course credit through exams (including AP and IB) must take, at a minimum, 24 graded credits of combined required and elective courses with an SPP prefix. Of the 24, at least eight credits must be 300-level or higher.

Courses that are cross-listed with SPP count towards the major. Cross-listed courses are single courses taught simultaneously by the same professor and listed by two departments. For example, POLISCI 280 Public Policy counts toward the Public Policy major requirements because it is cross-listed with SPP 280 Public Policy. In contrast, STATISTC240 Introduction to Statistics is offered only by the Math Department. While it can fulfill the SPP 204 Statistical Models for Public Policy requirement, the course credit would not count toward the 24 credits with the SPP prefix.

Students with Public Policy as a Second Major and/or in the iCons Program

Students who complete Public Policy as their secondary major and fulfill their Junior Year Writing seminar in their primary major must take a substitute 300-level or higher SPP elective of three credits. Students can enroll in SPP301: Junior Writing Seminar: Communicating Public Policy if their primary major permits. If students take the SPP Junior Year Writing course, it counts toward the 24 SPP credit requirement.

Students in the iCons Program may request that the iCons 2 Junior Year Writing course substitute for SPP301: Junior Writing Seminar. However, they must substitute another SPP course to fulfill the 24 credits for the Public Policy major, as outlined in the requirement above.

Honors Program

The Public Policy major welcomes all Commonwealth Honors College students. For detailed information on the diploma and transcript recognitions, and for criteria required to graduate with Latin honors, see the “University Graduate Requirements” section of the Guide. Enrollment preference in Honors courses is given to Commonwealth College and Public Policy students. Contact the Undergraduate Program Director for more information at publicpolicyba@umass.edu.

Departmental Honors in Public Policy

Commonwealth Honors Public Policy majors have the option to earn Departmental Honors (DH). All DH students are members of Commonwealth Honors College (CHC). Public Policy Departmental Honors (DH) is an Advanced Scholarship track of Commonwealth Honors College (CHC). Students may complete only the DH or as part of the full CHC curriculum, which includes Honors General Studies. Successful completion of the DH course requirements includes minimum grades of B (or as specified below) and the submission of a properly formatted Honors Thesis or Portfolio manuscript (minimum grade of B for Seminar manuscripts). The "Departmental Honors" will be included on the student's academic transcript.

For information about the full CHC Curriculum, see Curriculum Requirements online.

Admissions Requirements: Minimally, to be eligible to apply for Departmental Honors (DH), students must have:

An overall GPA of 3.40 or higher earned after one or more full-time semester/s of UMass Amherst coursework;
The ability to complete the DH sub-plan requirements;
The ability to complete the Commonwealth Honors College (CHC) minimum residency requirement, i.e., 45-graded (not pass/fail) credits earned at UMass Amherst (not transferred).

Public Policy Departmental Honors Program Requirements:

1 SPP honors course at any level.
1 SPP honors course 300-level or higher.
Honors Thesis or Project. Options include:

Individually contracted: SPP 499Y Honors Research and SPP 499T Honors Thesis or 499P Honors Project
Seminar: SPP 499C Policy Research and SPP 499D Tackling Today's Big Problems Through Policy: Honors Capstone Lab

Additional information:

Non-honors SPP coursed with a one-credit honors section are accepted as DH electives;
Graduate-level School of Public Policy courses fulfill honors course requirements;
Up to four credits of one SPP independent study honors (ISH) may be applied to the DH requirements.

Education Abroad and Exchanges

Numerous opportunities are available for study at other institutions. Students can take Smith, Amherst, Holyoke, and Hampshire College classes as part of the Five College Consortium. Our Domestic Exchange program allows individuals to choose from over 170 institutions in the U.S. and continue UMass degree programs while on exchange. There are many study abroad programs around the world from which students can choose to enrich their undergraduate experience.

The Public Policy major will accept up to 12 credits toward major requirements from students participating in study abroad and domestic exchange programs. Students must consult the Undergraduate Program Director on course selection and supply documentation, such as a syllabus, for all courses to be counted toward the Public Policy major before starting the exchange. Accepted courses must be relevant to public policy.

Internships

The School of Public Policy encourages students to experience internships to gain professional experience and make valuable connections while pursuing their interests. The Director of Undergraduate Advising circulates internship opportunities and assists students in identifying positions. School of Public Policy students intern in local, state, and federal government offices, nonprofit organizations, policy research think tanks, and policy-focused businesses. Internships allow students to expand on what they have learned in the classroom, develop new skills for their future careers, and begin building a professional network.

Undergraduate Research

The School of Public Policy offers three opportunities for our majors to engage in research. Students may pursue their interests through independent study courses under the structured guidance of a faculty member. They may also engage directly in faculty research through the Undergraduate Research Engagement Program. Each semester, students have the opportunity to apply to work on faculty research projects for SPP 398R UREP course credit. Faculty research projects vary in the research tasks and learning environments. Students may learn how to create, code, and analyze data or hone writing skills by participating in drafting manuscripts for publication or writing grant applications submitted to governments and foundations. Students gain a particularly valuable UREP experience by working on a professional team that may include a team of UREPs guided by a faculty member or an expansive team of faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate research assistants. The research students produce may be presented at undergraduate research conferences, incorporated into professional conference presentations, and presented at other public venues.

The third opportunity for research occurs in the senior year. All Public Policy majors engage in original research on a topic of their choice through the required Capstone Lab course (see options in Upper-Level Requirements above). The students tackle an actual policy or management problem facing a community or mission-driven enterprise (i.e., nonprofit, cooperative, social enterprise, etc.). In teams or individually, students research the problem, gather evidence, and analyze text and/or numeric data to develop an evidence-based solution. All students present their capstone projects to their peers, faculty, and invited guests.

Master's Programs

At the graduate level, we offer a one-year Master’s in Public Policy, including a 4+1 option open to outstanding Five College students; a two-year Master’s in Public Policy and Administration; and dual degrees in Business Administration, Higher Education, Public Health, and Regional Planning. The School of Public Policy integrates social justice into its degree programs to facilitate a deeper understanding of public policy's role in the lives of each member of society and to prepare graduates for careers at the forefront of social change.