Course Listing

34:833:510 Public Policy Formation (3) Formulation and implementation of public policy, with emphasis on federal policymaking, models for policy choice, and intergovernmental policy problems. Analysis of the formulation and implementation of a governmental program.

34:833:520 Legislative Policymaking (3) Exploration of legislatures as political institutions responsible for policymaking in the American states. Consideration of the role of legislators, lobbyists, governors, and the media.

34:833:521 Mass Media, Public Opinion, and Public Policy (3) Role and impact of the mass media, the nature and expression of public opinion, and how these feed into the development and implementation of public policy in the American political system.

34:833:522 Public Policy Advocacy (3) Role and process of organized advocacy by private interests in the formation and implementation of public policy. Strategies and methods used to influence the policy process.

34:833:524 Ethics in Public Policy (3) Examines issues in the ethics of policy professionals, focusing on the normative and conceptual aspects of problems that arise for individuals and institutions within a constitutional democracy.

34:833:525 Decision Making for Public Policy (3)   Changes in policymaking over the last several decades. Examples include the environment, welfare reform, law enforcement, and health care. The budget as a policymaking "engine" at both the federal and state levels.

34:833:530 Methods I: Research Design (3) Scientific method of study; the processes of conceptualization and measurement; "experimental design," or how social programs are structured so they may be effectively studied; and survey research and qualitative methods including focus groups, interviewing, and case studies.

34:833:540 State and Local Public Finance (3) Theory and practice of state-local public finance; link between regional economy and subnational governments; fiscal federalism; major state-local spending programs; revenues, including property, sales, and income taxes and gambling; intergovernmental grants.

34:833:543 Economics and Public Policy (3) Basic microeconomic analysis with applications to current policy issues. Models of consumer and firm behavior applied to issues such as assistance programs for low-income individuals, tax incentives for firms and workers, and environmental regulation. Public goods, externalities, and the role of government in economic markets.

34:833:550 Education Policy and Policymaking: The Federal and State Levels (3) Development, implementation, and effects of federal and state education policy; key policy issues as cases for the exploration of political, policy design, and implementation issues.

34:833:551 Issues in Education Finance (3) Legal, political, economic, and equity issues in public school finance. Topics include sources of revenue, school finance formulas, the allocation of education resources, the equity and adequacy of school finance systems, school finance litigation, and the politics of school finance reform.

34:833:555 Labor Market Policy (3) Examination of labor markets and policies. Topics include wage inequality, discrimination, unions, and employment and training programs.

34:833:565 Politics and Regulation (3) Studies the role that executives, legislators, bureaucrats, courts, and others play in policies for regulating the environment, privacy, worker safety, and other areas.

34:833:570 Nonprofit Management (3) Applies management concepts to nonprofit organizations, emphasizing the challenges faced by managers under resource scarcity and uncertain boundaries among public, for-profit, and nonprofit sectors.

34:833:571 Public Management (3) Fundamental tasks and responsibilities of management in the public sector, with an emphasis on the external and internal environments in which managers implement public policy.

34:833:572 Negotiation and Confilct Resolution (3) Nonadversarial concepts and techniques of conflict resolution-negotiation, mediation, consensus-building dialogues considered in public contexts, from courts, prisons, and schools to other institutional and noninstitutional settings. Issues include controversial subjects such as siting resource recovery plants, implementing economic redevelopment plans, enacting environmental protection measures, and devising grievance mechanisms.

34:833:580 Health Care Policy (3) Current issues in U.S. health care policy with in-depth case examples from New Jersey policy. Provides an overview of the financing, regulation, and delivery of health care in the United States, with discussion of current policy topics including health insurance coverage, quality of care, and racial/ethnic disparities in care.

34:833:585 American Social Policy (3) Focuses on the development of social welfare politics in the United States. Places the American case within the larger international and historical context, explores the major dilemmas in contemporary social policymaking including agenda setting, institutional choice, and implementation design. Examines dilemmas in greater depth by analyzing specific policy issues, such as child support enforcement, nutrition programs, and medical care.

34:833:591 Gender, the Family, and Public Policy (3) Gender is one of the most important ways through which American life, both private and public, is defined. This course will primarily explore the historical evolution of women's role in both the family and the labor market, following a life course approach.

34:833:595 Economics of Poverty (3) Use of economic tools and analysis to examine the causes and consequences of poverty, how poverty is defined, and the impact/effectiveness of government policy.

34:833:610 Macroeconomics for Public Policy (3) How the macro economy operates, and how public policies affect it and are affected by it.  The theory and the measurement of the macro economy in the United States and the world.

34:833:619 Environmental Economics and Policy (3) Scarcity and choice are basic economic conditions that are inevitably present when determining environmental goals and implementing environmental policies. The role of economics in environmental issues and, especially, in the formation of environmental policy including environmental problems in air, water, land use, and natural environments.

34:833:628 Advanced Qualitative Methods (3) Students apply techniques of qualitative research, including interviewing, ethnography, and phenomenology to help them gain an understanding of which techniques are appropriate for what specific research needs. Required course for Ph.D. program.

34:833:630 Methods II: Data Analysis (3) Mastery of statistical techniques employed to analyze public policy programs and problems, including univariate and bivariate analysis, simple and general linear regression modeling, use of intercept-dummy variables and interaction variables, linear probability model and the probit model of discrete choice, and simultaneous equation models.

34:833:632 Cost-Benefit Analysis (3) An introduction to cost-benefit analysis as a technique and issues in doing cost-benefit analysis. These include identification of costs and benefits, discounting, dealing with uncertainty, valuing health and human life, and comparisons with cost-effectiveness analysis.

34:833:635 Survey Research (3) How to conduct, analyze, and evaluate surveys. Topics covered include problem formation, sample design and selection, questionnaire wording and layout, modes of survey administration, field procedures, data reduction, and data analysis.

34:833:640, 641 Policy Research Practicum I, II (3,3) Participation in a directed research project that applies analytical techniques of policy analysis and evaluation or survey research to public policy problems.

34:833:670 Independent Study in Public Policy (3)

34:833:671 Internship in Public Policy (3)

34:833:673, 674 Applied Field Experience (3, 3) Designed specifically for and required of students enrolled in the two-year (M.P.P.) degree program; allows students to gain practical experience in a public policy setting and relate it to an academic perspective. Students work in a professional setting for approximately 275 hours and complete writing assignments synthesizing their experience within an academic framework under the regular supervision of the faculty member in charge. Students register for credits during fall or spring academic semesters, not exceeding 12 credits in any semester.

34:833:680 Seminar in Public Policy (3) Selected problems in American public policy. Topics include globalization; special topics in education, law, and public policy; science and technology policy; and others.