Major in Policy Analysis

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“The most rewarding part about studying abroad in Portugal was meeting locals who immersed me in the culture of Lisbon. I saw how public policy played a role in their everyday lives and how interconnected their society was.”

—Paige Benner, Policy Analysis student

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Program learning goals

1.1. Differentiate economic and non-economic rationales for government intervention

1.2 Match policy problems with appropriate policy instruments 

1.3 Conduct and interpret results of ex ante cost-benefit analysis to assess expected policy impacts, including distributional impacts modeling

2.1 Understand the policy process cycle and alternative theories of policy making

2.2 Explain the structure of governance, including levels of government from local to global and governance across countries and regions

2.3 Recognize challenges of policy implementation

3.1 Read and extract meaning from institutional documents, academic research, policy briefs, and other policy related documents

3.2 Identify differing perspectives on a policy

3.3 Find appropriate sources for identifying policy context and arguments

4.1 Identify and explain major current government programs

4.2 Describe major historical trends in policy

4.3 Compare and contrast policies addressing similar problems across countries

5.1 Collect, organize, clean, and format data using statistical and data analysis software such as SAS, Stata, and R

5.2 Understand and apply statistical, econometric, and other data modeling techniques

5.3 Produce reader friendly data visualizations

5.4 Explain and interpret results of statistical analysis

5.5 Conduct rigorous evaluations of programs and policies

5.6 Interpret results of someone else’s data analysis

5.7 Identify misuse of data and statistics

6.1 Communicate findings from data analysis clearly in written and oral forms

6.2 Describe and communicate research findings and summarize facts

6.3 Write high-quality, professional policy briefs and papers

6.4 Synthesize findings from background research, theoretical analysis, and statistical analysis

6.5 Identify professional and ethical collection and use of data