Public Policy (PUBPOL)
PUBPOL 1111 - Building Success at Brooks (1 Credit)
This course offers a jumpstart for Brooks School students majoring in Public Policy or Health Care Policy to facilitate in planning their college experience. The course will help students develop goals for their time as a Cornell Undergraduate, including how best to integrate curricular and extracurricular activities and begin exploring career options.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: incoming Brooks students in the Health Care Policy major or the Public Policy major.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe how the mission and learning outcomes of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the Public Policy or Health Care Policy major relate to them and their undergraduate experience.
- Explore their goals for maximizing their undergraduate experience and success.
- Draft a four year plan including course planning and strategy for including desired experiences potentially including research, study abroad, internships and other growth experiences.
PUBPOL 1112 - Career Explorations in Public Policy (1 Credit)
This is a course designed specifically for Brooks School undergraduates interested in exploring the range of careers that a Public Policy or Health Care Policy degree can provide. Careers may include business, consulting, finance, health, higher education, government, law, non-profit work, public policy, research, and much more. Alumni representing these disciplines will be invited to discuss how their policy degree influenced their work while addressing current issues, trends, and career opportunities.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School undergraduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the breadth of career opportunities available to individuals with a background in public policy.
- Utilize career information and opportunities related to their academic interests to inform their learning in and outside of Cornell.
- Prepare for internship and job search.
- Explore the variety of ways to utilize their policy background in their career search.
PUBPOL 1449 - Systems Thinking and Mapping for Public Policy (3 Credits)
At its core, systems thinking attempts to better align how we think things work with how the real world actually works. The real world works in systems-complex networks of many interacting variables. Often nonlinear, complex, and unpredictable, real-world systems seldom correspond with our desire for simplistic, hierarchical, and linear explanations. Systems thinking is the field of study that attempts to better understand how to think better about real-world systems, and the complex problems we face. The complex systems and wicked problems that are characteristic of the public, nonprofit and private sectors pose conceptual challenges when our mental models are out of alignment with the complexities, nonlinearities, unintended consequences, and multi-perspectival issues that leaders, managers, and policy makers face. Students need to develop deep understanding as well as useful proficiency with systems thinking to solve both everyday and wicked problems effectively.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-AG, KCM-AG, SBA-AG), (HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate a deep understanding of systems thinking and its application to everyday and wicked problems.
- Students will demonstrate proficiency with systems thinking modeling techniques.
- Students will integrate concepts learned in class through Challenges to gain personal mastery, develop professionally, contribute to the field, and solve a wicked problem, analyze a complex system, or serve an unmet need using systems thinking and modeling.
PUBPOL 1472 - Information Technology for Public Service (1.5 Credits)
This course explores the strategic, managerial, and policy issues related to information and communications technologies, and encompasses the knowledge and skills for analyzing, assessing, designing, and leveraging technology in diverse settings. The course integrates: I. managerial topics, such as technology acquisition, global sourcing, project management, risk governance, and digital strategies; II. emerging technologies and business models, including e-commerce, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and cryptocurrency; III. case studies from economies worldwide and analytical frameworks for problem-solving and decision-making in real-life scenarios. The course is designed for students both with and without technical background.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to analyze, articulate, and manage the value and risk of diverse IT initiatives.
- Students will be able to evaluate emerging technologies and examine their impact on policies and public sectors.
- Students will be able to conceptualize and design strategies, prototypes, and solutions for complex real-life cases.
PUBPOL 1500 - FWS: Reading and Writing in Public Policy (3 Credits)
In this class, we will discuss how public policies can be understood and evaluated through clear, evidence-based writing. Assigned reading will focus on poverty alleviation in developing countries with the assistance of Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo's Poor Economics - a book which addresses the health, education, and financial lives of the poor. Students will be asked to write a series of essays identifying policy problems, detailing proposed solutions, and arguing in favor of specific policy proposals. Students will choose essay topics based on their own policy-related interests with no requirement that they be related to the reading. Students will be advised and evaluated on the strength of their writing with a special emphasis on clarity and cited evidence.
Distribution Requirements: (WRT-AG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify high quality primary sources regarding public policy topics.
- Critically analyze and revise works written by professionals, peers, and themselves.
- Write clear and concise summaries of relevant policy topics.
- Publicly present and discuss opinions in an academic setting.
PUBPOL 1510 - FWS: America at War in the Modern World (3 Credits)
This first-year writing seminar will discuss how defense policy can be understood and evaluated through effective writing. Recent American wars have ended badly, with much doubt about the policies that created them. Modern American history is a long series of global conflicts, from the World Wars to Afghanistan. Through writing, this course will investigate: why so many wars? What policies created the conflicts? Readings include accounts of soldiers, civilians, and policymakers. Students will write a series of essays exploring American defense policies, and the wartime experience of ordinary people, finishing with an essay that draws larger lessons about US military engagement with the world. Students will be advised and evaluated on the strength of their writing with an emphasis on clarity and evidence.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: First-year undergraduate students from the Brooks School participating in the Cornell in Washington, DC Start program.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Learning Outcomes:
- Students should be able to identify and discuss high quality primary sources in both policy and historical contexts.
- Students should be able to describe and explain policy decisions and wartime experiences in clear and defined prose.
- Students should be able to employ evidence to construct larger arguments in well-organized essays.
PUBPOL 1520 - FWS: Writing in Public Policy: American Soft Power (3 Credits)
This is a first-year writing course in which a specific component of U.S. foreign policy, the application of Soft Power, defined by political scientist Joseph Nye, Jr. as when a nation presents to the world its ideals, culture or values in an effort to influence or shape goodwill for its policies, will be understood and evaluated through writing in a range of genres appropriate to the field of policy study. Following decades of bipartisan Soft Power policy, momentous change to Soft Power institutions is underway in President Donald Trump's second term. Assigned readings will consist of journal articles that examine this break in Washington's foreign policy. In the course's central work, students will write a series of papers, including essays (four), one vision/mission statement or an op-ed. The objective of this course is evidence-based writing, assessing and evaluating Soft Power today in foreign policy, proposing revisions or alternatives, and expressing specific policy recommendations. Through readings and guest speakers, real-world applications and connections will be emphasized, ensuring that the resultant course writing is not just theoretical but also practical and relevant.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: First-year undergraduate students participating in the Cornell in Washington, Brooks DC Start program.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate knowledge through writing with clarity, coherence, and stylistic control.
- Formulate evidence-based writing, with use of appropriate primary sources.
- Create a range of writing genres for academic and real-life application.
- Discover skills, habits, and practices transferable across public policy, including objective analysis of US Government policies, through clear writing.
PUBPOL 1530 - FWS: Health Policy Across the Life Span (3 Credits)
This Freshman Writing Seminar (FWS) will discuss the logic behind seemingly puzzling features of health policy, such as: why are large scale health policies so complex and strangely designed? Why are there so many separate siloes in health care and what are the implications for access to care? The course will leverage these key questions in the study of health policy to help students develop effective writing skills. Toward this goal, readings will focus on how people experience health care across ages and health needs, using examples from health insurance policy. We will discuss two primary purposes for policy writing: to inform and to persuade. Writing assignments will involve multiple styles of policy writing suitable for different kinds of policy jobs and purposes.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: First-year undergraduate students participating in the Cornell in Washington, Brooks DC Start program.
Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize, understand, and implement different styles of writing.
- Produce well-reasoned written analyses using structured approaches.
- Identify and use evidence effectively for the writing style.
PUBPOL 2000 - Intermediate Microeconomics (4 Credits)
Topics include theory of demand and consumer behavior including classical and indifference curve analyses; theories of production and cost; models for the following markets-competitive, monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and inputs; general equilibrium; welfare economics; public goods; and risk.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110 (or equivalent).
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 2600, AEM 5600, ECON 3030, PUBPOL 2000
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Employ budget constraints and consumer theory to analyze a wide variety of topics, including income effects, substitution effects, two-period models, team production, and the principle-agent problem.
- Use the models of perfect competition to analyze both short and long run equilibrium.
- Use the tools of game theory to analyze strategic pricing, output decisions, campaign spending, advertising, and so on.
- Explain and apply the models of microeconomics to topics covered in general interest news, topics of political interest, and to a current events.
PUBPOL 2030 - Population and Public Policy (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 2030
Population and Public Policy exposes students to the logic and skills of demographic research and policy analysis. The course emphasizes the nature, collection, and interpretation of demographic data, the application of demographic techniques, the major components (i.e., fertility, mortality, and migration) of national and global population change, and contemporary population problems (e.g., population aging, teen childbearing, the rise in non-marital childbearing, immigrant adaptation). The course also emphasizes public policies that can influence demographic change. The format primarily involves lectures and class discussion. Students are expected to attend each class and be prepared to discuss assigned materials.
Forbidden Overlaps: GDEV 2010, PUBPOL 2030, SOC 2030, SOC 2202
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Summer 2023, Spring 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Gain a broader understanding of the demographic forces that shape our daily lives.
- Apply basic tools of demographic analysis to population data.
- Develop skills for assessing and synthesizing evidence in social demography.
PUBPOL 2031 - Population and Public Policy Copenhagen Field Study (1 Credit)
Crosslisted with SOC 2031
PUBPOL 2040 - Economics of the Public Sector (4 Credits)
The public sector now spends nearly two out of every five dollars generated as income in the U.S. economy. A thorough knowledge and understanding of this important sector is an essential part of training in policy analysis and management. This course provides an overview of the public sector of the U.S. economy, the major categories of public expenditures, and the main methods used to finance these expenditures. The principles of tax analysis and cost-benefit analysis are presented with a focus on the role of public policy in improving economic efficiency, promoting the goals of equity and social justice, and improving equity by altering the distribution of wealth and income.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain and identify conditions justifying government intervention in markets, and describe the theoretical impact of possible interventions using indifference curves, budget constraints, and supply and demand functions.
- Learn the framework for major US government programs, including social insurance and tax policy.
- Apply the theoretical tool of economic analysis to evaluate the substantive impact of existing US policies.
PUBPOL 2050 - Critical Perspectives in Global Health and Policy (3 Credits)
This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to global health and policy, emphasizing health equity, community perspectives, and advocacy. Students will explore the complex interplay of theoretical, historical, economic, political, environmental, social, and behavioral factors that impact health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. The course aims to broaden students' understanding of global health by engaging with key concepts such as the global burden of disease, global health governance, diplomacy, ethics, and advocacy. We will examine a range of health issues, from infectious diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, Mpox, COVID-19) to non-communicable diseases to mental health and environmental health, with a focus on how these are exacerbated by social and structural determinants. Additionally, the course will critically analyze the intersections of race, gender, and other social categories in shaping global health disparities. Students will bridge theory to practice through case studies by evaluating global health policies and interventions. By the end of the course, students will develop critical thinking, policy analysis, and advocacy skills, enabling them to assess and contribute to solutions for pressing global health challenges.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, D-HE, HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand and articulate the key theoretical frameworks in global health.
- Critically analyze global health policies and their impacts on health equity.
- Develop the foundational elements of a policy brief to address global health challenges in low-and middle-income countries.
- Assess the role of global health governance in shaping health outcomes.
- Explore the intersections of social determinants and health through case studies.
PUBPOL 2060 - Introduction to Global Policy (3 Credits)
Urgent global challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and immigration cannot be solved by single nations alone. Global problems require global solutions. This course helps students answer the following fundamental questions: what is global policy? who are global policy actors? and what are the implications of global policy frameworks for economic and social development around the world? This course is an introduction to global policy and will utilize different disciplinary perspectives in the social sciences to analyze key global policy frameworks, and familiarize students with current debates in global policy across sectors. How do different disciplines address global challenges? Course discussion and assignments will focus on assessing the implications of diverse policies for improving the quality of life of vulnerable people around the world with special focus on social policy, health policy and the environment.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain key policy frameworks including the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement, and AI governance regimes.
- Describe the institutions, actors, and processes (historical and contemporary) that shape global policy.
- Analyze the impact of distinct global policy frameworks for improving the quality of life of vulnerable people in local contexts.
- Strengthen the use of online and library resources to conduct global policy research.
PUBPOL 2070 - Big Data for Big Policy Problems (4 Credits)
This course is an introductory overview of new innovations in data science, management, and programming, with accessible applications to a dynamic set of the most pressing social policy issues. Each semester, we will cover rotating topical modules ranging from income inequality to education to climate change to diversity and nativism to health. Students will learn about important policy issues through both the economics and sociological lenses, how big data are being used to address policy problems, and technical skills for how to begin using data in similar ways to address policy problems.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Understand data sourcing, assembling, cleaning and management.
- Describe univariate and multivariate data distributions.
- Visualize data in spatial and temporal expressions.
- Conduct evaluations of big data for policy-relevant questions.
- Critique approaches to computational techniques.
PUBPOL 2100 - Introduction to Statistics (4 Credits)
The course introduces students to standard methods of describing and analyzing data, probability theory, statistical inference, and ordinary least squares. Students will learn to describe data with summary tables and charts, understand and apply probability theory to data, understand sampling distributions, conduct hypothesis tests, estimate regressions, and interpret statistical findings. Students will also learn to use the basics of Excel to analyze data.
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 2100, BTRY 3010, BTRY 6010, CRP 1200, ENGRD 2700, HADM 2010, HADM 2011, ILRST 2100, ILRST 6100, MATH 1710, PSYCH 2500, PUBPOL 2100, PUBPOL 2101, SOC 3010, STSCI 2100, STSCI 2150, STSCI 2200. In addition, no credit for MATH 1710 if taken after ECON 3130, ECON 3140, MATH 4720, or any other upper-level course focusing on the statistical sciences.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students excluding Public Policy and Health Care Policy majors. Students majoring in Public Policy or Health Care Policy should enroll in PUBPOL 2101 instead.
Distribution Requirements: (MQL-AG, OPHLS-AG), (MQR-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe large datasets using summary statistics including both central tendencies and spread.
- Use probability theory to evaluate the expected value of future events.
- Use inferential statistics tools to conduct hypothesis tests about proportions, means, and multiple means.
- Estimate basic regressions using both bivariate and multivariate ordinary least squares.
- Use Excel to conduct basic statistical, data, and graphical analysis.
PUBPOL 2101 - Statistics for Public Policy (4 Credits)
Statistics for Public Policy introduces basic statistical techniques used by researchers to investigate social, economic, and political phenomena. Topics include data presentation and descriptive statistics, measures of central tendency and dispersion, random variables and their probability distributions, joint and conditional distributions, expected value, conditional expectation, statistical sampling and inference, interval estimation and confidence intervals, hypothesis testing using t distributions, correlation, and bivariate regression analysis. A mandatory review section accompanies the course lectures. In problem sets and exams, students calculate statistics by hand to develop familiarity with data analysis. They also learn and apply basic commands using Stata statistical software.
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 2100, BTRY 3010, BTRY 6010, CRP 1200, ENGRD 2700, HADM 2010, HADM 2011, ILRST 2100, ILRST 6100, MATH 1710, PSYCH 2500, PUBPOL 2100, PUBPOL 2101, SOC 3010, STSCI 2100, STSCI 2150, STSCI 2200. In addition, no credit for MATH 1710 if taken after ECON 3130, ECON 3140, MATH 4720, or any other upper-level course focusing on the statistical sciences.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks school undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (MQL-AG, OPHLS-AG), (MQR-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Employ basic numeric and visualization tools to describe data.
- Apply inferential statistical analysis to policy-relevant research questions.
- Conduct statistical evaluations of US census data in computing environment.
- Critique methodological approaches to social scientific research.
PUBPOL 2120 - Disruptive and Emerging Technologies: Policy and Practice (3 Credits)
Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, robotics, and supercomputing, (to name but a few advanced technologies) present novel, disruptive, and often unforeseen challenges for policymakers globally. This full-semester course will explore the critical policy challenges faced by practitioners, with a focus on 4th Industrial Revolution technologies and their impact on national and international security. With great power rivalries intensifying, students will learn (including from guest experts) how technological innovation is no longer just an economic driver and societal ambition — it is central to a new age of great power competition and geopolitical tensions. Students will begin by exploring the theories of technological innovation and the history of geopolitics and disruptive and emerging technologies in practice. A focused case study approach is then adopted to present a week-by-week real-world analysis of the current pressing technological and security challenges faced by policymakers at a domestic and international level. As a means to prepare for the final assessments, students will produce a mid-term paper answering the question ‘How has the 4th Industrial Revolution impacted international peace and security in the 2020s?’ (8-10 pages of double-spaced text excluding tables, figures, and references). Students will then be required to conduct independent research on a technology or theme of their choice from the module. Towards the end of term, the students will present on this research through an in-class presentation, and write a policy report on the technology/theme of their choice from the module. The policy report should be written for a high-level policy audience (such as the UN Security Council, Department of State, Department of Defence, ECOWAS, and/or EU Commission) and focus on 'What are the key security challenges and potential societal opportunities presented by [insert the technology or theme chosen]?' The policy report should be 15-18 pages of double-spaced text excluding tables, figures, and references. Presentations: Each presentation will be 10 mins (max) and will focus on your chosen topic for the policy report (or a related topic). Groups of up to 5 people can work together on a single presentation. Each student is expected to contribute to the research and spoken presentation. Students will present in the final week of class.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Recall key 4IR technologies and their characteristics relevant to international peace and security. List historical examples of disruptive technologies and their impact international policy.
- Summarize the foundational theoretical concepts of technology studies and principles of international peace and security. Explain how disruptive technologies are altering traditional approaches to international peace and security.
- Analyze case studies to demonstrate how specific disruptive technologies have influenced international security policy. Propose practical policy recommendations for mitigating the negative effects of disruptive technologies on society (domestically and internationally).
- Evaluate the ethical implications of using emerging technologies in the context of defense. Compare and contrast the impact of different disruptive technologies on international peace and security, applied to specific geopolitical contexts.
PUBPOL 2130 - Data and the State: How Governments See People and Places (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with INFO 3130
In order to regulate and govern, states must marshall data: the whos, whats, and wheres of a nation get rendered in records and statistics, at least approximately, and they tell us a lot about identity and values. In this course we will use Census data as a jumping-off point for an investigation of data practices of governance. Students will learn tools for geospatial data science in Python/Geopandas and will learn principles of mapping. Readings include selections from geography, anthropology, science and technology studies, and urban sociology.
Distribution Requirements: (MQR-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Write code to curate, clean, analyze, and visualize spatial data.
- Gain an understanding of historical processes of classification and regulation.
- Implement a descriptive or predictive analysis using appropriate data and statistical and/or computational methods.
- Clearly communicate your process and results as a data narrative through visualizations, context, textual description, and oral presentation.
- Identify the limitations and potential biases in the data, data-generating processes, and tools and methods in addressing a research topic.
PUBPOL 2155 - Data Management and Programming for Policy and Society (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 2180
This course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of data management and programming in R. The goal is to teach students how to obtain and curate real world data, determine its reliability, manage large databases, create variables useful for analysis, and more. Much of the work will be done using R libraries, which can help facilitate the functionality of R without increasing the complexity.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of variable and data types and how to use packages in R.
- Assemble data by importing it into R.
- Appraise data quality and accuracy using common functions in R.
- Use R code to manage and analyze databases.
PUBPOL 2200 - DC Up Close: Policy, Politics, and Power (4 Credits)
Step inside the heart of American policy making with DC Up Close: Policy, Politics, and Power—an immersive experience that takes you beyond textbooks to feel the real-world pulse of Washington, DC. In this course, you won’t just study policy—you will engage with it firsthand. Through thought-provoking readings, lively discussions, guest speakers, and exclusive events, you’ll interact with policymakers, strategists, and insiders shaping today’s most pressing issues. You’ll encounter the inner workings of Congress to behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, to explore the intellectual, practical, and personal dimensions of power. You’ll analyze key policy debates, question decision-makers from across the political spectrum, and uncover how ideas move from concept to law. Whether you're interested in governance, advocacy, or the forces driving national change, this course offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience Washington’s political landscape up close.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: First-year undergraduate students from the Brooks School participating in the Cornell in Washington, DC Start program.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain the structure of the American government, its actors, and its history.
- Discuss in both written and oral forms the policy-making process, using a specific policy area.
- Employ the tools and forms of the policy process.
PUBPOL 2208 - Social Inequality (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 2208
This course reviews contemporary approaches to understanding social inequality and the processes by which it comes to be seen as legitimate, natural, or desirable. We address questions of the following kind: what are the major forms of stratification in human history? Are inequality and poverty inevitable? How many social classes are there in advanced industrialism societies? Is there a ruling class? Are lifestyles, attitudes, and personalities shaped fundamentally by class membership? Can individuals born into poverty readily escape their class origins and move upward in the class structure? Are social contacts and luck important forces in matching individuals to jobs and class positions? What types of social processes serve to maintain and alter racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination in labor markets? Is there an underclass? These and other questions are addressed in light of classical and contemporary theory and research.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (SCD-AS, SSC-AS)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY); (AFAREA, LAAREA)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 PUBPOL 2220 - Controversies About Inequality (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 2220, GOVT 2225, PHIL 1950, ILROB 2220, AMST 2225
In recent years, poverty and inequality have become increasingly common topics of public debate, as academics, journalists, and politicians attempt to come to terms with growing income inequality, with the increasing visibility of inter-country differences in wealth and income, and with the persistence of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. This course introduces students to ongoing social scientific debates about the sources and consequences of inequality, as well as the types of public policy that might appropriately be pursued to reduce (or increase) inequality. These topics will be addressed in related units, some of which include guest lectures by faculty from other universities (funded by the Center for the Study of Inequality). Each unit culminates with a highly spirited class discussion and debate.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (ICE-IL), (SCD-AS, SSC-AS)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY); (AFAREA)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 PUBPOL 2250 - Social Problems in the United States (3 Credits)
Social Problems in the U.S. teaches students how to think like a social scientist when encountering claims about major contemporary issues. Through readings and assignments, students develop an analytical toolkit for evaluating the scope, causes, consequences, and proposed solutions to a wide range of complicated social problems, such as: childhood poverty, racial segregation and discrimination, job insecurity, family instability, discrimination by sexual identity, unequal pay for women's work, gender imbalances in family life, health disparities, food insecurity, drug abuse, and educational inequality. Rather than cover all of these (and other) social problems in depth, the course emphasizes a conceptual framework that can be applied broadly. The semester culminates with a written proposal examining a social problem and developing an approach to address it with public policy.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-AG, D-AG, SBA-AG), (CA-HE, D-HE, SBA-HE), (OCE-IL), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strategy for discussing controversial social issues with others who hold competing perspectives.
- Demonstrate an understanding of core concepts from Sociology and Policy Analysis as they relate to topics in education, health, and social welfare.
- Distinguish between normative, descriptive, and causal claims about social problems as they emerge in public debate.
- Evaluate the validity of claims about social problems by drawing on evidence from empirical research.
- Analyze trade-offs and unintended consequences implicated in the design and implementation of social policies.
PUBPOL 2300 - Introduction to Policy Analysis (4 Credits)
Policy analysis is an interdisciplinary field that uses theories, concepts, and methods from disciplines such as economics, sociology, and political science to address substantive issues in the public policy arena. Students are introduced to the functions of and interactions between the major institutions (public and private) at the national, state, and local level involved in the policy making process. The course focuses on public policy analysis in the social welfare, health, and education areas and also includes an introduction to the technical skills required to undertake policy analysis.
Forbidden Overlaps: PUBPOL 2300, PUBPOL 2301
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply the scientific method to secondary data analysis in two policy papers.
- Identify public goods and the reasons for failure of free markets to provide them.
- Develop the skills to write a formal analysis of two public policy issues.
- Describe fundamentals of cost-benefit analysis, including inflation, the Consumer Price Index, time value of money, discounting, and valuing human life through quality adjusted life years (QALYs).
- Discuss US federal and state policy related to Social Security, health care, and state/federal education policy.
- Conduct research through an individual policy paper and a group policy paper on a specific policy topic.
- Engage in leadership roles in policy groups and work collaboratively to produce a 25-page report.
- Prepare a 6-page and 25-page policy report, to practice written communication skills.
- Prepare and deliver a 20-minute presentation supported by visual aids on their group policy paper.
- Work cooperatively to produce a report within an assigned policy group.
PUBPOL 2301 - Introduction to Public Policy (4 Credits)
The pressing issues of our time-from climate change to national security, from immigration to policing, from global economic development to domestic voting rights-are deeply intertwined with public policy decisions made by governments. In this course, we consider how societal conditions come to be defined as problems for governments to solve, the role of public and private actors in influencing policy processes, and how we know whether policies achieve their goals. Course readings, lectures, discussions, and experiential learning assignments provide opportunities for students to critically analyze public policy processes and outcomes from multiple disciplinary perspectives, including economics, political science, and sociology. The course also introduces students to key areas of public policy including technology policy; environmental and sustainability policy; global security; health policy; inequality and social policy; international development; and race, racism and public policy.
Forbidden Overlaps: PUBPOL 2300, PUBPOL 2301
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe the various political institutions that create public policy and how stakeholders engage such institutions to shape the policy process.
- Students will be able to evaluate methods of policy analysis that can be used to identify the effects of public policies.
- Students will be able to critically examine public policy issues from multiple disciplinary, normative, and cultural perspectives.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively and respectfully about public policy in written and oral formats.
PUBPOL 2320 - Global Democracy and Public Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 2323
This course explores trends in democracy around the world as both a product of public policy (which policies support and bolster democratic transitions and endurance), and as a factor that shapes representation, public policy and governance outcomes. How citizen interests translate into public policy outcomes is a key question of democratic practice. The course will identify variation across the world and use empirical analysis to identify patterns. It provides an opportunity to investigate the complex ways that regime politics (whether democratic or autocratic), public policies, and social inequalities shape one another.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Interpret and explain the theory and use of tools applicable to the development and evaluation of policy.
- Develop the skills required for effective delivery of evidence used for policy formation and evaluation, including written, spoken, and visual presentation.
- Work with others toward the goal of serving the public interest.
- Foster an inclusive learning environment in which diverse approaches and points of view can help guide government actions.
- Evaluate and scrutinize data to inform policy evaluation.
PUBPOL 2350 - The U.S. Health Care System (3 Credits)
This course examines the various stakeholders of the U.S. health care system and how the stakeholders interact with one another. We begin by examining the role of medical care in producing health and the costs and benefits of new medical technologies (e.g., medical devices, prescription drugs, and new surgical techniques). We then examine the objectives and behavior of key stakeholders in the system: patients, employers, and taxpayers who pay for health care; private and public (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) health insurers who manage the funds; hospitals, physicians, and other health care professionals who provide medical care; and pharmaceutical and medical device firms that supply products that providers use. Students will also learn how to apply basic reasoning to examine health policy issues, including covering the uninsured, controlling the growth rate of medical spending, improving the quality of medical care, and reforming the malpractice system.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the objectives and behavior of the key stakeholders in the U.S. health care system: payers, insurers, providers, and suppliers.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine health policy proposals.
PUBPOL 2360 - Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Systems (3 Credits)
We will explore the U.S. legal system and major types of law in the U.S., including constitutional law, statutory law, administrative law and the common law. Cases examples will be taken from fields of civil rights law, criminal law, immigration and refugee law, environmental law, child and youth law, internet law, and U.S. approaches to international human rights law. This course will combine theory with practice and teach students the real-world analytical skills needed to understand U.S. law and the U.S. legal system. It will also teach students to craft effective legal arguments in a variety of contexts, both orally and in writing. The course is designed to provide students with enough substantive understanding of the fundamentals of the U.S. legal system to have a solid framework for public policy analysis and design, regardless of the substantive topic area.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-AG), (KCM-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of U.S. legal systems and sources of law, including the U.S. Constitution, federal and state statutes, case law, common law, and administrative law.
- Develop a keen understanding of how statutes and regulations are created and how they work in practice.
- Develop the legal reasoning tools, strategies and intuitions necessary to analyze and apply various types of U.S. law to resolve legal dilemmas in a wide variety of substantive areas.
- Develop oral and written legal advocacy skills necessary to persuade relevant (fictional) judges to adopt the legal positions you advance.
PUBPOL 2370 - Race, Racism, and Public Policy (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 2370
Public policy is a fundamental mechanism for addressing the most vexing and important social problems of our time. Racial inequality and structural racism are chief among such problems. Policy is thus widely understood and frequently touted as a means for redressing the harms of racism. Yet, public policy has also been identified as a channel through which racism flows. These seemingly paradoxical understandings of the relationships between racism and public policy raise critical questions about equality, democracy, the economy, and politics. This course examines such questions. questions. We begin by theoretically grounding key concepts such as race racism and public policy. We then consider the historical record, highlighting the fundamental role of racism in shaping politics and policy. Next, we build on these conceptual and historical foundations through thematic investigation of core policy elements (e.g., policy design, policy implementation, policy feedback), key policy institutions (e.g., legislatures, parties) and significant policy actors (e.g., social movement organizations, interest groups). Finally, the class wraps up with a series of policy deep dives involving close examination of specific policy domains (e.g., housing, health, the enviornment). This course provides students with the knowledge and analytical tools necessary to better understand the realities and complexities of race, racism, and public policy in the United States.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE), (SCD-AS, SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate significant knowledge about race, racism, and public policy.
- Apply such knowledge to the analysis of pressing social problems.
- Write about race and public policy with clarity and empirical grounding.
- Discuss intellectually rigorous content about contentious issues.
PUBPOL 2600 - Constitutional Law – an Introduction (3 Credits)
In this course, we will examine one of the most cherished documents in American history – our Constitution. Course topics will include the foundations of the document from the Magna Carta to the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence as well as the conflict between strong supporters of this proposed new Constitution (Federalists) and their opponents (Anti-Federalists.). How did the Founders resolve their differences and what led the States to adopt a document limiting and balancing the powers of the President, Congress, and the Judiciary?
From the inception of America to the present day, there have been constant challenges by one branch of government regarding the role and scope of power wielded by their respective co-equal branches of government. We shall discuss the role of the Constitution from both empirical and theoretical perspectives to answer the challenges presented in both preserving and strengthening the Constitution from 1788 to the present day. Special attention will be paid to the use of Amendments, particularly the Bill of Rights, to address events/circumstances unforeseen by the drafters. Finally, the course will discuss Court challenges where the Justices acted courageously to preserve and protect the Constitution – as well as instances where they failed from the Preamble to Establish Justice and Tranquility for All.
Forbidden Overlaps: PUBPOL 3270, PUBPOL 5270
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: First-year undergraduate students participating in the Cornell in Washington, Brooks DC Start program.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify key stakeholders in the formulation of the Constitution.
- Identify and discuss key cases in controversy in which the Supreme Court ruled to establish clear parameters on how the Constitution has been interpreted for more than 200 years with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights.
- Formulate a foundation on why the Constitution remains such an important aspect an influence in American daily life.
PUBPOL 2817 - America Confronts the World (4 Credits)
Donald Trump and Biden give us two visions of America and of the world: xenophobic nationalism and pragmatic cosmopolitanism. America and the world are thus constituted by great diversity. The first half of the course seeks to understand that diversity in American politics and foreign policy viewed through the prisms of region, ideology, region, race, class and religion. The second half inquires into the U.S. and American engagement of different world regions and civilizations: Europe, Russia, North America, Latin America, China, Japan, India and the Middle East. U.S. hard power and American soft power find expression in far-reaching processes of American-infused globalization and U.S.-centered anti-Americanism reverberating around the world. Advocates of one-size-fits-all solutions to America's and the world's variegated politics are in for great disappointments.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-AG, SBA-AG), (GLC-AS, SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2017
PUBPOL 2857 - Global Governance and Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 2857
This course provides an overview of the evolving architecture, processes, and outcomes in global governance. It examines the ways in which global governance does (or does not) work in practice as well as possible ways of improving the capacity of the international community to deal with global challenges. We will explore these issues through case studies of today’s most pressing issues, such as climate change, wars of aggression, accountability for mass atrocity, global public health crises, cybersecurity, business and human rights, and refugee flows.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE), (SSC-AS)
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a deeper understanding of how global governance works (or doesn’t), how it is changing, and the margins of maneuverability within it for improving outcomes.
- Critically assess global governance phenomena by applying analytic concepts, frameworks, and tools.
- Advance students’ research, writing, and presentation skills.
PUBPOL 3010 - Contemporary Security Policy (3 Credits)
This full-semester course will provide an introduction to the diverse and contested field of security studies, including both the Traditional and Critical approaches. It covers the foundational theoretical approaches in the field of security studies - Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Critical Theory, Feminism and Gender Security, and PostStructural and Postcolonial Perspectives. It also questions how security policy is developed and implemented and the historical, economic, political, and social power dynamics that influence how 'security policy' is constructed and implemented by nation-states. Alongside the study of theory, the course covers a wide range of contemporary security issues - from the return of inter-state conflict and nuclear deterrence to terrorism, environmental security, and health security - and applies the theories and concepts of security studies to real-world examples.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Remember: 1. Recall key theories of International Relations and their Traditional and Critical characteristics relevant to Security Studies. 2. List examples of contemporary security challenges, their impact on policy, and how IR Theory explains their occurrence in the international system.
- Understand: 1. Summarize the foundational theoretical concepts of International Relations and principles of Security Studies. 2. Explain how security challenges are altering traditional policy approaches to international peace and security. 3. Understand the Critical and Traditional approaches to Security Studies.
- Apply: 1. Analyze case studies to demonstrate how specific security challenges have influenced domestic and international policy. Apply this analysis to obtain a better understanding of contemporary security issues. 2. Propose practical policy recommendations for mitigating the negative effects of pertinent security policy challenges on society (domestically and internationally).
- Analyze: 1. Evaluate the ethical implications of theoretical and policy solutions to security challenges. 2. Compare and contrast the impact of different theoretical and policy solutions on international peace and security, applied to specific geopolitical contexts.
- Evaluate: 1. Critically assess the effectiveness of current international legal frameworks in addressing challenges raised during the module. 2. Formulate informed judgments about the potential risks and benefits of adopting the policy solutions raised in the module.
PUBPOL 3015 - Climate Economics and Policy (3 Credits)
Climate change is an urgent, multi-generational, global challenge. Public policy at the local, state, national and international level plays an important role in determining our emissions trajectory, the magnitude and location of investments in adaptation and resilience, and even whether climate engineering approaches are allowable and feasible. Thus, policy choices have a large influence on the ultimate damages from climate change and on the cost of addressing them. This course applies the tools of economics to the analysis of the climate challenge and climate policy. We will start with an introduction to the multiple market failures relevant to climate change, an overview of the climate policy portfolio, and a history of international climate negotiations. In part 2 of the course, we’ll learn how economists quantify the damages from climate change and consider the role of benefit-cost analysis designing climate policy. Part 3 will cover net greenhouse gas emissions reduction opportunities, including sectoral approaches and nature-based solutions. In part 4, we’ll study the economics of pollution control and learn what theory and empirical evidence imply for climate change policy instrument choice. We will finish the course focusing on the economics of climate adaptation and resilience (part 5), the distributional implications of climate change and climate policy (part 6), and the future potential for climate engineering (part 7).
Prerequisites: ECON 1110.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand climate change as a problem of multiple market failures, and the institutional frameworks in which climate change policy seeks to address those failures.
- Think critically and comprehensively about the economic benefits and costs of climate change policy, and engage constructively in debates regarding such estimates.
- Assess GHG emissions reduction opportunities and their costs in multiple sectors.
- Analyze the pros and cons of a suite of policy approaches to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and climate engineering.
- Describe the potential for economies to adapt to the changing climate and the role of policy in mediating adaptation.
PUBPOL 3020 - Being Native in the 21st Century: American Indian and Alaska Native Politics, History, and Policy (4 Credits)
The course examines the historical political landscape of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States and the interplay between tribal interests, politics, and the federal government. The course also looks at contemporary Native issues, federal policy and programs, tribal governance, relations between Tribal Nations and states and between Tribal Nations and the federal government. Finally, the course will explore Indigenous pop-culture and its influence on federal policy.The majority of classes will have a guest lecturer related to that week's topic. Guest lectures will include, but not limited to, political appointees, congressional staff, political advocates, elected tribal leaders, and more.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: GOVT 1111.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- This course will teach students the political science of Native American tribes and their interactions with the U.S. government, developing their skill in applying a disciplinary framework (Political Science) and gaining expertise in a specific policy area (Native American Policy).
PUBPOL 3032 - Politics of Public Policy in the U.S. (4 Credits)
Public policies are political outcomes determined by processes that are complex, convoluted and often controversial. The aim of this course is to equip students with the conceptual tools necessary to understand these processes. We will begin with a review of popular approaches to studying policy and then move on to explore the various stages of policy development: agenda-setting, policy design, policy implementation, policy feedback and policy change. We will consider the roles played by both institutions (congress, the bureaucracy and interests groups) and everyday people. Finally, we will closely study several specific policy arenas (a few likely candidates include: education policy, health policy, social welfare policy and housing policy). As we engage all of these ideas, students will be consistently challenged to grapple with the paradoxes of policy making in a democratic polity and to envision pathways for substantive political change.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
PUBPOL 3041 - U.S. Immigration Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This course addresses the major themes and controversies in United States immigration law and policy, including: Constitutional limits on legislative and executive power; the role of administrative agencies and the federal courts; the role of state versus federal decision-makers; the admission and removal (deportation) of noncitizens; protections of asylum-seekers and refugees; illegal immigration; strategies of immigration law enforcement; immigration detention; due process rights in removal proceedings; and civil rights of noncitizens. This course will also briefly address some key issues in alienage law and policy, including the rights of noncitizens (including noncitizens without immigration status) to education, work and public benefits.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: courses regarding the structure of the U.S. government and policy design courses are helpful but not required.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (D-HE), (OCE-IL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework (Constitutional, statutory, regulatory, or relating to federal court and administrative agency case law) governing immigration policy in the U.S.
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze legal sources and make legal arguments - both orally and in writing - on behalf of (fictional) clients, including noncitizens and the Department of Homeland Security.
- Develop a strong understanding of how immigration law works in practice, with an emphasis on legal and empirical evaluation of the extent to which current practices comply (or fail to comply) with basic norms of due process.
- Develop a strong understanding of how immigration and alienage policy are created, given complex political and institutional factors driving statutory and administrative action at both the federal and state and local levels.
- Research, understand and analyze the most pressing and fundamental policy dilemmas and trade-offs in the field of immigration policy; learn to analyze empirical evaluations of immigration policies and use them to construct specific policy recommendations.
PUBPOL 3050 - Refugee Pathways and Resettlement Policy (4 Credits)
In collaboration with refugee resettlement centers in New York State, this community-engaged course will explore: the global systems of inequality that produce forced migration; the politics of who gets to be a refugee; the uncertain pathways from conflict to internal displacement and/or non-permanent settlement; and the policies and process that inform refugee resettlement in Upstate New York. Students will work on collaborative projects with refugee-supporting organizations in Upstate NY and will be required to attend at least one course-organized site visit to a partner organization in either Syracuse or Utica.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Describe some of the major theoretical and practical conundrums and debates in refugee resettlement policy.
- Evaluate and critically respond to arguments made by leading migration policy scholars.
- Explain the primary actors, processes, and governance structures that dictate forced migration, non-permanent settlements and refugee resettlement in a variety of contexts.
- Compose high-quality work products that are relevant to the practice of refugee resettlement in Upstate New York.
PUBPOL 3060 - Political Messaging and Public Policy (2 Credits)
This course will explore the history, research, and present-day usage of political messaging to achieve public policy aims - from elections to legislative battles in Congress. We'll break down how political actors craft messages across different mediums to activate matrices of voters scattered across the electorate. In doing so, we'll discuss the psychology of voter decision making, the influence of popular culture, changing patterns of media consumption, and how political messaging really works behind the scenes, from ad-making to earned media. Most importantly, we'll draw in outside experts from across the political spectrum to discuss their experience in political communications - offering students a practical view into real-life politicking and an enhanced understanding of the professional landscape. Students will put these ideas into practice through active participation in class discussions and rigorously researched written assignments analyzing real-life political messages.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- How political messages are crafted by various actors, such as candidates, PACs, interest groups, and public officials. This will include high-level decision making, common production choices, media strategies, and historical trends.
- The impact political messages have on the electorate, from their ability (or, in some cases, inability) to affect voter behavior to their influence on broader popular culture.
- The extent to which public policy is actually shaped by political messaging.
- The professional landscape of political messaging, and how experts in the field leverage strategic communications to make their case to the American people.
PUBPOL 3071 - Enduring Global and American Issues (4 Credits)
The US and the global community face a number of complex, interconnected and enduring issues that pose challenges for our political and policy governance institutions and society at large. Exploring how the US and the world conceive of the challenges and take action on them is fundamental to understanding them. This course investigates such issues, especially ones in the critical areas of sustainability, social justice, technology, public health and globalization, security and conflict. Students will engage with these areas and issues and the challenges they pose, using multiple frameworks and approaches, through weekly class discussions and lectures.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-AG, SBA-AG), (CA-HE, SBA-HE), (OCE-IL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will have identified and analyzed multiple critical issues in America and the world.
- Students will have formulated a number of public-facing analyses of these issues.
- Graduate students will have analyzed the current understanding of each issue at a scholarly level (for grad students).
PUBPOL 3080 - Economics of the U.S. Social Safety Net (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3250
This course provides an overview of the major programs that make up the social safety net in the United States. We will review the economic rationale behind social programs, identify the economic consequences of these programs, and assess the empirical research on these topics. A major emphasis of the course will be on understanding the strengths and limitations of the core methodologies used in the existing economics literature.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or equivalent and PUBPOL 3100 or equivalent.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (SBA-HE), (SCD-AS, SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and explain the reasons for government redistribution and provision of social insurance.
- Describe the ways in which social programs are implemented in reality, and analyze the potential distortions and consequences of program design using economic reasoning.
- Evaluate the empirical evidence on the impact of social programs on individual behavior and well-being by applying knowledge of statistical methodology.
- Formulate and express well-reasoned arguments for or against specific policies through written and oral presentations.
PUBPOL 3090 - Strategic Advocacy: Lobbying and Interest Group Politics in Washington, D.C. (4 Credits)
How is public policy really formed in the United States today? Who are the key actors and decision makers who shape the laws and regulations that impact us at the local, state and federal levels of government? Most importantly, how do private individuals (lobbyists, trade associations, media and other influencers) sway how laws, rules and regulations impact our daily lives? The goal of this course is to provide a foundation of how private influence impacts our public policy. Building upon this foundation, students will learn who the key policymakers are in the public sector alongside of those in the private sector who seek to influence them. Students will gain knowledge through academic texts looking at the role of interest group politics in America as well as the instructor's 30 years of experience working as a public policy practitioner working at the highest levels of government on Capitol Hill and the White House as well as being a former lobbyist and licensed attorney at law.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe how special interest groups seek to influence government policy, and the extent to which they succeed. This relates to outcomes of disciplinary knowledge (political science, law), applying multi-disciplinary perspectives, and policy analysis / public economics.
- Develop written and oral communication skills through several papers, a policy analysis assignment, and required participation in class discussion.
- Develop critical thinking skills. Describe and analyze various readings, and participate in class discussions, and make logical arguments in written assignments.
PUBPOL 3100 - Multiple Regression Analysis (4 Credits)
Introduces basic econometric principles and the use of statistical procedures in empirical studies of economic models. Discusses assumptions, properties, and problems encountered in the use of multiple regression procedures. Students are required to specify, estimate, and report the results of an empirical model.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2101 (or equivalent).
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 4110, AEM 6120, PUBPOL 3100
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the Multiple Regression Analysis tool.
- Explain how the Multiple Regression Analysis tool works and what it can be used for.
- Use the Multiple Regression Analysis tool to analyze real-world relationships.
- Evaluate how other researchers have used the Multiple Regression Analysis tool.
PUBPOL 3110 - Pharmaceutical Management and Policy (3 Credits)
This course provides an overview of the management and policy issues facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. This course perspective is global, with an emphasis on the U.S. as the largest and most profitable market.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2020, Fall 2018
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the objectives and behavior of each of the major stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Assess the benefits and drawbacks of various policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical industry.
PUBPOL 3112 - Congress and the Legislative Process (4 Credits)
The course will be a lecture course on Congress, introducing them to the political science literature on the topic and the major research questions and approaches. We will examine the development of the institution, including formal theories for congressional organization as well as historically and politically oriented accounts of rule changes, committee power, and party influence. We will also look at the determinants of legislative productivity and gridlock, approaches to measuring and analyzing congressional behavior, the changing role of the electoral connection, and the causes and consequences of polarization.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 3130 - Behavioral Economics and Public Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3670
Standard economic theory assumes that individuals are rational decision-makers; however, that is often not the case in the real world. Behavioral economics uses findings from psychology to determine ways in which individuals are systematically irrational to improve upon existing models. The first part of this course reviews these theories, while the second part of the course focuses on how these findings have been used to design better education, health, and tax policies as well as many others.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3100 (or equivalent), and PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Use the key findings in psychology that have important lessons for the field of economics.
- Apply economic insights from lab experiments to policy design.
- Interpret empirical results from research papers as they relate to policy.
- Identify areas of policy where taking behavioral insights into account could improve public policy in terms of implementation, efficiency, or redistribution.
- Identify assumptions in standard economic models that may not hold in real world settings and learn how economists test their validity.
- Present findings from top-tier journals in economics.
PUBPOL 3135 - World Food Systems and Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course aims to teach students the basics of global food systems, their governance, and the public policies that shape them across the globe. An emphasis will be put on understanding the interconnections between the developed world and the global south in food consumption and production.
Forbidden Overlaps: GDEV 2300
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, D-HE, HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL, CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of global food systems, focusing on the governance structures, geopolitical interdependencies between developed and developing nations, and their complex structural intricacies.
- Explore critical issues and global policies affecting food systems, analyzing case studies that impact consumer choices, world policies, and identifying sustainable solutions to global food security challenges.
- Understand the interconnections between society, ecology, and governance, and their broader implications for food governance, security, nutritional outcomes, and sustainability.
- Encourage and enable students to improve communication skills and develop creative and critical faculties through diverse course activities, such as reading, writing, and presenting elevator pitches, writing policy memos, while gaining a nuanced understanding of pressing issues in global food systems.
PUBPOL 3140 - Political Journalism (4 Credits)
This course will explore the traditional dynamic and norms of political press coverage in the United States, and the impact of those patterns on both the government and the nation; some of the ways longstanding norms have recently shifted, and continue to shift; the larger historical forces and long-term trends driving those changes; and the theoretical questions, logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas these changes pose for both political journalists and those they cover. The course will equally cover the practice of political reporting, including weekly analysis and discussion of current press coverage, in-class exercises and simulations, readings from academic and journalistic sources, and visits from leading political reporters and former spokespeople able to offer a firsthand perspective on the topics.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate the ability to think like a journalist, in particular: to understand and interpret the elements of a variety of political reporting, and the editorial decision-making process.
- Understand, analyze, and contrast how the press and political actors influence each other, and society at large.
- Compose, evaluate, and assess editorial decisions in real time.
- Interpret and utilize the basic facts about how various political news beats and platforms operate, including congressional, White House, campaign, investigative, local, print, digital, and television journalism.
PUBPOL 3151 - Gender Inequality and Global Policy (3 Credits)
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 states that countries should: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. What is empowerment and how will we know when it has been achieved? Why is gender inequality a problem for countries? In this course, we formulate answers to these questions through an examination of gender and development policy past and present. We unpack different and often competing definitions of 'empowerment' and 'gender equality' deployed in global policy, and understand the historical lineages of development theory and feminisms that led to 'gender' as an important policy consideration. Importantly, students build analytical tools for evaluating how intersectional experiences of gender shape the impact of these policies on the lives of women, girls, and other gender minorities.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe at least three distinct historical movements in gender and development policy and the various feminist theories connected to these movements.
- Discuss current approaches and major debates in women's 'empowerment' across key policy sectors including: economic growth, education, public health, and agriculture.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of historical and contemporary gender policy cases for promoting gender equality.
- Assess SDG 5 as a policy framework for reducing gender inequality globally.
- Synthesize theoretical and empirical evidence into convincing and cohesive written analytical arguments.
PUBPOL 3160 - Labor Markets and Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course provides a survey of labor economics with an emphasis on policy issues. While the course teaches the analytical tools necessary to understand how labor markets work, it is structured around a number of prominent labor market policy issues, such as immigration, inequality, minimum wages, affirmative action and the role of unions.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110, PUBPOL 3100.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply and explain at an introductory level the economic models that relate to labor supply, labor demand, and labor market equilibrium.
- Describe how economic theory and evidence apply to and explain trends in labor force participation, hours of work, and wages.
- Construct, defend, and analyze important labor policy issues.
- Demonstrate proficiency with simple quantitative and economic tools useful in understanding labor markets, labor market institutions and labor market policy designs.
- Comprehend, assess, and critique existing empirical work in labor economics.
PUBPOL 3161 - The American Presidency (4 Credits)
This course will explore and seek explanations for the performance of the 20-21st century presidency, focusing on its institutional and political development, recruitment process (nominations and elections), relationships to social groups, economic forces, and political time. We will also analyze the parameters of foreign & domestic policy making.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2016
PUBPOL 3180 - Health Disparities (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 3180
This course will examine how health disparities are defined and measured, sources of health disparities, and strategies to reduce health disparities. During the course students will learn of the complexities of factors that influence patterns of disease and health at multiple levels by analyzing studies of health outcomes, the social conditions that are related to the health of populations, and some of the mechanisms through which these patterns are produced.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2350.
Enrollment Information: Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2101 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Be able to describe the patterns of health disparities and to explain why these patterns persist over time.
- Be able to compare and contrast mechanisms through which social determinants of health may affect individuals' health status and health care.
- Be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of strategies for reducing health disparities.
- Synthesize research reports to write effective summaries of the causes and consequences of health disparities and develop recommendations for research and policy.
PUBPOL 3189 - Taking America's Pulse: Creating and Conducting a National Opinion Poll (3-4 Credits)
In this course, students will design, conduct, and analyze a national-level public opinion survey. Students will determine all survey questions based on their research interests. All necessary survey research skills will be learned in the class.
Distribution Requirements: (OPHLS-AG, SBA-AG), (SDS-AS, SSC-AS)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2020, Fall 2016, Spring 2015 PUBPOL 3190 - Nonprofits and Public Policy (3 Credits)
The Nonprofit sector plays an important role in society and makes up a growing share of the U.S. economy. In this course, we use economic theory and econometric tools to examine the nonprofit market and how it gets shaped by public policy. Topics covered include theories of the nonprofit market, determinants of charitable giving and volunteering, the role played by religion, competition between nonprofits and for-profits in labor markets, and the effects of taxes, subsidies and regulations.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030 (or equivalent) and PUBPOL 3100 (or an equivalent course in basic econometrics).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the main theories explaining the need for having a nonprofit sector.
- Evaluate whether nonprofits are suitable or needed in different industries.
- Apply and explain intuition behind economic models that describe the public and nonprofit sectors.
- Interpret econometric evidence and evaluate appropriateness of methods to address important question in the sector.
PUBPOL 3200 - International Human Rights (3 Credits)
This course will address major challenges in international human rights law, policy, and practice. Specific topics include children's rights, women's rights, LGBTQI+ rights, the rights of refugees and migrants, the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of minorities and freedom from discrimination, freedom from torture, the right to life, the death penalty, modern slavery, and the right to sustainable development. We will also discuss the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations with respect to human rights, as well as the impact of actions (and inactions) by states and institutions in the Global North on the realization of human rights in states in the Global South.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (D-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework and sources of law (treaties, customary international law, UN institutions and machinery) governing international human rights law and policy, as well as a strong introduction to the substance of many internationally recognized human rights.
- Build a strong foundation regarding the leading human rights challenges facing people around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
- Develop a keen understanding of how international human rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze U.S. legal sources (statutes, regulations, judicial and administrative opinions and guidance) as they relate to international human rights obligations of the U.S.
- Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing human rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular human rights issue in a particular location.
PUBPOL 3210 - Catastrophe, Crisis, and Emergencies: Making Policy in the Middle of Disaster (4 Credits)
Many policy decisions are made in the middle of crisis and disaster, at short notice and under severe pressure. There are a variety of kinds of crises, from natural disasters to human-made ones, from international catastrophes to local ones, from slow-motion crises to split-second ones, and they all require different kinds of policy preparations and responses. To understand this kind of policy, this course will examine a variety of different kinds of crises, how they shaped the responses and the policy-making that came afterwards, and what kind of preparation was put in place for future crises. It will look at crisis leadership, emergency preparations, and disaster responses by examining a number of cases studies of catastrophes both modern and historical.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-AG, SBA-AG), (HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe and discuss the various kinds of disasters and categorize them by type.
- Students will be able to analyze how policymakers have reacted to the various kinds of disasters.
- Students will be able to evaluate how successful various policy approaches have been in preparing for future disasters.
PUBPOL 3230 - Public Policy for an Aging Society (3 Credits)
This course is designed to introduce students to important theories, concepts, and empirical findings in the study of aging and policy, giving them a deeper understanding of the issues people encounter as they grow older. While the course will primarily cover current U.S. policies and trends, we will also discuss some historical aspects and compare to policies found elsewhere.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe key public programs and policies designed to assist older adults and their families.
- Explain how population aging intersects with public polices and related controversies about age-based policy.
- Understand how federal, state, and local policies address policy challenges of caring for an aging population.
- Evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs inherent in current age-based policy.
PUBPOL 3250 - Neighborhoods, Housing, and Urban Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 3250
This course considers the dynamics of housing markets and neighborhoods in American metropolitan areas and the public policies designed to regulate them. In the first part of the course, we examine the social and economic forces at work in metropolitan neighborhoods, focusing on trends in spatial inequality, segregation, and neighborhood effects. In the second part of the course, we examine the historical evolution of federal and local policies related to subsidized housing, homeownership, and land regulation and analyze empirical debates surrounding the effectiveness of such policies.
Prerequisites: one of the following: ECON 1110, GOVT 1111, PUBPOL 2220, PUBPOL 2250, SOC 1101, SOC 2220, or SOC 2070.
Forbidden Overlaps: CRP 3430, PUBPOL 3250, PUBPOL 5250, SOC 3250
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe the origins, evolution, and contemporary challenges of low-income housing policy in the US.
- Students will be able to identify and analyze descriptive data related to neighborhoods and housing.
- Students will be able to apply course concepts to the study of neighborhoods and housing in their local surroundings.
PUBPOL 3251 - Health Equity, Politics and Policy (4 Credits)
COVID-19 did not affect everyone equally. In fact, the opposite is true: the pandemic exposed dramatic health inequities by race, class, gender, and other factors. Not only were some groups more likely to catch and die from the virus than others, these same groups disproportionately suffered from its economic and social fallout, too. In the wake of this devastation, this course examines health (in)equities and what we can do about them. We explore what health equity means and how politics, policy, and power shape it -- both over time and across countries. Students will investigate how a wide range of social determinants (in addition to public health and health care systems) configure differences in health status across demographic groups. Three key touchstones of the class will be (1) a series of deep dives into specific policy areas, such as housing and environmental health, maternal and child health, and mental health and well-being (2) a consistent emphasis on politics, markets, and power (3) substantive opportunities for students to actively engage in health equity efforts beyond the classroom.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (SCD-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2023, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 3260 - Sexuality Law and Policy (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with FGSS 3260
This course will explore how American law and policy have confronted and continue to confront issues of sexuality. The focus will primarily be on how law and policy treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. While 2015 brought marriage equality and 2020 brought federal protections in employment, the fight for full LGBTQ equality continues. The class will discuss this fight's legal history and current status. Current debates, Constitutional and otherwise, will also be explored around topics such as the First Amendment and LGBTQ family formation. The potential effects that the 2022 abortion rights decision may have on LGBTQ rights will also be addressed. This course will provide a grounding in the contours of current sexuality law and policy while delving into some emerging areas that remain ripe for new policy formation. Students will also learn how to read and brief legal opinions. The class will be taught primarily through a legal lens. Still, prior legal education or experience is neither required nor expected. The course will be taught through a hybrid combination of lecture and seminar-style discussion and a few guest speakers directly involved in the debate.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (D-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2024, Summer 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will explain and apply the fundamental principles of the law as they impact LGBTQ lives. These include constitutional doctrines (e.g., liberty, equality, expression, and religious exercise), nondiscrimination (in employment, healthcare, and school), and family law.
- Students will describe the history of LGBTQ efforts toward achieving legal rights and some of the theoretical, political, and social implications of these efforts.
- Students will interpret the evolution of judicial understandings of sexual orientation and gender identity over time.
PUBPOL 3270 - Constitutional Law: An Introduction (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 3271
In this course, we will examine one of the most important documents in American history - our Constitution. Course topics will include the historical background of the document from the Magna Carta to the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. We will look at the creation of the Constitution, including the conflict between strong supporters of this proposed new Constitution (Federalists) and their opponents (Anti-Federalists). How did the Founders resolve their differences and what led the States to adopt a document limiting and balancing the powers of the President, Congress, and the Judiciary? We shall look at the constant tension (from the beginning to the present) over the balance of power between the three co-equal branches. We shall discuss the role of the Constitution from both empirical and theoretical perspectives and look at how it has evolved from 1788 to the present day. Special attention will be paid to the use of Amendments, particularly the Bill of Rights, to address events/circumstances unforeseen by the drafters. Finally, the course will discuss critical cases where the Supreme Court defined and redefined what the Constitution meant.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-AG, SBA-AG), (HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify key stakeholders in the formulation of the Constitution.
- Students will identify and discuss key cases in controversy in which the Supreme Court ruled to establish clear parameters on how the Constitution has been interpreted for more than 200 years with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights.
- Students will analyze why the Constitution remains such an important aspect an influence in American daily life.
- (graduate students) Assess the scholarly understanding of the role of the Constitution and Constitutional Law in American politics and policy.
PUBPOL 3280 - Fundamentals of Population Health (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with GDEV 3280
Population health focuses on the health and well-being of entire populations. Populations may be geographically defined, such as neighborhoods or counties; may be based on groups of individuals who share common characteristics such as age, race-ethnicity, disease status, or socioeconomic status; or may be specific patient groups attributed to accountable healthcare organizations using a variety of methods. With roots in epidemiology, public health, and demography, key tools of population health include health measurement, risk stratification, chronic care management, identifying upstream social determinants of health, cross-sector collaboration to improve prevention and wellness, and increasing health equity. Given the shifting health care environment - from fee-for-service to value-based care - students who are able to apply tools to measure analyze, evaluate, and improve the health of populations (and achieve the Triple Aim) will be well-positioned for jobs in health care, health policy, public health, and medicine (among others) as the field continues to evolve.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: at least one of the following GDEV 2200, HD 1150, HD 1170, HD 2180, PUBPOL 2030, PUBPOL 2100, PUBPOL 2208, PUBPOL 2300, PUBPOL 2350, PSYCH 1101, SOC 1101.
Forbidden Overlaps: GDEV 3280, PUBPOL 3280, PUBPOL 5280
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply a population health and health equity perspective to problem solving.
- Calculate and use for decision-making, key population health metrics and methods.
- Leverage publicly available social, place, demographic, and health data to analyze the health of a local community.
- Analyze claims data to identify high cost patients and build tailored care teams to support patient needs.
- Recommend population health management practices (i.e., risk stratification, care coordination, complex care management, patient engagement, cross-sector collaboration), population health delivery models (e.g., medical homes, telehealth), and payment models (e.g., capitation; Medicaid waivers), to achieve the Triple Aim.
- Consider different perspectives and demonstrate multicultural competence and inclusive communication while working in diverse groups or sharing in Discussion posts.
- Explain how structural racism contributes to observed health disparities and apply a health equity framework to class projects and discussions.
PUBPOL 3290 - Cybercrime (3 Credits)
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring societal, business, financial, technological, ethical, and policy implications of technology-related crimes. We examine crimes against individuals, businesses, governments, and threats to public safety and national security. Questions explored include: What is cybercrime? Who commits cybercrime and why? Are Deep Fakes a real threat? Is there actual crime in virtual reality? What tools and techniques are used to enable and prevent cybercrime? What impact does cybercrime have on business, and how can businesses detect, prevent, and communicate regarding, internal and external cybercrime threats? When are business leaders liable for failing to prevent cyber-attacks? What is the right balance between online privacy and security, free speech and protection from harassment/abuse, anonymity and transparency? How are international cybercrimes investigated and prosecuted? What is the impact of AI and machine learning on cybercrime? What are the considerations for sentencing cybercriminals? Do current laws provide the right amount of protection, or are new laws and policies needed as technology changes? Who should decide these questions and how?
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of various types of cybercrime, including traditional crimes using technology as a tool (i.e., theft, fraud, crimes against persons), as well as crimes targeting technology as the means of attack (i.e., ransomware, system outages, etc.)
- Evaluate policies, standards, regulations, and laws that seek to identify, investigate and address cybercrime.
- Assess challenges and techniques related to investigating and prosecuting cybercrime, including policy implications related to privacy, human rights, and security concerns.
- Analyze benefits and issues regarding public-private collaboration in the U.S. and internationally to address cybercrime.
- Examine emerging cybercrime threats, and policy implications, related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), the Internet of Things (IoT), deepfakes, and digital currencies (crypto).
PUBPOL 3300 - Cost-Benefit Analysis (4 Credits)
In-depth treatment of methods for public policy analysis. The course focuses on cost-benefit analysis, a method grounded in microeconomics and applied welfare economics. Topics include market failures; willingness to pay; opportunity costs; discounting future costs and benefits; handling uncertainty and risk; incorporating distributional impacts; methods to value a statistical life; and methods to value environmental quality and other non-market goods. Numerous examples are taken from a variety of policy areas, including crime, education, health, welfare, and regulation.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 2300.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain how to conduct cost-benefit analysis of government projects.
- Calculate the discounted present value of future costs and benefits.
- Evaluate distributional effects of public policies.
- Apply uncertainty and risk to policy analysis.
- Explain how to evaluate non-market activities such as environmental policy and the value of a statistical life.
PUBPOL 3310 - Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (1 Credit)
This course will examine the various manifestations of modern slavery and other forms of severe labor exploitation that persist in the world today, including human trafficking, bonded labor, forced labor, and child labor. The social and economic forces that promote slavery will be analyzed, as well as an examination of how global supply chains are tainted by severe labor exploitation. The course will further probe the nexus of migration, gender-based violence, poverty, and the exploitation of minority communities in the context of modern slavery. National and international policy and legal frameworks meant to eliminate these offenses will be assessed. The course will also explore slavery in the past to better understand how and why slavery persists in the modern era.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
PUBPOL 3320 - Mental Health Care Delivery and Policy (3 Credits)
Mental illnesses are common in the United States. More than 1 in 5 adults (greater than 50 million people) live with a mental health illness and 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) will have experienced a seriously debilitating mental illness in their lifetime. Yet, less than half of those who need treatment receive it: Depression is the leading cause of disability, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14, and unmet mental health needs have profound long-term consequences including reductions in overall health and quality of life; substance use and addiction; family disruption; criminal justice system involvement; homelessness; unemployment and productivity losses; and early preventable mortality. This course provides an overview of the state of mental health in the United States with a focus on the drivers of mental well-being, mental illness, and mental health inequities. We will examine how mental health practice and policy can improve (or impede) community mental well-being, quality of mental health care, and mental health outcomes for those experiencing mental illness. Intentional focus will be given to topics such as stigma, historical trauma, and racism in addition to the importance of culturally intentional and patient-centered evidence-based care in order to collectively envision healthier and more equitable futures.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2350 and/or PUBPOL 3280.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Define mental health and poor mental health including mental illness and disability.
- Describe the overall burden of mental illness in the US and its drivers, consequences, evidence-based treatment best practices, and historical and contemporary mental health policy.
- Working in pairs or trios, demonstrate the competencies described in #2 by co-authoring a 4-stage research project, including a 5-minute lightning talk, for an instructor-approved mental health issue and population of their choosing.
- Use Photovoice as a personal lens for critical reflection on historical and contemporary mental health structures and inequities to envision mentally healthier futures for all.
- Consider different perspectives and demonstrate multicultural competence and inclusive communication while working in diverse groups in class.
PUBPOL 3330 - Children's Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This class explores the most pressing legal and policy dilemmas in the field of children's rights. We will take a U.S. and international law approach to major topics including: protection from child abuse and neglect; alternative care and adoption; juvenile justice, police and community violence; education rights, including the rights of children with disabilities; internet freedoms and dangers, including cyberbullying and pornography; health and medical decision-making; sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking; the rights of refugee and immigrant children; child poverty; the right to a sustainable environment; and issues of child voice, including children's rights to participate in the political process and the ethical obligations governing the legal representation of children.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze and apply U.S. and international legal sources.
- Build a strong foundation regarding the leading children's rights issue facing children and teens in the U.S. and around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
- Develop a keen understanding of how children's rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
- Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing children's rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular children's rights issue in a particular location.
- Develop communication and political strategy and advocacy skills necessary to persuade relevant (fictional) policymakers to adopt the policy proposal developed in 5 above.
PUBPOL 3340 - Corporations, Shareholders, and Policy (3 Credits)
Uses economic analysis to study the interaction of the market, the corporation, and the law and how these interactions affect the well-being of shareholders and consumers. Examines the costs and benefits of the corporate form of organization. The legal institutions defining the corporation, such as limited liability and shareholder voting, are analyzed along with regulations governing these institutions. A particular focus is mechanisms that control the behavior of managers. Those mechanisms include hostile takeovers, insider trading, outside directors on the board, the role of large investors, and executive compensation plans. Additional topics include government ownership of corporations and nonprofit enterprises.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 2101, or equivalents.
Enrollment Information: Not open to: first-year students.
Distribution Requirements: (QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of what a publicly traded corporation is, how it is organized, why it exists, its benefits and costs to society, how it is governed, controlled, and regulated, and its broader role in society.
- The course will refine the student's knowledge of the structure and effect of the law and policy surrounding the public corporation.
- Students will be better equipped to understand policy controversies surrounding the corporation.
- The course will students an improved appreciation for the role and importance of alternative organizational forms, including private partnerships, mutuals, and non-profit enterprises.
PUBPOL 3360 - Evolving Families: Challenges to Public Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 3360
Examines the social institution of the family, challenges to the institution's well-being and stability, and the role of public policy in these transformations. Topics include family structure and responsibilities; marriage as a traditional building block of the family and challenges to the institution of marriage, including divorce, nonmarital childbearing, cohabitation, and same-sex unions; children, and the impact of family change on their wellbeing, including the effects of child poverty, maternal employment, and paternal involvement. The role of public policy in managing and shaping these developments is discussed.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2250 or SOC 1101 or DSOC 1101.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the demographic changes affecting family functioning, and the public policies designed to address these changes.
- Compare how family demographics are similar to and different from those in other developed countries.
- Analyze current public policies designed to address family change; assess targets of opportunity for policy change that might better address the demographic reality of particular groups; identify areas in need of additional policy focus.
PUBPOL 3380 - Markets, Policy and Sustainability (3 Credits)
This course is a survey of environmental economics and policy, covering both general models and specific applications. We learn how economists estimate the demand for environmental goods and services and the costs of preserving them, and then study the efficient extraction of oil and minerals, economics of pollution control, climate change, fisheries, forests, and endangered species. We also cover the intersection of international trade and environmental regulation, as well as sustainability.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110 and at least two field courses in applied microeconomics offered in any department on campus.
Forbidden Overlaps: PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970, ECON 3850
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand market failures most relevant to environmental policy (externalities, public goods, common property) and the role of policies intended to address these market failures.
- Interpret and use models of efficient pollution control and natural resource management.
- Distill basic information from peer-reviewed economics journal articles focusing on environmental policy, and interpret economic content in media articles on environmental policy and management.
- Effectively communicate principles of market-based environmental policy to others.
- Model respectful disagreement using reasoned economic arguments with appropriate support.
PUBPOL 3400 - The Economics of Consumer Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3610
Familiarizes students with the economic analysis of consumer policy issues. Uses the tools of microeconomic analysis to investigate the interaction between government and the marketplace, with an emphasis on how that interaction affects consumers. Examines the rationale for and effects of regulation of industry. Considers alternative theories of regulation, including the capture, economic, and public interest theories. Applies those theories to specific types of regulation, including economic regulation of specific industries (e.g., telecommunications, electricity, trucking, railroads, postal services) as well as to broader social regulation (e.g., health, safety, environmental). The effects of regulatory reform in numerous industries are also examined. An attempt is made to examine current topics relating to consumer policy.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 (or equivalent) or with instructor permission.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe specific consumer protection regulations in place in a variety of markets; compare policies across markets and across government jurisdictions.
- Use concepts from information economics and behavioral economics to explain the rationale for specific types of consumer protection regulations.
- Analyze the predicted efficiency and distributional consequences of consumer protection regulations, using the tools of microeconomics.
- Use empirical evidence to critically analyze the performance of regulations.
PUBPOL 3410 - Economics of Consumer Protection and the Law (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3830
The course will focus on how legal rules and regulations impact consumers in the marketplace. A significant portion of this course will focus on how developments in tort law, contract law, property law, and regulatory law influence social welfare and serve to protect consumers in their interactions with the marketplace. The course will also focus on how the federal regulatory agencies function and analyze the effectiveness of these agencies in protecting consumers. The course will focus specifically on the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission. In addition to students interested in public policy and economics, the course can be helpful to students who are interested in attending law school as students will get exposed to many of the concepts they will address in a first year law school curriculum.
Prerequisites: coursework in introductory microeconomics and intermediate microeconomics.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE), (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SSC-AS)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will acquire the skills necessary to assess, analyze and explain the key roles that lawyers play in society.
- Students will acquire the skills necessary to assess, analyze, and explain how the legal and regulatory system influences product safety and consumer outcomes.
- Students will acquire the skills necessary to identify and evaluate the unintended consequences of many of the regulations that exist in our economic system.
- Students will acquire the skills necessary to analyze and evaluate how the FDA and FTC function with respect to protecting consumers in the marketplace.
PUBPOL 3430 - Legislative Negotiation (4 Credits)
This 4 credit course focuses specifically on legislative negotiations. Effective legislative negotiations share much in common with negotiations that arise in other settings. At the same time, there are key differences. Legislative bodies are generally governed by internal rules, guidelines and precedents. Politics and policy directly impact the negotiations process. There can also be an especially broad array of stakeholders and principals. Gridlock and paralysis have been hallmarks of legislative negotiations, particularly in recent times. Less well known is the fact that some deals are still getting done that usually keep the country running and, in some cases, address important problems facing the nation.This course will provide the opportunity to analyze critical negotiations techniques and strategies and apply them primarily through simulations, role playing, and case analysis in the legislative context. Key skills will include negotiation tactics, design and set up. In this class, you will have the opportunity to sharpen your negotiation skills and come away with a better understanding of the tools and dynamics of legislative negotiations and how to increase the chances of success in an often polarized environment.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Learning Outcomes:
- Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to identify and apply the factors that contribute to effective legislative negotiations described in the course goals. They should also have further developed their oral advocacy and information gathering skills in this context.
- Through experiential learning, students will also refine their ability to successfully apply negotiation techniques and strategies to real world legislative problems.
- Grad students will have analyzed the scholarly understanding of the process of legislative negotiation.
PUBPOL 3450 - Democracy Promotion in Modern U.S. Foreign Policy (3 Credits)
Promotion and support of democracy is a well-established principle of U.S. foreign policy. However, even four decades after its insertion into Washington's approach overseas, it is misunderstood and still under challenge, internally within the U.S. Government and from external actors. In this course, the modern origins of democracy support, or promotion, will be examined, beginning with the values-based focus of the Carter Administration's foreign policy leading into its Cold War use in the Reagan presidency. The development of bipartisan democracy promotion through succeeding Administrations up to the challenges under Donald Trump and the Biden Administration's response, including the Summit for Democracy process, will be examined. Real-world applications and connections will be central. How democracy assistance is conducted and how it is perceived will be a focus of the course. Course participants will discuss the relationship between democracy promotion and its distinction with human rights and the concept of democracy prevention as a response by external actors to democracy promotion.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Underline the motivations behind and identify individuals who led the transition towards values-based support of democracy and human rights in U.S. foreign policy, and be able to discuss/summarize the early arguments pro and con for its inclusion.
- Analyze, interpret, and model policy initiatives related to Washington's democracy support and human rights practice.
- Explain and assess democracy assistance in light of the U.S. national elections in 2024.
- Formulate, revise, or predict support for democracy and human rights in future U.S. foreign policy.
PUBPOL 3460 - Culture, Law, and Politics of Information Policy (3 Credits)
This course will address a wide range of information policy issues and their relationship to governance, government, and governmentality. While focused primarily on American political culture, it will include some international comparisons, particularly in areas such as privacy (both government surveillance and consumer), anti-trust, and regulatory compliance. We will also discuss information security, intellectual property, algorithmic fairness, (dis)misinformation, and, with emphasis, content moderation of social media platforms. Course outcomes will include familiarity with law and policy of the internet; a foundational understanding the market, social, legal, and technical dynamics that shape information policy; and, finally, how those dynamics affect the U.S. political landscape.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
PUBPOL 3470 - Inside Elections (2 Credits)
The course explores the organization, structure, elements and strategic imperatives involved in the 2024 Presidential and congressional elections. Students will learn the inner dynamics of both the Republican and Democratic campaigns. The course will analyze, in real time, the state of play in the 2024 election including caucuses and critical multi-state primaries. Students will learn the roles of campaign staff; how campaigns are financed; the electoral battleground; data analytics; and the unique dynamics of the 2024 election as it unfolds. Each session will feature bipartisan guest lecturers drawn from presidential and congressional campaigns. Students will be expected to track a specific candidate and analyze and assess that candidate's strengths and weaknesses at various points during the semester.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze how presidential and congressional campaigns are organized and structured.
- Discover how campaigns develop strategic battlegrounds and pursue operational goals within corresponding electorates.
- Develop the skills needed to work on a presidential/congressional campaign in order to explore career paths.
PUBPOL 3471 - Inside the Presidential Election and Transition (1 Credit)
The 2024 presidential and congressional elections will be the most important in recent memory. In a highly polarized environment, against a backdrop of often shallow punditry and sound bites, this course will provide real-time analysis of the elections; and provide students with a deep understanding of the structure, organization, and strategic imperatives of the presidential and congressional elections. It will also analyze the presidential transition and the reorganization of a new Congress.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students participating in the Cornell in Washington Program. Primarily for: students pursuing careers related to the worlds of politics and public service.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze how presidential and congressional campaigns are organized and structured.
- Discover how campaigns develop strategic battlegrounds and pursue operational goals within corresponding electorates.
- Examine and comprehend the operations and dynamics of the presidential transition and the reorganization of a newly elected House and Senate.
- Develop the skills needed to work on a presidential/congressional campaign in order to explore career paths.
PUBPOL 3480 - Sustainability Education Policy in the U.S. and Ecuador (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with LATA 3481
This course connects Cornell and USFQ students to study Sustainability Education Policy in the U.S. and Ecuador. Focusing on UN SDG 4, the course includes collaborative research, international exchange, and direct engagement with local educators and policymakers to address global education challenges and promote sustainable development.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes:
- Critically analyze and evaluate education policies in the US and Ecuador, with a specific focus on how these policies align with and support the goals of UN SDG4 (Quality Education).
- Assess and compare strategies aimed at promoting equity and inclusion within the educational systems of the US and Ecuador, identifying best practices and areas for improvement.
- Engage in effective fieldwork with education policy organizations and schools in Quito, Ecuador, including the ability to collaborate with local stakeholders, understand cultural contexts, and apply theoretical knowledge to practical challenges.
- Interpret personal intercultural experience from the perspectives of more than one worldview and demonstrate the ability to act in a supportive and sensitive manner that recognizes the feelings of other cultural groups or communities.
PUBPOL 3490 - Housing Equity Lab (3 Credits)
In this course, we will work to transform research into action that advances housing affordability, equity, and sustainability. Student teams will work on projects identified by community partners and policy stakeholders to conduct research that informs housing policies and programs at local, state, and national levels. Students will develop analytic research skills while learning to communicate and collaborate with a diverse set of policy stakeholders, including those with lived experiences of housing injustice.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to collect and analyze primary and secondary data related to housing and housing policy.
- Students will be able to critically examine housing policy issues using an equity framework.
- Students will be able to identify and critique the features of, and connections between, federal, state, and local housing policies.
- Students will be able to collaborate respectfully and ethically with various policy stakeholders, including those with lived experiences of housing injustice.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively about policy issues across diverse viewpoints in written and oral formats.
PUBPOL 3510 - United We Stand - Divided We Fall: The Rise of Polarization and Social Division - and What it Means (4 Credits)
When did bipartisan become a bad word? Should we unfriend and unfollow people who have different opinions than our own? How did we become a country that grows more polarized and divided every year? Most importantly, can we change, or are we destined to continue down this path?
Distribution Requirements: (HA-AG, SBA-AG), (HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify and describe long term trends, key individuals, and events impacting politics in the U.S.
- Students will analyze the impacts of those key individuals and events and discuss how those impacts are likely to affect future U.S. politics.
- Students will formulate possible strategies to reinforce, or alter, current trends within the U.S.
- Students will research and synthesize the scholarly understanding of specific aspects of polarization (graduate students).
PUBPOL 3520 - Economic and Policy Implications of Artificial Intelligence (3 Credits)
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) brings both great promise and daunting challenges for the future of humanity. This course examines the impacts of AI from an economist's perspective. We will present the economic framework conventionally used for thinking about technology in the macroeconomy and extend it to analyze the implications of AI. A special focus will be on the disparate labor market consequences of AI and policy measures to address these challenges. Additionally, we will explore, at a more micro-level, the issues of machine bias and algorithmic fairness and discuss the policy implications.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3100 (or equivalent) and MATH 1110 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-AG, SBA-AG), (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Use an economic framework to analyze AI's impacts on growth and labor markets.
- Describe recent labor market trends resulting from technological progress.
- Understand and discuss the issues of machine bias and algorithmic fairness.
- Critically assess academic studies on the economic effects of AI.
- Propose informed policy recommendations on harnessing the benefits of AI while minimizing potential harms.
PUBPOL 3530 - Child Welfare in the United States: Challenges, Policy, and Practice (3 Credits)
An introduction to the U.S. Child Welfare System. Topics to be covered include legislation that has shaped child welfare practice, the impact on children of abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption, including the long-term outcomes for children in residential treatment centers in congregate care facilities.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the status and history of the U.S. child welfare system.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant provisions of the legislation that have shaped child welfare practice.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the differential treatment of children of color in the U.S. child welfare system.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how social issues such as poverty, violence, drug abuse, and homelessness impact children and their families leading to state intervention, and out-of-home placement.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ children in the foster care system.
PUBPOL 3550 - Economics of Education (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3760
The economics of education is about understanding how and why people make decisions to invest in education, the effect of education on long-term social and economic outcomes, the behavior of those institutions that produce education, and how best to design and implement public policies affecting the level and distribution of education resources. The basic tools of economics provide a framework to evaluate education policies including K-12 school finance, student financial aid, and college admissions. Throughout the course, there will be an emphasis on examining empirical tests of the economic theory and measuring the effects of policy initiatives on educational outcomes.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 3100.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2018, Spring 2016
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply the tools of economic analysis to assess core education policies.
- Differentiate between human capital and signaling models.
- Interpret empirical results from research papers as they relate to policy.
- Describe endogeneity issues in empirical research papers.
PUBPOL 3560 - Market Design for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course introduces students to public policy applications of game theory and market design, including (i) matching algorithms for assignment problems such as school choice, public housing allocation, kidney exchange, refugee resettlement, and labor markets; (ii) auction design for allocation of natural resources, public radio spectrum, emission permits, and government procurement; (iii) platform/exchange design for online markets.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110 (or equivalent) or PUBPOL 5210 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe public policy applications of game theory and market design.
- Analyze public policy interventions by considering the strategic behavior of economic agents.
- Assess the ethical and equity implications of different market designs and policy interventions.
- Communicate economic research findings effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
PUBPOL 3583 - Comparative Public Policy: Political Pathways to Equality (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 3583
Why do some countries offer universal health care coverage, free higher education, or personal financial security, while others do not? What explains the alternative national approaches to similar global challenges, such as those posed by climate change, the gig economy, or migration? This course explores how the public policy strategies adopted in the United States compare to those adopted in other affluent democracies - through the lens of socio-economic inequality. Examining how different countries confront the same issue allows us to identify the policies that redress it, how their content can vary, and why so. The course therefore underscores the reason for these differences: politics and government. Together, we will examine the multiple political pathways to creating public policy across these societies, as well as their effects on the people that live in them.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG), (SCD-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023
PUBPOL 3590 - Environmental Justice and Policy (3 Credits)
Environmental justice, as defined by the U.S. EPA, refers to the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all individuals-regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability-in agency decision-making and federal activities that impact human health and the environment. This principle ensures that all people are protected from disproportionate and adverse effects on their health and environment, including risks related to climate change, cumulative environmental burdens, and the legacy of racism and systemic barriers. It also emphasizes equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment for living, playing, working, learning, growing, worshipping, and engaging in cultural and subsistence practices (U.S. EPA, 2024). This hands-on seminar course explores key topics, policies, and themes in environmental justice, focusing on the disproportionate impacts of climate change and related adaptation and mitigation efforts, particularly on vulnerable groups, communities of color, and Indigenous communities. Additionally, the course examines policy drivers and levers that can create opportunities for meaningful change in the future.
Enrollment Information: Primarily for: upper-level undergraduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize and explain the connections and intersections between inequality (social, economic, political) and environmental quality/sustainability.
- Illustrate and express why certain social groups and geographic communities are systematically overburdened with pollution and other environmental hazards.
- Relate concepts like environmental (in) justice, environmental racism, and racial capitalism to real people and communities through in-depth readings, course discussions, and engagement with community organizations.
- Give examples of the root causes of environmental injustices.
- Understand the history of environmental justice and identify key questions and obstacles to meeting goals of environmental justice.
PUBPOL 3600 - Economics of Crime (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3255
This course surveys topics in crime and crime prevention, with a focus on thinking critically about empirical evidence. The first part of the course briefly introduces an economic model of crime and reviews relevant empirical methods. The remainder of the course is spent discussing a range of crime-related topics, including policing, incarceration, employment, drugs & alcohol, firearms, education, and health. Students will consider trade-offs to different crime prevention policies and gain experience framing and summarizing evidence for policymakers.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 3100 or equivalent courses in the Economics Department.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Critically read and evaluate empirical research and claims related to crime.
- Recognize and assess trade-offs in crime policy.
- Apply a theoretical economic framework to understand the levers affecting a person's propensity to engage in crime.
PUBPOL 3610 - Law, Economics, and Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course examines the policy-making roles of legislatures, courts, and executive agencies. How do different branches of government make policy? What makes good evidence for policy decisions? How do each of these branches consider and use empirical evidence? How can various approaches such as traditional law and economics or behavioral law and economics help us understand the potential impacts of a policy? In this course, we will consider these questions and more as part of our inquiry into the interplay between law, economics, and public policy. Using real-world case studies, we will trace the evolution of policies from state legislatures to Congress to their interpretations by federal agencies and the judiciary. Students will critically evaluate empirical research and use the tools of microeconomic theory to understand and assess policy effectiveness and unintended consequences. This course is designed for students interested in law, public policy, economics and the role of empirical evidence and economic theory in shaping policy-making.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030.
Enrollment Information: Recommended prerequisite: Introductory statistics or econometrics.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the policy-making roles of legislatures, courts, and executive agencies, and explain how these branches interact in shaping laws and regulations.
- Analyze how empirical evidence is used in policy debates, assessing its strengths, limitations, and influence on decision-making.
- Apply theoretical frameworks from law and economics to predict the potential effects of policy decisions.
- Evaluate the effectiveness and unintended consequences of policies by critically assessing empirical research and case studies.
PUBPOL 3615 - Sustainable Finance: Southeast Asia and Global Perspectives (3 Credits)
Climate change presents a dilemma. Under the Paris Agreement, countries of the world committed to the goal of limiting warming to no more than two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. Scientists have warned that exceeding the threshold would increase the risks of heatwaves, drought, and extreme weather. Achieving the target, however, requires collective efforts to reduce emissions. Households, businesses, and governments would have to radically shift to cleaner energy supply and greener activities, which will take a great deal of financial resources. Sustainable finance attempts to address this challenge by integrating finance as a discipline into the sustainability framework. Designed for policy students, this course considers the perspectives of policymakers rather than business actors in navigating the green transition. Case studies will be drawn primarily from Southeast Asia, which is considered one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, although much of the framework is also applicable to other regions around the globe.
Prerequisites: introductory coursework in economics and finance, along with basic proficiency in Excel.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Identify the state of climate change in Southeast Asia and around the globe.
- Recognize the role of government, and the limit thereof, in addressing climate change.
- Evaluate the feasibility of government financing (i.e., taxation) in the green transition.
- Identify private financing mechanisms and apply techniques to evaluate their efficacy.
- Identify policy interventions (and potential unintended consequences) to mobilize private financing in the transition.
PUBPOL 3620 - Population Controversies in Europe (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 3620
Population problems are central to societal change in numerous areas- inequality, immigration and diversity, race relations, family life, health and aging, and social welfare systems. This class explores the causes and consequences of population change, paying particular attention to how population processes interact with the social, economic, and political context in which they play out. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary debates unfolding in Europe, how population problems are defined, and the policies intended to solve them.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: SOC 1101, and GDEV 2010 or PUBPOL 2030.
Course Fee: Course Fee, $800. Fee amount approximate, $700 to $800 for lodging. Students responsible for own travel and food expenses.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-ITL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Develop cognitive skill: increase understanding of social scientific perspectives on the causes and consequences of population change. Evaluate models of explanations for population changing, including fertility and family building, migration and immigration, morbidity and mortality, and aging, comparing the United States with European countries, and drawing from approaches in demography, sociology, and economics.
- Evaluate current social and political processes: critically assess existing policies on immigration and immigrant adaptation, family well-being, Poverty, aging, and work-family balance, and develop empirical and cost/benefit tools to evaluate their impacts.
- Collect and analyze data: assignments require use and examination of census data from across different countries, and uses basic descriptive statistical tools.
- Improve professional writing skills: assignments require writing oriented toward professional audiences, including demographic descriptions, a comparative paper, and a policy brief.
- Develop interpersonal skills: group discussions; group-based presentation of supplemental reading increase oral communication and interpersonal relationship skills.
PUBPOL 3650 - Social Care Navigation to Advance Health Equity (3 Credits)
Unmet health related social needs (HRSN) – such as unstable housing, food insecurity, and lack of reliable transportation – exacerbate poor health. Health care organizations are increasingly screening patients for unmet HRSNs and collaborating with local community-based organizations (CBOs) to address patient social needs to deliver whole-person care and advance health equity. Critical to the screen-and-refer process are trained community members – patient social care navigators – who contact patients who screen positive for one or more HRSN and connect patients to local CBOs to meet those needs. In this course, students will develop and practice in the classroom the skills that navigators in the field use to work collaboratively with patients, participating clinician practices, community health workers, and not-for-profit organizations to provide social care navigation to patients to improve health outcomes and health equity of Tompkins County residents.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Define social determinants of health (SDOH) and demonstrate understanding of how they shape health outcomes.
- Analyze promising policies and practices nationally and locally to address health inequities by integrating clinical and social care (e.g. social needs screening and referral infrastructure, data interoperability systems, reimbursement for social care services through health insurance).
- Describe principles of trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches to care and actively put those principles into practice during role playing.
- Identify and propose solutions to barriers to care such as stigma, structural racism, access, lack of medical system integration, etc.
- Work collaboratively with an engaged course partner to support improvements in local social care navigation networks.
PUBPOL 3660 - Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Public Policy (3 Credits)
In 2008, a new sector of technological opportunities emerged through the advent of cryptocurrency and blockchain with wide-reaching implications. In this course, we will examine the different types of cryptocurrencies, the underlying technology of blockchain, and the implications they have on public policy. To do so, we will go through a few steps, including a simulation of managing and updating a cryptocurrency portfolio. This will offer a unique opportunity to experience the different types of digital assets, custody solutions for digital assets, and the decentralized nature of the technology that drives data science and tech policies. In addition, you will learn about different types of cryptocurrencies and how they drive financial inclusivity through social policies to reduce inequality. Furthermore, you will analyze the process and operation of Bitcoin mining and its impact on sustainability and environmental policies. Other topics you will examine include blockchain's pseudo-anonymity, decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), different types of tokens (e.g. non-fungible tokens and stablecoins), central bank digital currencies, the metaverse, and general regulations around the sector. Each of these areas impacts policy, politics, and economics. At the end of the course, you will write a policy paper on cryptocurrency and blockchain, explain the implications it has on public policy, and present your findings in class.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain the fundamentals of cryptocurrency and blockchain and the implications on public policy.
- Describe how to access, trade, and custody decentralized digital assets and their impact on data science and tech policies.
- Analyze the different types of social policies for cryptocurrency that drive financial inclusivity and reduce inequality.
- Identify the opportunities and risks involved with Bitcoin mining and the implications on sustainability and environmental policies.
- Develop a framework for the politics and economics of Web 3.0 and the emerging opportunities that lie ahead.
PUBPOL 3670 - Economics and Environmental Policy (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3850
Introduction to the use of economics as a tool in forming and evaluating environmental policy, with a focus on how economists measure effects of environmental quality and regulation. Topics include: externalities in an environmental context; regulation methods such as command and control, Pigouvian taxation, and cap and trade; methods for measuring the costs and benefits of environmental policy; overview of current environmental legislation; environmental quality and health; regulation and environmental justice.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110.
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 4510, ECON 3850, ECON 3865, PUBPOL 3380/5380, PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students. Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2100 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE), (SSC-AS)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain the reasons for market failure in the presence of externalities in an environmental context.
- Students will be able to identify common methods of government intervention in environmental regulation, and explain relative strengths and weaknesses in the context of both social efficiency and equity.
- Students will be able to discuss and evaluate methods used to measure the economic effects of environmental quality and various environmental policies.
- Students will be able to address the common trade-offs between equity and efficiency in environmental policy, including environmental justice.
PUBPOL 3680 - Towards a Policy of Democratic Unity (3 Credits)
Democratic leaders are increasingly concerned with authoritarian attempts to alter long-established values and interests of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Questions as to the abuse of Interpol against dissidents, the harsh reaction by China to WHO attempts to address the pandemic, and the rejection by Russia of its international obligations bring new policy questions but also solutions to this topic. As the international liberal order framework of the last 75 years shows its age, the question of which nations and value systems will shape the world for the next 75 years becomes more pressing. Are democracies capable of jointly addressing this challenge? How far do democratic alliances go before national interests take charge? In this course, students will draw upon real-life case studies and scenarios through interaction with diplomats, civil society, and other practitioners in this arena. Students in this course will be equipped to shape the debate of a framework of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy for the future and present their ideas through the use of a structured debate as a final project.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Critique and debate the ability of democracies to pushback against expanding authoritarianism.
- Revise or propose a new narrative for concerted action by democracy to protect human rights and democracy in the multilateral system.
- Differentiate between reforms and attempts to replacement of universal values of human rights and the rule of law.
- Compare and contrast strategies to promote universal human rights.
PUBPOL 3710 - Migration: Histories, Controversies, and Perspectives (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ILRGL 3810, LSP 3810, SOC 3820, AMST 3800
This introductory course introduces students to issues and debates related to international migration and will provide an interdisciplinary foundation to understanding the factors that shape migration flows and migrant experiences. We will start by reviewing theories of the state and historical examples of immigrant racialization and exclusion in the United States and beyond. We will critically examine the notions of borders, citizenship/non-citizenship, and the creation of diasporas. Students will also hear a range of perspectives by exposing them to Cornell guest faculty who do research and teach on migration across different disciplines and methodologies and in different world areas. Examples include demographic researchers concerned with immigrant inequality and family formation, geographic perspectives on the changing landscapes of immigrant metropolises, legal scholarship on the rights of immigrant workers, and the study of immigrant culture from a feminist studies lens. Offered each fall semester.
Enrollment Information: Open to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (AWI-IL, ICE-IL), (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 3720 - Addiction Medicine Practice and Policy (3 Credits)
A community-engaged addiction medicine course that draws from experts in the field to address the neurobiology of addiction, risk and protective factors for substance misuse and disorder, barriers to treatment such as stigma, the recovery continuum, and a focus on drug policy and law in historical and contemporary context. Students will work in teams to complete a community engaged project and field trips will be offered. This course is geared toward future clinicians, policy makers, healthcare leaders, data analysts, and engaged citizens who care about human wellbeing and health equity.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2300 or PUBPOL 2350 or PUBPOL 3280.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-AG, KCM-AG), (HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Define addiction as a chronic relapsing medical condition.
- Describe the epidemiology of substance use, misuse, and abuse for a given substance (e.g. incidence, prevalence, trends including inequities, costs, and morbidity and mortality).
- Identify and propose solutions to barriers to care such as stigma, structural racism, criminalization of disease, access, lack of medical system integration, etc.
- Justify an appropriate recovery practice or policy across the ecosystem of care (e.g., prevention services, harm reduction, screening, outpatient treatment, inpatient care, detox, etc.).
- Work collaboratively in groups and with a community partner to complete a community-engaged service-learning project.
PUBPOL 3730 - Comparative Environmental Policy (3 Credits)
This course focuses on environmental legislation such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and others as a foundation for US environmental policy. Internationally, focus on Environmental Policy in multiple countries and comparative to US environmental policy. Over the course we will discuss how environmental policy directly impacts community, public health, natural ecological systems, concepts of justice, and socioeconomics. We will explore these major environmental policies in the US as a basis of comparison and then apply those mechanism domestically or internationally to address climate change and improve other environment conditions. Students who seek to work in the US will build an analytic skill set to be competitive for jobs in environmental consulting, government, public policy, public health, non-profits, and advocacy groups.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-AG, SBA-AG), (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will debate major environmental policy on the international stage (UN) and key policies in other countries.
- Students will analyze the challenges and opportunities in implementing effective climate change mitigation alternatives and cumulative impacts to proposed projects and policies.
- Students will propose strategies for overcoming obstacles to effective environmental regulation.
PUBPOL 3764 - Intellectual Property Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This course covers domestic copyright law, which protects creative expression; patent law, which protects novel and useful inventions; and trademark law, which protects brand identifiers. It also explores common law intellectual property rights like trade secret protections. The aim of the course is not simply to learn what the law is, but why.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate understanding of the positive law of copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and other similar rights.
- Utilize the tools of policy analysis to determine how different legal rules could potentially satisfy, or fail to satisfy, policy aims.
- Analyze and compare the rights given to IP creators in different jurisdictions and their underlying justifications.
- Exhibit synthetic understanding of legal concepts by drawing upon multiple lines of legal precedent.
- Formulate and express arguments in favor of specific legal standards to generate given policy outcomes.
PUBPOL 3780 - Sick Around the World? Comparing Health Care Systems Around the World (3 Credits)
This course provides an introduction into Comparative Health Care System Analysis. Using a unifying framework, students learn how to systematically analyze the institutional and organizational setup of different health care systems around the world. The structure and performance of several health care systems is benchmarked against the US health care system.
Prerequisites: coursework in introductory statistics.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2018
Learning Outcomes:
- Acquire and be able to apply graphical, quantitative, and qualitative tools to analyze health care systems.
- Isolate objective arguments from value judgments and ideology. To assess why this is of particular importance when health care is.
- Use a unified framework to simplify, analyze, and evaluate health care systems against each other.
- Apply statistical analysis and the most common WHO indicators in order to benchmark the performance of health care systems. To acquire knowledge and be able to discuss the limitations, advantages, and disadvantages of such statistical comparisons.
- Identify the basic organizational setups of the following health care systems with their various components and interactions: US, Canada, UK, Singapore, UK, and others.
- Develop awareness of the challenges of political reform initiatives and why it is so difficult to fundamentally change existing health care systems. To be able to explain why most health care systems are unique and historically grown.
- Develop the ability how to provide constructive critique and learn how to deal with constructive critique.
- Acquire the ability to work effectively in teams.
- Express arguments and ideas in a constructive, clear, and concise manner.
PUBPOL 3790 - Community Impact Analysis in Development Policy I (1 Credit)
This course embodies community-engaged learning by positioning students as collaborative learners alongside community members, emphasizing mutual exchange, and addressing an issue that holds local significance. Students will not only conduct a community impact analysis but will also engage directly with residents and local stakeholders to understand their perspectives, experiences, and priorities. This interaction enables students to learn with and from the community, building skills in cultural humility, active listening, and responsive problem-solving. Throughout the course, critical reflection will be an integral component; students will regularly examine their assumptions, document their learning through field notes, and engage in reflective discussions. These reflective practices will challenge them to consider the social and ethical dimensions of their work, helping them refine their approach to ensure it aligns with community needs and fosters equitable, sustainable outcomes.
Corequisites: PUBPOL 3791/5791 (Winter) and PUBPOL 3792/5792 (Spring).
Enrollment Information: Students must commit to the remaining additional course sequences.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL, CU-UG)
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate understanding of the historical, political, and cultural context surrounding the community impact analysis site, identifying factors that shape current social, economic, and environmental conditions.
- Apply ethical principles in community-based fieldwork, including stakeholder analysis and participatory evaluation methods, to plan a respectful and inclusive data collection process.
- Conduct field-based data collection in partnership with local stakeholders, using participatory methods to gather insights into community experiences and perspectives.
- Exhibit effective communication and collaboration skills when engaging with community members and organizational partners to ensure transparent and mutually beneficial data gathering.
- Analyze collected data to identify patterns, challenges, and opportunities relevant to the social, economic, and environmental impact of development initiatives within the community.
PUBPOL 3791 - Community Impact Analysis in Development Policy II (2 Credits)
This intensive, week-long January fieldwork course immerses students in hands-on data collection for a community impact analysis. Working with a host organization and community partners, students conduct interviews, surveys, and observations, applying ethical fieldwork and participatory evaluation methods to gather insights that will inform their final analysis and recommendations.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3790.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School undergraduate students. Instructor permission required to enroll.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, D-HE, HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL, CU-UG)
Learning Outcomes:
- Conduct field-based data collection in partnership with local stakeholders, using participatory methods to gather insights into community experiences and perspectives.
- Exhibit effective communication and collaboration skills when engaging with community members and organizational partners to ensure transparent and mutually beneficial data gathering.
PUBPOL 3810 - Mass Incarceration and Social Inequality in America (3 Credits)
In this course we will explore the origins and consequences of mass incarceration- extraordinarily high incarceration rates within particular demographic groups above and beyond historical levels in the United States. We will examine theories of social control and deviance to uncover how institutions and individuals use power to shape societies. This course also engages theories of state power to understand and to analyze how labeling is deployed to control groups of people, and, in doing so, we will conduct a genealogy of a contemporary driver of social inequality: the prison industrial complex. Current policy debates around the movement to reduce the number of men and women in American jails and prisons will also be covered. Contemporary social problems like homelessness and food insecurity will be discussed in detail, as well as how mass incarceration contributes to growing gaps in labor force participation, wealth accumulation, and familial instability.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, HA-AG, KCM-AG, SBA-AG), (D-HE, HA-HE, KCM-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Recall contemporary debates and recent scholarly advancements on the topic of mass incarceration.
- Explain and apply core theories and findings that demonstrate your comprehension and application of course material.
- Compare and contrast different explanations of mass incarceration and the observed consequences therein.
- Synthesize and evaluate scholarly material that reflects your knowledge and understanding of core course concepts and research findings.
PUBPOL 3830 - Ethics and Public Policy (3 Credits)
Ethics asks what is good and bad, what is right and wrong, what is happiness, and what is the virtuous path? We will explore ethical dilemmas of society, how those questions translate into public policy, and how public policy is used to carve an ethic. We will focus on ethical questions future leaders in public policy could, should, or will be asking. We investigate some controversial questions that sit at the core of our own moral connection with public policy ethics and how those translate into action such as human interaction with society and nature, what is our moral responsibility as individuals and decision-makers, equity, and how ethical considerations translate into public policy. These ethical dilemmas public policy actors face, and their decisions can affect many domestically and internationally and impact in intended and unintended ways. Delving into understanding these ethical questions when developing public policies can help decision-makers craft policies that consider sound moral principles that impact stakeholders. This course builds a foundation of ethical principles and philosophies and then translates into action.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe and develop a foundation of knowledge of the foundational theories on ethical principles.
- Discover, investigate, and explain how ethical concepts translate into public policy and decision-making.
- Breakdown arguments to identify and compare ethical components.
- Compare, justify, and explain multiple sides of an argument using values and ethics to drive policy and perspective.
PUBPOL 3840 - Data Visualization for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This undergraduate-level course is designed for students interested in learning how to better communicate using data. Students will learn the foundations of data use and visualization tools and gain experience using these tools for the purpose of creating a shared understanding with an audience. Students will learn to organize data and create clear, creative graphs, charts, and dashboards for the purposes of story-telling and effectively conveying information.
Learning Outcomes:
- Distinguish between the strengths and weaknesses of various software programs, modelling methods, chart types, and graph types for specific visualization applications.
- Create effective visual reports using real world data.
- Synthesize data for a variety of audiences, including creating code and supporting materials that are reproducible and sharable.
- Write supporting materials that clearly describe data visualizations, highlighting key takeaways for the target audience.
PUBPOL 3860 - Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Developing Country Contexts (3 Credits)
This course investigates the evolution of discourses surrounding gender and development, focusing on how women have gained economic independence, agency, and socio-economic mobility in developing country contexts and have thus emerged as successful entrepreneurs and leaders in their respective eco-systems. It examines how certain socio-economic factors have lifted women out of poverty, exclusion, and marginalization. By exploring both individual potential and collective power through dedicated activism, the course spans the fields of economics, sociology, and public policy.
Learning Outcomes:
- Deepen students' understanding of the intersection of gender and development, encouraging the design of initiatives that foster women's empowerment and economic inclusion, contributing to broader sustainable development goals.
- Equip students with the knowledge and skills to develop leadership potential and entrepreneurial ventures, with a focus on sustainability, social impact, and innovation in challenging environments.
- Develop students' capacity to critically assess and propose solutions to the systemic issues affecting women's leadership and entrepreneurship in developing countries, fostering innovative approaches to overcoming these barriers.
- Encourage and enable students to improve communication skills and develop creative and critical faculties through diverse course activities, such as reading, writing, and presenting elevator pitches, writing policy memos, while gaining a nuanced understanding of pressing issues in global food systems.
PUBPOL 3870 - Economic Evaluations in Health Care (3 Credits)
This course covers economic evaluation methods used for decisions in the health care sector and health policy. Economic evaluations include cost analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-utility analysis. The course discusses how to measure opportunity costs, monetary benefits, and health outcomes such as quality-adjusted life years. Actual economic evaluations of pharmaceuticals, health care and public health interventions, and health and safety policy are reviewed and critiqued.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify differences between economic evaluation methods and analyze when it is appropriate to use cost-analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis or cost-utility analysis.
- Identify and evaluate the opportunity costs associated with the resources used as the result of health policies and health care interventions.
- Calculate health gains in terms of natural units such as life years gained and utility-based measures such as quality-adjusted life years gained.
- Analyze the roles of time discounting and uncertainty in economic evaluations of health.
PUBPOL 3880 - Dialogue Across Differences for Public Policy (3 Credits)
How can we practice critical dialogue to analyze and address complex policy issues? Increasing polarization in our political climate has underscored the importance of dialogue across differences in political beliefs, social identities, and experiences. In this course, we will explore how we can put this aim into action by: learning key dialogue skills for listening to different perspectives and sharing our own; reflecting on how our connections to one another and to societal structures inform our responsibility and agency as political actors; and practicing dialogue through exploration of key policy issues. This course will be experiential and engaged. Students will be active participants in dialogue and will take responsibility for sustaining a learning community throughout the semester. This community will extend beyond our class and will include invited guests from among Brooks School faculty and Ithaca community practitioners, who will provide greater insights into each of the key policy issues.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply dialogue frameworks and skills for effective communication across difference in service of public policy.
- Reflect on both their own and others' connections with policies, political systems, and social structures.
- Analyze power dynamics based on social identity, institutional role, etc. in policymaking and government actions.
- Develop skills for written and spoken delivery of personal perspective, evidence, and research findings to collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders.
- Explore how the use of dialogue in both public policy and other contexts can strengthen democratic principles and practices.
PUBPOL 3890 - Rewilding the American West: A Policy Incubator (4 Credits)
Debates over the proper aims, scope, and methods of environmental policy in America are as old as the conservation movement, from Gifford Pinchot's push for the responsible and productive use of public lands to John Muir's crusade for strict preservation. Over the last forty years, a growing number of scholars and policymakers have embraced a new approach to science-based conservation: rewilding. The term has been used by activists, ecologists, and policymakers to embrace a range of policy proscriptions, from the restoration of wide-ranging wilderness areas and large predators to restoring Pleistocene era megafauna or their ecological equivalents, to landscape restoration through the reintroduction of appropriate species, to productive land abandonment. However, a core principle uniting these disparate approaches is an emphasis on restoring biodiversity and promoting sustainability through the protection and enhancement of wilderness areas. The rewilding movement has also begun to influence public policy, offering innovative solutions to old and new policy challenges, including mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand core scientific concepts undergirding rewilding practices.
- Apply those concepts to thinking about policy solutions to contemporary problems.
- Research legislative histories to understand the legislative process and political dynamics shaping a bill's drafting, passage, and implementation.
- Analyze how legislative drafting, bureaucratic rulemaking, and judicial decisions shape policy implementation.
- Synthesize this knowledge to identify proposed policy solutions to contemporary conservation and environmental challenges.
PUBPOL 3910 - Federal Policy Making in Action (1 Credit)
The purpose of this one-credit course is to provide a behind-the-scenes examination of the U.S. federal policy making process with examples primarily relating to labor policy. We will begin with a discussion of the statutory framework that shapes this process and defines the roles of the many entities involved. Understanding how policy is developed in law and regulation will be a major emphasis of the course. Policy implementation, administration, and oversight will also be addressed. We will focus on a variety of related topics, including the President's Budget, congressional appropriations, inter-agency collaboration, and the effect of good government initiatives on substantive policy making. Efforts to respond to the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis will also be discussed.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe how policy is formulated in executive agencies.
- Advance policy objectives through the budget and the appropriations process.
- Explain how policy development by executive agencies is influenced by congressional involvement.
- Engage the public in policy making.
PUBPOL 3920 - Influence of Public Policy on Financial Markets (1 Credit)
Although the United States' economy is said to have a laissez-faire structure, there is a significant relationship between the government and how the market operates. Public policy impacts everything nowadays - legislation that interacts with healthcare, taxes, infrastructure, and other societal areas that demand government intervention is monitored by monetary and fiscal policy. This course will cover how the government intervenes in the market via public policy to control factors that range from inflation to GDP growth to spending on public programs. We will discuss how the government interacts with Wall Street, the regulations that are often imposed on firms, and how the debt and equity markets function and react to government interaction. We will accentuate political intervention during times of crisis and how the financial world's relationship with the government changed as a result. This class will include a combination of lectures and guest speakers to formally analyze course material and to provide real world scenarios and applications.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize how the market operates in the real world and how it interacts with the government on a day-to-day basis.
- Compare and contrast the relationship between different historical events and market fluctuations in a policy-related manner.
- Develop an understanding of how different political landscapes impact how the market functions.
- Recognize leadership qualities and optimal thought-processes during times of financial crisis.
- Assemble a portfolio of networking tactics and thoughtful, in-depth questions for leaders in the field.
PUBPOL 3930 - Legislative Agenda (1 Credit)
The course explores the intersection of policy and political strategies on Capitol Hill. Students will learn the inner dynamics of how Members of Congress select, pursue and achieve their policy objectives on Capitol Hill; how policy proposals are developed within various platforms (congressional leadership, committees, working groups and caucuses, the White House); the role of communications strategies in supporting legislative initiatives; the interplay of constituents; the incorporation of policies into amendments, committee markups, report language, managers amendments and other devices. Each session will offer a guest perspective from a Member of Congress or senior staff member. Students will be expected to choose a policy initiative and develop a legislative strategy to achieve implementation.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe how congressional offices advance their policy goals on Capitol Hill.
- Analyze how to mount informed strategies that translate policy proposals into public law.
- Outline to prepare themselves to work in a congressional office or other entities which require familiarity with legislative dynamics.
- Demonstrate how students will benefit from intensive guidance on exploring career paths and strategies on Capitol Hill.
PUBPOL 3940 - Organization of Today's Congress (1 Credit)
The course will explore elements of the reorganization of the 118th Congress, including leadership elections and structure; the setting of a legislative agenda; how committee assignments are determined; the structure of legislative caucuses, conferences and working groups; and the early organization of various legislative factions and impact on the legislative agenda. This will coincide with real-time developments in the new Congress and will feature periodic visits by prominent national political figures. Each class will feature a discussion of current events that are related to coursework. Each session will offer guest perspective from Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress, and well-known media analysts, among others.
Prerequisites: GOVT 1111.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a fundamental understanding of how every Congress organizes itself and how these decisions directly impact the formulation of national policy.
- Guide students in careers that require a grasp of congressional organization, structure and process.
- Provide intensive guidance on exploring career paths and strategies on Capitol Hill.
PUBPOL 3950 - CIW Inside Congress (1 Credit)
Featuring periodic visits by Members of Congress and key congressional staff, and a unique learning experience on Capitol Hill, the class is designed to present students with an informed understanding of various staff functions within a Congressional office both in Washington and the Members district; the different management styles of congressional offices (i.e.: member driven versus staff driven); the relationship of personal, committee and leadership staffs. Students will monitor the progress of legislation as a way of integrating office dynamics into the legislative process. Each class will devote time to a discussion of current events in Congress to integrate policy developments into the curricula.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Assess how congressional offices operate.
- Discover the roles and responsibilities of congressional staff.
- Outline how to enhance current internship experiences.
- Develop effective strategies to pursue career opportunities within Congress, the Executive branch, and the advocacy community.
PUBPOL 4000 - Directed Readings (1-15 Credits)
For study that predominantly involves library research and independent reading.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 PUBPOL 4010 - Empirical Research (1-15 Credits)
For study that predominantly involves data collection and analysis.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024 PUBPOL 4020 - Supervised Fieldwork (1-15 Credits)
For study that involves both responsible participation in a community setting and reflection on that experience through discussion, reading, and writing. Academic credit is awarded for this integration of theory and practice.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
PUBPOL 4030 - Teaching Apprenticeship (1-15 Credits)
For study that includes assisting faculty with instruction.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 PUBPOL 4060 - Engaged Learning About Policy Making in Washington D.C. (4 Credits)
The core course at Cornell in Washington is an engaged learning class that focuses on understanding and analyzing the professional experience of being in DC. Its primary purpose is to give students a chance to sunthesize the lessons of their internship work by examining and reflecting on that work, investigating the context and structures of the policy and political world with which they are engaging, and learning and practicing the professional forms of writing that the community uses. This process occurs through readings, written assignments, guest speakers, and signature events. An internship is required for the class.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students in the Cornell in Washington program.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(EAAREA)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will have employed engaged learning techniques through readings, class sessions, reflective journals, guest speakers, and other activities to examine the professional norms and codes of working in the policy world.
- Students will have identified the day-to-day processes of the American policy and political community in DC, its aims and goals, and how it works at the ground level.
- Students will have composed a series of policy memos and done an oral presentation in order to be able to construct a policy analysis and recommendation.
- Graduate students will have assessed the state of knowledge in their particular policy area.
PUBPOL 4080 - Demographic Techniques (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with GDEV 4080
This course explores social change through demographic methods, addressing how public policies aim to impact societal outcomes-such as reducing crime rates, lowering poverty levels, or increasing voter turnout-rather than focusing on individual behavior. While quantitative social science often emphasizes understanding individual actions, this course provides methods that bridge the gap between individual patterns and broader societal trends. Building on foundational techniques from introductory social statistics courses-such as univariate, bivariate, and multivariate regression-the course covers life tables, Lexis diagrams, and decomposition methods. These demographic methods focus on population-level dynamics and the changing composition of national populations, making the course essential for social scientists and policy analysts interested in examining the trends, causes, and consequences of aggregate social change.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2030.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (DLG-AG)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate how to build a life table using various methods and understand the connections between life tables and survival analysis.
- Think creatively about how to use these methods and existing data to make a novel research contribution.
- Write clearly about what the results from life tables can tell us about demographic processes.
PUBPOL 4101 - Causal Reasoning and Policy Evaluation I (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3171
This course covers methods used by social scientists to identify causal relationships in data, with a focus on evaluating the effects of real-world policies. Many social science analyses--including in the economics fields of public, labor, health, and development-aim to answer these types of policy-related causal questions: What is the effect of having health insurance on someone's health? Does the death penalty reduce crime? Will lowering class sizes increase students' academic achievement? The goal of this course is to train you to become both a high-quality consumer and producer of this type of research. You will learn about several research designs and data analysis methods for identifying causal relationships in data, read and assess empirical papers that apply these methods, and apply these methods to datasets yourself.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3100 or equivalent.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL), (OPHLS-AG, SBA-AG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Assess the strengths and limitations of different research designs for estimating causal effects.
- Read and assess the strengths and weaknesses of empirical research answering causal questions.
- Apply the research designs covered in the course to data-based examples.
PUBPOL 4110 - Pollution, Climate Change, and Health (3 Credits)
In-depth discussion of the growing field of applied economics research on the relationships between pollution, climate, and human health. The course will be begin with a brief introduction to the application of modern applied microeconomic causal methods - students must have taken Multiple Regression Analysis (or a course equivalent) and have basic familiarity with the statistical analysis program Stata. Areas of study include pollution and climate impacts on mortality, morbidity, human capital development, productivity, and mental cognition, as well as the role of avoidance behavior and adaptation in mitigating such effects. This course requires a good deal of reading from academic journal articles and working papers. Discussion of the articles will focus on interpretation of outcomes, potential confounders and complications in establishing the pollution, climate, and health link, and the methodologies used in modern applied microeconomics to establish causal links.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 3100.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a familiarity with modern economic research on the links between climate, pollution, and health.
- Identify and evaluate common applied microeconomic models for separating causality from correlational links.
- Discuss the role of avoidance behavior and technological mitigation in offsetting the health effects of pollution and climate.
- Replicate several figures from a published article using available data sets.
PUBPOL 4160 - The Ethnography of Poverty and Inequality (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 4160
This course explores poverty and inequality in American society through the lens of ethnographic and other field-based research. We will read classic and contemporary texts which have shaped our understanding of how social inequality and exclusion constrain people's daily lives and how groups develop innovative responses to these constraints.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2300, PUBPOL 2250, PUBPOL 2030, SOC 1101 or DSOC 1101 and SOC 2220.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, D-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE), (D-AG, SBA-AG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Think critically about the experiences of poverty and inequality in the United States.
- To gain a solid understanding of important classic and contemporary ethnographic texts and how they relate to each other.
- To develop an understanding of the methodological and theoretical approaches used by each author.
- To develop skills to write and present a research paper which incorporates ethnographic evidence.
PUBPOL 4210 - Artificial Intelligence: Law, Ethics, and Politics (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with INFO 4210
In the coming decades machine intelligence will transform the economy, society, and global politics. This course will study these processes and the political challenges to the development of beneficial AI. Topics will include problems in AI safety; effects on- and of inequality and technological unemployment; the strategic and tactical impacts of autonomous weapons, cyberweapons, and AI-enabled intelligence operations; global institutions for providing global public goods, the legitimate aggregation of preferences, and the beneficial governance of AI development.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- To become familiar with the arguments and methods deployed in the readings.
- To practice our critical analysis, so that we can better identify weaknesses in the theory, methods, or empirics of other research, including our own.
- To inspire new ideas and research directions.
PUBPOL 4240 - Risk Management and Policy (3 Credits)
This course applies statistical and economic approaches to analyze risk, the approaches to managing risk by private and government actors, and the impact of government risk policies on the private economy. The course aims to provide students with a broad understanding of risk management problems and solutions, a greater appreciation of the importance of risk management and policy, and increased comprehension of the challenges and complexities of managing key societal risks. Students will enhance their capacity to analyze risk and appreciate the importance of managing risk; will gain working knowledge of important risk management terminology, tools, and institutions; will practice identifying and quantitatively measuring risk; increase their capacity for critical analysis of risk management approaches; and acauire capacity to contribute to discussions of risk governance and its implications.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2101 or equivalent, PUBPOL 2000 or equivalent, and PUBPOL 2040.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- The capacity to analyze risk and the importance of managing risk.
- A working knowledge of important risk management terminology, tools, and institutions.
- Practice with identifying and quantitatively measuring risk.
- Capacity for critical analysis of risk management approaches.
- Ability to meaningfully contribute to discussions of risk governance and its implications.
PUBPOL 4280 - The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3710
Risky health behaviors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, risky sex, drug use, poor diet and physical inactivity (leading to obesity), and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied in detail. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana use laws, will be debated in class. A policy wargame is conducted, with students creating advertisements, giving oral presentations, and lobbying policymakers to advocate a specific policy position.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030 and PUBPOL 3100, ECON 3120 or ECON 3140.
Distribution Requirements: (D-AG, SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- Discuss the economic approach to studying a wide variety of risky health behaviors.
- Develop oral and written communication skills.
PUBPOL 4281 - The Economics and Regulation of Risky Health Behaviors (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3711
Risky health behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking, risky sex, poor diet, physical inactivity, and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana laws, will be debated in class. Students will also participate in a policy wargame on the subject of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Employ the economic perspective to explain risky health behaviors; in particular: a. Distinguish the economic way of thinking from other viewpoints b. Apply economics and other perspectives to understand why people engage in risky health behaviors, and assess the merits of each. c. Define and describe the economic rationale for government intervention - to fix market failures - to evaluate the justification for, and design of, public policies.
- Recognize and analyze how economic research is conducted, in particular, differentiate the methods used by economists to estimate the effect of one variable on another. These methods include randomized experiments, the method of instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and difference-in-differences models. Accurately interpret the results of these methods.
- Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to compose clear and testable statements, critically examine arguments, fairly assess evidence, and conclude.
- Explain and interpret the basic facts about risky health behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, obesity, risky sex, and suicide.
PUBPOL 4370 - The Economics of Health Care Markets (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 3720
This course will review and enhance existing knowledge of health care delivery and related policy issues, using the lens and tools of microeconomics. The topics covered will span consumer behavior, sources and markets for health insurance, provider markets, provider incentives and regulation, as well as market consolidation across a variety of key industries (e.g., physicians, hospitals, and post-acute care providers). Importantly, a key differentiator as well as pedagogical feature of the course will be extensive exposure to classic and contemporary empirical (i.e., data-driven) research tied to these topics. This aspect allows students to be aware of and accumulate knowledge from the frontier of what is scientifically known about key and salient health economics and health policy topics. The selected academic studies incorporated into each lecture will reinforce the core economic theories and insights accompanying a given topic and demonstrate how existing theories can be formally tested as well as refined or expanded using strong empirical research designs. This course should be highly relevant to students planning to work for or with healthcare-focused companies as well as those wishing to pursue master’s (e.g., MBA, MHA, MPH) or doctoral level academic programs (e.g., JD, MD, PharmD, or PhD) tied to healthcare.
Distribution Requirements: (OCE-IL, QP-IL), (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE), (SSC-AS)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the objectives and behavior of the key stakeholders in the US healthcare system: payers, insurers, providers, and suppliers.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine health policy issues and proposals.
PUBPOL 4390 - Foundations of Machine Learning for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of machine learning. Our focus will be on applying these techniques to applications in specific policy related scenarios. We will cover the intuition of the theoretical underpinnings, with a focus on practical use of supervised learning tools.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3100 or equivalent.
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the approaches and algorithms for various machine learning techniques.
- Understand the core concepts that guide machine learning approaches.
- Use Statistical programs (e.g. Stata, Python, R) to implement supervised learning techniques on actual data, and correctly use and interpret the results.
- Assess challenges in the use of ML techniques in Public Policy contexts.
PUBPOL 4540 - Collaborative Modeling Methods for Policy and Program Evaluation (3 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2021
PUBPOL 4600 - International Perspectives on Population Policy (3 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020
PUBPOL 4640 - Regulation and Infrastructure Policy (3 Credits)
Infrastructure provides essential services such as road and highway transportation, ports and airports, communications, electricity, clean drinking water, and wastewater treatment. This course examines policies related to operation, maintenance, and especially funding and financing of critical physical infrastructure. It includes regulatory issues such as controlling market power, ensuring adequate service quality, and maintaining the assets in question.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain the motivation and rationale for various types of government policies toward infrastructure.
- Students will be able to explain the standard set of economic and policy issues that are raised by the unique nature of much infrastructure. This includes the history of those sectors as well as the details of institutional arrangements surrounding them.
- Students will be able to explain the actual effects of intervention in the infrastructure sector, and why some forms of regulation have been eliminated or modified over time.
PUBPOL 4717 - Energy Transition: Policy, Financial, and Business Interactions (3 Credits)
The course utilizes discussions, presentations, research papers, and simulations to explore the policy, financial, and business implications, opportunities, and risks, of climate change, specifically the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. We will explore potential public policies in the context of their business impacts, effectiveness, and political viability. How does different policy design encourage distinct long-term pathways within a highly capital-intensive industry? What industries are most impacted by a transition to a lower carbon economy? How do incentives and structures influence business actors toward a smoother transition, or wasted capital expenditures, and stranded assets? Are financial markets pricing in an energy transition? What is the role of financial and market regulators in ensuring long-term beneficial capital allocation? With an industry in decline, what are the business strategy options for the management of a fossil fuel producer? What are the policy, financial, and business implications for clean energy firms, electric vehicle manufacturers, and the metals and mining industry? Additional readings, research, and presentations are required of Master's students.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe potential impacts of the energy transition and related public policy interactions on business outcomes.
- Students will explain why market actors' incentives and other structural impediments can impede an effective and smooth transition and may also result in stranded assets and destruction of shareholder value.
- Students will examine financial and strategic approaches in assessing transition risk, and investor and management decisions-making in a carbon-constrained global economy.
- Students will explain the catalysts driving the speed and magnitude of the energy transition.
PUBPOL 4858 - Business and Inequality (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 4850
Through discussions, presentations, and research papers, we will examine increasing US inequality, and the interaction of business's role and impacts, alongside potential policy prescriptions (UBI, tax policy, job guarantees, etc.). Topics will also include potential sources of inequality. Areas explored include: Can public policy blunt inequality without unduly harming markets? What are the responsibilities of private sector companies to society, and what are their incentives? How does inequality affect business (through customers, workers - human capital), how does business exacerbate and exploit inequality? Does inequality reduce economic growth and productivity (due to rent-seeking activities, reduced opportunity)? Does corporate influence on the political system reinforce inequality? Is labor disadvantaged by social safety net structures, such as policies tying benefits to work requirements? Does inequality destabilize financial markets and fuel speculation ((e.g., 1920's margin investing, GameStop, etc.)? Additional readings and in-depth research paper required of Master's students.
Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics (PUBPOL 5210, ECON 3030 or equivalent). Recommended prerequisite: introductory coursework in statistics and finance.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG), (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will investigate inequality's potential sources, magnitude, and changes over time.
- Students will articulate business's role within society as it pertains to inequality.
- Students will explain how short-term and/or individual financial incentives can erode long-term economic/societal outcomes.
- Students will describe when business interests are mutually aligned with inequality reductions and when they deviate.
PUBPOL 4950 - Engaged Learning Capstone (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 4980
This engaged learning course offers students the opportunity to integrate and apply knowledge and skills by addressing a real-world question presented by a community partner. Students will work collaboratively on an applied research project, produce a professional report, and brief community members on the outcomes and recommendations of their research.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2100 or equivalent statistics course.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-AG)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Frame a problem identified by a client that can be answered through social science research methods
- Review the social science literature on an applied program or policy issue that is relevant for the client
- Use appropriate methods to collect and analyze data in response to client needs
- Make recommendations for strengthening the program data and evaluation
- Effectively communicate research results and recommendations through presentations and a written report to clients
PUBPOL 4960 - State Policy and Advocacy Clinic I (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with AMST 4960
We will learn how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by practicing these skills before the legislative and administrative branches of the State of New York. In consultation with the professor, student teams will design public policy proposals based on a review of the academic, governmental and think tank literature; conversations with subject matter experts at Cornell and various NGOs; research and analysis of similar proposals in other states and countries; conversations with state and local policymakers; and discussions with community members and organizations, including community partners with lived experience. Although we will engage in policy design and advocacy primarily in New York State, we will also provide research and policy design services to stakeholders in other states, especially when a comparative or multi-state approach offers strategic benefits.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: juniors and seniors.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE), (OCE-IL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices. Build a theoretical and practical understanding of legislative and administrative process in New York and other states.
- Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices.
- Develop the legal research and reasoning skills needed to engage in comparative state policy analysis; develop a basic understanding of state and federal constitutional constraints on legislative and administrative decision-making.
- Develop the policy research, design and reasoning skills needed to design and evaluate various policy alternatives. Gain an introduction to basic legislative or regulatory drafting skills.
- Design, in teams, a creative, compelling, and politically viable state legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing public policy challenge, based on a review of the academic, government and think tank literature, comparative state and country policy research, discussions with subject matter experts, and conversations with community partners and leaders, including community members with lived experience.
PUBPOL 4961 - State Policy and Advocacy Clinic II (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with AMST 4961
As a continuation of our work in PUBPOL 4960/PUBPOL 5960, we will learn how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by practicing these skills with community partners and stakeholders and before the legislative and administrative branches of the State of New York. In consultation with the professor, student teams will design and advocate for public policy proposals based on a review of the academic, governmental and think tank literature; conversations with subject matter experts at Cornell and various NGOs; research and analysis of similar proposals in other states and countries; conversations with state and local policymakers; and discussions with community members and organizations, including community partners with lived experience. Although we will engage in policy design and advocacy primarily in New York State, we will also provide research and policy design services to Stakeholders in other states, especially when a comparative or multi-state approach offers strategic benefits.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 4960.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: juniors and seniors.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE), (OCE-IL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the importance of state-level policy in the United States and of the interaction of federal, state and local governments in our federalist system.
- Build a theoretical and practical understanding of legislative and administrative process in New York and other states.
- Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices.
- Develop the legal research and reasoning skills needed to engage in comparative state policy analysis; develop a basic understanding of state and federal constitutional constraints on legislative and administrative decision-making.
- Develop the policy research, design and reasoning skills needed to design and evaluate various policy alternatives.
PUBPOL 4970 - New York State Government Affairs (12 Credits)
This course is part of the Brooks School Capital Semester Program. During this program, students live and work in Albany as legislative aides to a New York State Senator or Assembly Member. They also attend a course on New York State Government and engage in discussion forums with key legislators and policymakers. Additionally, students receive mentorship from Cornell Government Affairs staff on-site. This mentorship includes opportunities to work on legislative priorities that align with students' interests and their assigned legislative tasks. The on-site staff help interns connect with state government officials in their areas of interest, including Cornell alumni and dignitaries. They also offer guidance on office work and internship coursework and provide background information on Albany's policies and politics, particularly related to higher education and Cornell's role as a New York State Land Grant University. Students receive a relocation allowance and a living stipend as part of the program.
Prerequisites: Participating in positions with the Senate requires a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019
PUBPOL 4980 - Honors Seminar (1 Credit)
This course is designed to provide students with guidance and resources as they design and conduct their honors thesis project. As part of this process, students will be introduced to a range of topics and skills related to engaging in research in the social sciences.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3120.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School honors students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the process, requirements, and timeline for completing the PAM Honors Thesis Program.
- Formulate and motivate compelling policy relevant research questions in the social sciences.
- Demonstrate understanding and application of how to conduct independent research.
PUBPOL 4990 - Honors Program (1-6 Credits)
Provides students with the opportunity to undertake basic or applied research that will be preparation of a thesis representing original work of publishable quality. Intended for students who desire the opportunity to extend their interests and efforts beyond the current course offerings in the department. Furthermore, the program is designed to offer the student the opportunity to work closely with a professor on a topic of interest. The number of hours of thesis credit is determined by the student's research mentor. See the director of undergraduate studies for more details.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 3120.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School honors students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-UG)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 PUBPOL 5000 - Special Studies (0.5-5 Credits)
This course is for students who wish to conduct independent study under the guidance of a faculty member from the Brooks MPA Program.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024
PUBPOL 5009 - Career Management for Public Affairs (1.5 Credits)
This course prepares MPA students to enter the job market with the expertise and experience to launch a successful career as well as obtain professional skills necessary to be leaders in the field of public affairs workplace. Topics covered in this course include the importance of self-assessment, the independent job search, networking, and best practices in resume/cover letter writing and interviewing.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of current employment opportunities across public, private, and nonprofit sectors public affairs.
- Students will draft a results-oriented professional resume/CV and cover letter appropriate for pursuing career opportunities in the field of public affairs.
- Students will effectively use networking tools to research and explore career opportunities based upon career goals.
- Students will utilize best practices in behavioral based interviewing and effectively demonstrate these practices in a mock interview setting.
- Students will develop a professional LinkedIn profile that demonstrates best practices in online brand management.
PUBPOL 5010 - Contemporary Security Policy (3 Credits)
This full-semester course will provide an introduction to the diverse and contested field of security studies, including both the Traditional and Critical approaches. It covers the foundational theoretical approaches in the field of security studies - Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Critical Theory, Feminism and Gender Security, and PostStructural and Postcolonial Perspectives. It also questions how security policy is developed and implemented and the historical, economic, political, and social power dynamics that influence how 'security policy' is constructed and implemented by nation-states. Alongside the study of theory, the course covers a wide range of contemporary security issues - from the return of inter-state conflict and nuclear deterrence to terrorism, environmental security, and health security - and applies the theories and concepts of security studies to real-world examples.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2016, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Learning Outcomes:
- Remember: 1. Recall key theories of International Relations and their Traditional and Critical characteristics relevant to Security Studies. 2. List examples of contemporary security challenges, their impact on policy, and how IR Theory explains their occurrence in the international system.
- Understand: 1. Summarize the foundational theoretical concepts of International Relations and principles of Security Studies. 2. Explain how security challenges are altering traditional policy approaches to international peace and security. 3. Understand the Critical and Traditional approaches to Security Studies.
- Apply: 1. Analyze case studies to demonstrate how specific security challenges have influenced domestic and international policy. Apply this analysis to obtain a better understanding of contemporary security issues. 2. Propose practical policy recommendations for mitigating the negative effects of pertinent security policy challenges on society (domestically and internationally).
- Analyze: 1. Evaluate the ethical implications of theoretical and policy solutions to security challenges. 2. Compare and contrast the impact of different theoretical and policy solutions on international peace and security, applied to specific geopolitical contexts.
- Evaluate: 1. Critically assess the effectiveness of current international legal frameworks in addressing challenges raised during the module. 2. Formulate informed judgments about the potential risks and benefits of adopting the policy solutions raised in the module.
PUBPOL 5012 - Professional Development for Public Affairs (0.5 Credits)
This course prepares MPA students to enter the job market with the expertise and experience to launch a successful career as well as obtain professional skills necessary to be leaders in the field of public affairs. Topics covered in this course include the role of change management, leading people, results-driven leadership, business acumen, and coalition-building in successful public affairs practice.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how public managers facilitate strategic change, both inside and outside of their organizations.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how public managers lead people in meeting their organization's mission.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how public managers effectively meet organizational goals and ensure accountability to their clients/beneficiaries.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how public managers strategically allocate human, financial, and technological resources.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how public managers build coalitions inside and outside of their organizations.
PUBPOL 5015 - Climate Economics and Policy (3 Credits)
Climate change is an urgent, multi-generational, global challenge. Public policy at the local, state, national and international level plays an important role in determining our emissions trajectory, the magnitude and location of investments in adaptation and resilience, and even whether climate engineering approaches are allowable and feasible. Thus, policy choices have a large influence on the ultimate damages from climate change and on the cost of addressing them. This course applies the tools of economics to the analysis of the climate challenge and climate policy. We will start with an introduction to the multiple market failures relevant to climate change, an overview of the climate policy portfolio, and a history of international climate negotiations. In part 2 of the course, we’ll learn how economists quantify the damages from climate change and consider the role of benefit-cost analysis designing climate policy. Part 3 will cover net greenhouse gas emissions reduction opportunities, including sectorial approaches and nature-based solutions. In part 4, we’ll study the economics of pollution control and learn what theory and empirical evidence imply for climate change policy instrument choice. We will finish the course focusing on the economics of climate adaptation and resilience (part 5), the distributional implications of climate change and climate policy (part 6), and the future potential for climate engineering (part 7).
Enrollment Information: Master’s students must have successfully completed at least one graduate microeconomics course at the Brooks School or elsewhere, as well as one or more graduate courses in statistics.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand climate change as a problem of multiple market failures, and the institutional frameworks in which climate change policy seeks to address those failures.
- Think critically and comprehensively about the economic benefits and costs of climate change policy, and engage constructively in debates regarding such estimates.
- Assess GHG emissions reduction opportunities and their costs in multiple sectors.
- Analyze the pros and cons of a suite of policy approaches to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and climate engineering.
- Describe the potential for economies to adapt to the changing climate and the role of policy in mediating adaptation.
PUBPOL 5019 - Data-Driven Organizations, Policy, and Decision-Making for Executives (1 Credit)
In this class, we will use data-related case studies to understand the common problems organizations and policymakers face, how they use data to benefit their organization and key components that are driving the policy conversation. We will also get broad exposure to the related concepts behind data products and teams including data engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and data visualization.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will embed a data-driven strategic approach into their organization or product.
- Students will demonstrate understanding of the types of data in different types of organizations and products, the challenges faced with data quality, leadership, and team building.
- Students will anticipate use cases for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data engineering pertinent to their organization or policy.
- Students will articulate the key ethical concerns with data security, data privacy, and artificial intelligence implementation and usage.
PUBPOL 5020 - Being Native in the 21st Century: American Indian & Alaska Native Politics, History, and Policy (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 6051
The course examines the historical political landscape of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States and the interplay between tribal interests, politics, and the federal government. The course also looks at contemporary Native issues, federal policy and programs, tribal governance, relations between Tribal Nations and states and between Tribal Nations and the federal government. Finally, the course will explore Indigenous pop-culture and its influence on federal policy. Classes will all be in person and will be a mixture of lectures and discussion-based seminars. The majority of classes will have a guest lecturer related to that week's topic. Guest lectures will include, but not limited to, political appointees, congressional staff, political advocates, elected tribal leaders, and more.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: GOVT 1111.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- This course will teach students the political science of Native American tribes and their interactions with the U.S. government, developing their skill in applying a disciplinary framework (Political Science) and gaining expertise in a specific policy area (Native American Policy).
PUBPOL 5023 - Strategic Advocacy for Executives (0.5 Credits)
In this course, you will master multiple strategies for creating social change through community organizing, legislative action, administrative processes, and media engagement. Starting with your chosen advocacy issue, you will develop clear mission and vision statements that become the foundation of your work. You will conduct strategic research and create detailed action plans that serve as your roadmap for mobilizing community support and initiating change. By planning and executing a community organizing event, you will transform your strategic vision into tangible community action. Armed with a strong community-based foundation, you will step into the legislative arena to navigate the complexities of policy change. Here, you will identify key decision-makers, draft legislation, and create compelling fact sheets that support your cause. As your advocacy skills deepen, you will build confidence in delivering legislative testimony and learn to draft public comments that influence administrative rule-making—essential tools for shaping public policy.
With your policy framework in place, you will harness the power of storytelling to amplify your advocacy message. Through carefully crafted narratives, you will develop sophisticated media engagement strategies, create attention-grabbing press releases, and write persuasive letters to editors. Your mastery of both traditional and social media platforms will exponentially expand your advocacy's reach and impact.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Plan, implement, and evaluate advocacy campaigns by conducting issue analysis, developing strategic plans, and mobilizing community support.
- Construct and present advocacy tools that effectively communicate policy positions through action plans, legislative proposals, fact sheets, and public comments.
- Apply legislative and administrative advocacy strategies by delivering testimony, drafting public comments, and engaging key stakeholders.
- Produce compelling advocacy narratives across multiple media platforms by crafting targeted messages for traditional, digital, and social media outlets.
- Practice evidence-based advocacy by integrating ethical principles, strategic communication techniques, and data-driven persuasion methods.
PUBPOL 5030 - Health Care Innovation for Managers (1 Credit)
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the various applications of data and health information technology (HIT) across a variety of health care settings and how different players within the health care ecosystem are embracing HIT to improve care delivery. As the health care system in this country evolves, it is becoming increasingly reliant on robust HIT systems to improve care delivery. This course is designed to be an immersion into health care information systems: how they have been enabled by an evolution of HIT policy in the U.S., how different health care players are utilizing HIT to improve outcomes, and how a favorable funding environment has enabled innovative companies to change the way we interact with the health care system.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Define, measure and evaluate the quality of medical care.
- Describe the policies, management strategies, and health IT in facilitating Quality Improvement.
- Explain organizational issues involved in performing QI and common barriers to the effective deployment of policy, management strategies and health IT.
PUBPOL 5033 - Danish Health Care System (1.5 Credits)
Executive MHA students will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark for this week-long elective course. Students will have classroom lectures from health care leaders in various areas of Danish health care as well as several site visits to facilities. Additionally, this week will focus on innovation in health care and how best practices from Danish health care can be applied to health care in their home countries.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Course Fee: Course Fee, TBA. TBA. fee amount approximate for airfare, hotel, additional academic fees
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the Danish health care system, funding model, and incentives.
- Assess the benefits and drawbacks of the Danish health care system compared to the US health care system.
- Identify Danish best practices that can be implemented in the United States and describe any obstacles to implementation.
PUBPOL 5041 - U.S. Immigration Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This course addresses the major themes and controversies in United States immigration law and policy, including: Constitutional limits on legislative and executive power; the role of administrative agencies and the federal courts; the role of state versus federal decision-makers; the admission and removal (deportation) of noncitizens; protections of asylum-seekers and refugees; illegal immigration; strategies of immigration law enforcement; immigration detention; due process rights in removal proceedings; and civil rights of noncitizens. This course will also briefly address some key issues in alienage law and policy, including the rights of noncitizens (including noncitizens without immigration status) to education, work and public benefits.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: courses regarding the structure of the U.S. government and policy design courses are helpful but not required.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework (Constitutional, statutory, regulatory, or relating to federal court and administrative agency case law) governing immigration policy in the U.S.
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze legal sources and make legal arguments - both orally and in writing - on behalf of (fictional) clients, including noncitizens and the Department of Homeland Security.
- Develop a strong understanding of how immigration law works in practice, with an emphasis on legal and empirical evaluation of the extent to which current practices comply (or fail to comply) with basic norms of due process.
- Develop a strong understanding of how immigration and alienage policy are created, given complex political and institutional factors driving statutory and administrative action at both the federal and state and local levels.
- Research, understand and analyze the most pressing and fundamental policy dilemmas and trade-offs in the field of immigration policy; learn to analyze empirical evaluations of immigration policies and use them to construct specific policy recommendations.
PUBPOL 5050 - Refugee Pathways and Resettlement Policy (4 Credits)
In collaboration with refugee resettlement centers in New York State, this community-engaged course will explore: the global systems of inequality that produce forced migration; the politics of who gets to be a refugee; the uncertain pathways from conflict to internal displacement and/or non-permanent settlement; and the policies and process that inform refugee resettlement in Upstate New York. Students will work on collaborative projects with refugee-supporting organizations in Upstate NY and will be required to attend at least one course-organized site visit to a partner organization in either Syracuse or Utica.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Describe some of the major theoretical and practical conundrums and debates in refugee resettlement policy.
- Evaluate and critically respond to arguments made by leading migration policy scholars.
- Explain the primary actors, processes, and governance structures that dictate forced migration, non-permanent settlements and refugee resettlement in a variety of contexts.
- Compose high-quality work products that are relevant to the practice of refugee resettlement in Upstate New York.
- Facilitate learning in classroom and community spaces related to refugee policy issues.
PUBPOL 5051 - English in Global Contexts (1.5 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2019
PUBPOL 5053 - Academic Writing (1.5 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020
PUBPOL 5060 - Experiential Learning in Policy Making in Washington, DC (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 6998
The core course at Cornell in Washington is an experiential learning class that focuses on engaging with the professional experience of being in DC. Its primary purposes are to give students to build their understanding of their internship work by analyzing and reflecting on that work, understanding the context and structures of the policy and political world with which they are engaging, and learning and practicing the professional forms of writing that that world uses. This process occurs through readings, written assignments, guest speakers, and signature events.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students in Cornell in Washington program.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will have employed experiential learning techniques through readings, class sessions, reflective journals, guest speakers, and other activities to examine the professional norms and codes of working in the policy world.
- Students will have identified the day-to-day processes of the American policy and political community in DC, its aims and goals, and how it works at the ground level.
- Students will have composed a series of policy memos and done an oral presentation in order to be able to construct a policy analysis and recommendation.
- Graduate students will have assessed the state of knowledge in their particular policy area.
PUBPOL 5071 - Enduring Global and American Issues (4 Credits)
The US and the global community face a number of complex, interconnected and enduring issues that pose challenges for our political and policy governance institutions and society at large. Exploring how the US and the world conceive of the challenges and take action on them is fundamental to understanding them. This course investigates such issues, especially ones in the critical areas of sustainability, social justice, technology, public health and globalization, security and conflict. Students will engage with these areas and issues and the challenges they pose, using multiple frameworks and approaches, through weekly class discussions and lectures.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will have identified and analyzed multiple critical issues in America and the world.
- Students will have formulated a number of public-facing analyses of these issues.
- Graduate students will have analyzed the current understanding of each issue at a scholarly level (for grad students).
PUBPOL 5080 - Economics of the U.S. Social Safety Net (3 Credits)
This course provides an overview of the major programs that make up the social safety net in the United States. We will review the economic rationale behind social programs, identify the economic consequences of these programs, and assess the empirical research on these topics. A major emphasis of the course will be on understanding the strengths and limitations of the core methodologies used in the existing economics literature.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 3100 (or equivalent).
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and explain the reasons for government redistribution and provision of social insurance.
- Describe the ways in which social programs are implemented in reality, and analyze the potential distortions and consequences of program design using economic reasoning.
- Evaluate the empirical evidence on the impact of social programs on individual behavior and well-being by applying knowledge of statistical methodology.
- Formulate and express well-reasoned arguments for or against specific policies through written and oral presentations.
PUBPOL 5090 - Strategic Advocacy: Lobbying and Interest Group Politics in Washington, D.C. (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 6091
How is public policy really formed in the United States today? Who are the key actors and decision makers who shape the laws and regulations that impact us at the local, state and federal levels of government? Most importantly, how do private individuals (lobbyists, trade associations, media and other influencers) sway how laws, rules and regulations impact our daily lives? The goal of this course is to provide a foundation of how private influence impacts our public policy. Building upon this foundation, students will learn who the key policymakers are in the public sector alongside of those in the private sector who seek to influence them. Students will gain knowledge through academic texts looking at the role of interest group politics in America as well as the Instructor's 30 years of experience working as a public policy practitioner working at the highest levels of government on Capitol Hill and the White House as well as being a former lobbyist and licensed attorney at law.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Discuss how special interest groups seek to influence government policy, and the extent to which they succeed. This relates to outcomes of disciplinary knowledge (political science, law), applying multi-disciplinary perspectives, and policy analysis / public economics.
- Develop written and oral communication skills through several papers, a policy analysis assignment, and required participation in class discussion.
- This course develops students' critical thinking skills. Students must understand and analyze various readings, and participate in class discussions, and make logical arguments in their written assignments.
PUBPOL 5110 - Pharmaceutical Management and Policy (3 Credits)
This course provides an overview of management and policy issues facing the pharmaceutical industry. The course begins with the US market, which is the largest and most profitable, and then explores the state of the industry in other high-income countries as well as emerging markets and developing nations. We also explore the actions of the pharmaceutical industry in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the objectives and behavior of each of the major stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Assess the benefits and drawbacks of various policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical industry.
- Take advantage of publicly-available data in a self-directed investigation into a prescription drug.
PUBPOL 5111 - Public Administration (3 Credits)
This course prepares students to work within government departments and agencies, state and local authorities, and nonprofit public benefit corporations; and with private firms working in the public interest at the interface with governments and public benefit corporations. While the emphasis is on local and mid-size organizations, some material will address international and domestic national level organizations. As a first-year graduate program course it prepares students to conduct research on public organizations leadership and management and to be effective in public careers. It also prepares upper-level undergraduate students for internships and entry into public-sector careers.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze public administration challenges using strategic planning and political analysis frameworks.
- Draft policy directive administrative memoranda.
- Draft an original public administration case.
- Articulate best practices in human, financial, and technology management in a public sector context.
- Draft and present an original public sector strategic planning analysis.
- Describe how social identity shapes public administration and privileges stakeholders in the administrative process.
PUBPOL 5112 - Public Administration: A Strategic Planning Perspective for Executives (1 Credit)
This graduate-level survey course addressing issues in public administration is designed for Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students pursuing careers in government agencies, state and local authorities, and nonprofit organizations; and with private firms working in the public interest at the interface with government agencies. A central theme of the course is strategic planning-how leaders of mission-driven organizations can purposefully meet their organization's objectives in divisive political environments. The objectives of the course are to provide students with frameworks for analyzing various public management challenges from a strategic planning perspective, as well as a better understanding of the rationale and execution of strategic planning in public service. Concepts are paired with case studies from international, federal, state, and local mission-driven organizations to encourage learning through application.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze public and nonprofit management challenges using strategic planning and political analysis frameworks.
- Discuss strategic planning concerns relevant to their organization.
- Draft and present an original strategic planning analysis of their organization.
PUBPOL 5113 - Key Management Issues in the Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industries (1 Credit)
This course provides an overview of the key management issues facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The emphasis is on the United States because it is the largest and most profitable market, but we will briefly cover issues affecting global markets.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Through this course, students will learn to analyze how decisions made throughout drug testing and development impact a drug's performance over its lifecycle.
- Describe how firms set prices and negotiate with health insurers.
- Anticipate the pros and cons of a merger, acquisition, or alliance opportunity.
- Deconstruct and critique drug marketing strategies.
PUBPOL 5114 - Systems Leadership (3 Credits)
This course will provide MPA students with a graduate-level overview of key principles and techniques in applying systems thinking to organizational leadership, change and design in public and nonprofit contexts. Of particular note is the opportunity for students to present their original research at a public symposium/conference at the end of the semester.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Practice the four functions of Systems Leadership (VMCL) and use them to design an adaptive learning organization.
- Multidiscipline, comprehend, direct, innovate, think, work group, communicate, scholarship, research.
PUBPOL 5118 - Diversity in Leadership: Experience, Perspective and Relatability in Public Affairs (3 Credits)
This course addresses the role of leaders and leadership in public and non-profit institutions' organizational change. A focus of the course is on how leaders can facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organizations, how they can leverage diversity for performance improvement, and how they can negotiate identity-based conflict among staff.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE, HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe what leadership means and consider specific leadership approaches in the context of public affairs practice.
- Students will examine theories of leadership in the context of public organizations in order to understand the relevance of these theories to institutions and how leaders adapt to their roles in organizations.
- Students will draft three substantial deliverables on leadership--a leadership case study, an organizational case study analysis, and a leadership and problem solving paper.
PUBPOL 5119 - Leadership for Public Service Executives (1 Credit)
This course, designed for Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students, focuses on the role of leaders and leadership in public organizations, such as government entities. It is particularly valuable for students who are pursuing or currently have careers in government at the local, state, or national levels, as well as for those working in private firms that interact with the public sector.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will articulate various leadership approaches and theories in a public affairs context.
- Students will articulate leadership dynamics in public organizations and the environments in which they operate.
- Students will discuss leadership models and theories in the context of public organizations to examine their relevance to those institutions and, most importantly, how leaders must adapt their roles to public organizations.
PUBPOL 5120 - Global Citizenship (3 Credits)
The course will explore the theoretical foundations and politics of global citizenship, U.S. programs designed to promote global citizenship, as well as national and subnational policies in the U.S. and around the world that advance local solutions to global systems of inequality.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the theoretical foundations of global citizenship, including key philosophical, sociological, and political perspectives, and critically evaluate their implications for policy formulation and implementation.
- Evaluate U.S. Government and U.S. Higher Education programs aimed at promoting global citizenship, assessing their effectiveness and implications for global cooperation and governance.
- Examine national and subnational policies from diverse global contexts that address systemic inequalities on local and global scales, identifying common challenges, innovative solutions, and the role of policy advocacy and implementation strategies.
- Synthesize interdisciplinary insights to design an evidence-based intervention to advance mutual understanding and global solidarity between two international constituencies.
PUBPOL 5121 - Strategic Negotiations (3 Credits)
Public affairs is a field that is heavily shaped by conflict, as well as opportunities for collaboration. Learning how to negotiate conflict and collaboration is therefore essential for successful professional practice. In this course, you will learn how to improve your negotiation skills through applied tools, best practices, case studies and negotiations practice. Throughout this course, you will be asked to build your own negotiation case study using a scenario provided to you. These practical exercises will allow you to apply the ideas and concepts presented in each unit using case studies that will provide skills to prepare and manage negotiations.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify different negotiation types, their relationships, and the three negotiation spaces.
- Distinguish between the interests and positions of yourself and your negotiating partners using integrative negotiation techniques.
- Prepare for your negotiation.
- Apply integrative negotiation techniques to your negotiation.
PUBPOL 5122 - Negotiation Skills for Executives (1 Credit)
Public affairs is a field that is heavily shaped by conflict, as well as opportunities for collaboration. Learning how to negotiate conflict and collaboration is therefore essential for successful professional practice. In this course, you will learn how to improve your negotiations skills through applied tools, best practices, and case studies. Students will also have the opportunity to practice their negotiations through live, active negotiation exercises with peers.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify different negotiation types, their relationships, and negotiation spaces.
- Students will distinguish between their interests and positions and those of their negotiating partners using integrative negotiation techniques.
- Students will prepare for negotiation by getting to know themselves, the other party, and the negotiation environment.
- Students will manage the action by applying integrative tactics to course negotiations.
PUBPOL 5128 - Rethinking Development for Executives (1 Credit)
Debates on theories and practice of international development suggest that there have been serious challenges in ensuring aid effectiveness. Substantial investments made by 'donor' countries often fail to yield the intended development results. At the heart of such debates are varying, contested notions and frameworks to achieve 'development' and 'progress'. This short course attempts to familiarize students with how different actors perceive development and how that impacts development programming in local contexts. The course will assess the prevalent paradigms of development, from the United Nations system to the bilateral and multilateral frameworks and from international NGOs to the religious charities. Class participants will learn about the challenges faced and constraints reproduced by the international development bureaucracies. Each week, students would be expected to read and discuss the suggested readings, cite country contexts and address an applied development question. For final project, students will be given the option to apply course readings, discussions to a policy issue that they will complete with independent research and online inquires with development practitioners.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA Students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will articulate how different actors perceive development and how that impacts development programming in local contexts.
- Students will assess the prevalent paradigms of development, from the United Nations system to the bilateral and multilateral frameworks and from international NGOs to the religious charities.
- Class participants will evaluate the challenges faced and constraints reproduced by the international development bureaucracies.
PUBPOL 5130 - Behavioral Economics and Public Policy (3 Credits)
Standard economic theory assumes that individuals are rational decision-makers; however, that is often not the case in the real world. Behavioral economics uses findings from psychology to determine ways in which individuals are systematically irrational to improve upon existing models. The first part of this course reviews these theories, while the second part of the course focuses on how these findings have been used to design better education, health, and tax policies as well as many others.
Prerequisites: either PUBPOL 3100, CRP 5450, or a course in basic econometrics and either PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030 or permission of instructor.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply key theories from the field of behavioral economics.
- Apply economic insights from lab and field experiments to policy design.
- Interpret empirical results from research papers as they relate to policy.
- Identify assumptions in standard economic models that may not hold in real world settings and interpret empirical tests of their validity.
- Identify areas of policy where taking behavioral insights into account could improve public policy in terms of implementation, efficiency, or redistribution.
PUBPOL 5132 - Legal Aspects of Public Agency Decision-Making (3 Credits)
This course introduces the application of legal concepts to decision-making processes conducted by governmental agencies, particularly at the federal level. It explores how constitutional law, statutory law, and judge-made law shape agency decisions. Attention is given, for example, to roles agencies play in American government, differences between rule-making proceedings and adjudications, rights of parties to obtain judicial review of agency decisions, how judges review factual and legal determinations by agency officials, and the rights of parties appearing before agencies.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate understanding of the legal foundations of public agency authority.
- Students will apply course material highlighting general legal problems in the administrative state.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze, and compare different approaches to combating legal and ethical issues faced by public agencies.
- Students will draw from multiple sources of law to predict the legal outcomes of contemporary regulatory controversies.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast different approaches to regulatory enforcement and the source of legal authority required for each.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to spot legal and ethical issues, propose and analyze potential solutions, and provide the legal basis for their proposed policy.
PUBPOL 5133 - Law and Public Agency Decisions for Executives (1 Credit)
As technology improves and global infrastructure grows in complexity and reach, government bureaucracies struggle to keep pace. Agencies must adopt and execute new policies while conforming their actions to the rules of law. Administrative decisions affect our daily lives in countless ways, including food safety, weather forecasting, internet speed and availability, and trash collection to name a few. This course takes a comparative approach, examining different countries' methods for addressing the legal aspects of public administrative agencies with regard to their purpose, operation, rule-making, and ethics.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate understanding of the legal source of public agency authority.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast different approaches to regulatory enforcement and the source of legal authority required for each.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to spot legal and ethical issues, propose and analyze potential solutions, and provide the legal basis for their proposed policy.
PUBPOL 5135 - World Food Systems and Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course aims to teach students the basics of global food systems, their governance, and the public policies that shape them across the globe. An emphasis will be put on understanding the interconnections between the developed world and the global south in food consumption and production.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL, CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of global food systems, focusing on the governance structures, geopolitical interdependencies between developed and developing nations, and their complex structural intricacies.
- Explore critical issues and global policies affecting food systems, analyzing case studies that impact consumer choices, world policies, and identifying sustainable solutions to global food security challenges.
- Understand the interconnections between society, ecology, and governance, and their broader implications for food governance, security, nutritional outcomes, and sustainability.
- Encourage and enable students to improve communication skills and develop creative and critical faculties through diverse course activities, such as reading, writing, and presenting elevator pitches, writing policy memos, while gaining a nuanced understanding of pressing issues in global food systems.
PUBPOL 5140 - Political Journalism (4 Credits)
This course will explore the traditional dynamic and norms of political press coverage in the United States, and the impact of those patterns on both the government and the nation; some of the ways longstanding norms have recently shifted, and continue to shift; the larger historical forces and long-term trends driving those changes; and the theoretical questions, logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas these changes pose for both political journalists and those they cover. The course will equally cover the practice of political reporting, including weekly analysis and discussion of current press coverage, in-class exercises and simulations, readings from academic and journalistic sources, and visits from leading political reporters and former spokespeople able to offer a firsthand perspective on the topics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate the ability to think like a journalist, in particular: to understand and interpret the elements of a variety of political reporting, and the editorial decision-making process.
- Understand, analyze, and contrast how the press and political actors influence each other, and society at large.
- Compose, evaluate, and assess editorial decisions in real time.
- Interpret and utilize the basic facts about how various political news beats and platforms operate, including congressional, White House, campaign, investigative, local, print, digital, and television journalism.
PUBPOL 5147 - Executive Presence for Public Affairs Executives (1 Credit)
A vital skill in business and in life is being able to connect with other people by making your case and communicating genuine emotion, even in the most intimidating circumstances. In this course, you will learn through a cyclical pattern. You'll be instructed on a specific skill set, then asked to record and present yourself performing an activity or scripted behavior. You'll practice analyzing your performance, repeating and refining your work in exercises specially designed by Cornell Theatre Professor David M. Feldshuh.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze and understand your own strengths and weaknesses as a presenter.
- Connect and affect listeners when you transfer information, share emotion, or persuade for your purpose.
- Observe and appreciate the performance techniques used by others in the world around you, and recognize how these insights can contribute to your own presentation presence.
- Deal with performance anxiety, mannerisms, and other distractions that limit your effectiveness in presentation.
- Create a self-training process using self-recorded video, self-analysis, focused exercises, and rubric assessment to continue improvement long after the course is completed.
- Use practice and repetition to learn a new skill set: Executive Presence.
PUBPOL 5151 - Gender Inequality and Global Policy (3 Credits)
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 states that countries should: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. What is empowerment and how will we know when it has been achieved? Why is gender inequality a problem for countries? In this course, we formulate answers to these questions through an examination of gender and development policy past and present. We unpack different and often competing definitions of 'empowerment' and 'gender equality' deployed in global policy, and understand the historical lineages of development theory and feminisms that led to 'gender' as an important policy consideration. Importantly, students build analytical tools for evaluating how intersectional experiences of gender shape the impact of these policies on the lives of women, girls, and other gender minorities. This course blends practice and theory, encouraging students to evaluate the material effects of diverse approaches to reducing gender inequality through case studies, writing, and readings in gender and global policy.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe at least three distinct historical movements in gender and development policy and the various feminist theories connected to these movements.
- Discuss current approaches and major debates in women's 'empowerment' across key policy sectors including: economic growth, education, public health, and agriculture.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of historical and contemporary gender policy cases for promoting gender equality.
- Assess SDG 5 as a policy framework for reducing gender inequality globally.
- Synthesize theoretical and empirical evidence into convincing and cohesive written analytical arguments.
PUBPOL 5155 - Data Management and Programming for Policy and Society (3 Credits)
This course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of data management and programming in R. The goal is to teach students how to obtain and curate real world data, determine its reliability, manage large databases, create variables useful for analysis, and more. Much of the work will be done using R libraries, which can help facilitate the functionality of R without increasing the complexity.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of variable and data types and how to use packages in R.
- Assemble data by importing it into R.
- Appraise data quality and accuracy using common functions in R.
- Use R code to manage and analyze databases.
PUBPOL 5160 - Diversity, Dialogue and Ethical Leadership (3 Credits)
This course equips students with critical skills for leading in diverse, global organizations. By exploring public narratives, the politics of diversity, and cross-cultural leadership, students will learn to reflect on social identities, facilitate meaningful dialogue, and navigate the complexities of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in varied cultural contexts.
Enrollment Information: Primarily for: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Critically analyze how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues are shaped by social identities and historical contexts both within the U.S. and globally, identifying patterns of inequality and their implications for policy.
- Understand and apply key concepts of leadership across different cultural contexts, developing strategies that effectively address cultural differences and enhance leadership effectiveness in diverse environments.
- Demonstrate skills in facilitating open and constructive dialogue on complex and sensitive issues, employing techniques that promote understanding, empathy, and productive exchanges among diverse groups.
PUBPOL 5170 - Market Regulation for Executives (1 Credit)
This graduate-level survey course addresses issues in market regulation and public policy. It reviews and applies tools acquired in prior economics and public administration classes to examine several important policy problems. This class will refine students' ability to use economics and statistics to illuminate the causes and consequences of several policy interventions. It will illustrate how those tools can help formalize and organize complex concepts and thus reveal both the intended and unintended effects of various policies. We examine several specific policies and their effects, including racial discrimination and deregulation in trucking, unintended effects of the Endangered Species Act, the move from a military draft to an All-Volunteer Military, and real-time, network-wide pricing of roads. A broader goal is a facility for reading relevant economic literature. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings/cases/case memos with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Fall 2014
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate enhanced understanding of the motivation and rationale for various types of government intervention in the marketplace.
- Students will articulate a standard set of rationales for government intervention, as well as the importance of history and the details of institutional arrangements to thoroughly understand that intervention.
- Students will be better able to read peer-reviewed academic literature in public policy, as well as formally analyze new policy proposals.
PUBPOL 5174 - Navigating Public-Private Partnerships for Executives (0.5 Credits)
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being used as strategies to address significant public policy challenges, particularly in the developing world. This summer Executive Master of Public Administration residential intensive course will examine how governments are partnering with for-profit and nonprofit organizations, shaping public policy, redefining traditional methods of public administration, and solving some of the world's most intractable problems. The course addresses the multiple contexts in which public-private partnerships have been utilized, including transportation, infrastructure, education, smart cities, and public health. Here, we will look at whether multi-stakeholder partnerships are an effective means to relieve financial burdens on states and communities, when it is most appropriate for public entities to utilize private sector expertise, and when shared risk makes fiscal sense for both the public and private sectors. Discussions will also emphasize management challenges within multi-stakeholder partnerships and their impact on performance in the delivery of public services.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will determine and identify contexts in which Public and Private partnerships in collaborative governance regimes are most likely to achieve their intended goals.
- Students will examine how governments are partnering with for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and shaping public policy, redefining traditional methods of public administration.
- Students will analyze the benefits, challenges, and risks when entering into strategic shared-value PPPs involving the public, for-profit, and non-profit sectors.
PUBPOL 5176 - Health Care Operations and Management (3 Credits)
This course will provide an overview of operations within hospital and ambulatory settings. We will start with the development of a definition of “operations”. It is important for students to describe operational concerns and activities distinct from, but in relation to, other domains in the provider setting (e.g. strategy, capital planning, human resources). Lectures will include deep dives into resource planning, process design, policy and governance, financial management, and performance monitoring.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Define operations and build initial lexicon of operations concepts, tools, and measures.
- Gain context for both inpatient and ambulatory operational objectives, challenges, and outcomes.
- Understand how operations concepts and initiatives intersect with other organizational areas (strategy, finance, IT, etc.).
- Develop a plan for seeking out and gaining operational experience in internships/ fellowships.
- Practice operational decision making through simulation, case study, or scenario dialogue.
PUBPOL 5180 - Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations (1.5 Credits)
This graduate-level course covers the fundamentals of strategic planning applied to public and nonprofit sector contexts. We investigate the importance of strategic planning for organizational management as well as the fundamentals of how to develop an actionable strategic plan that supports organizational values and goals. Specifically, this course will teach basic skills in strategic thinking, stakeholder mapping, organizational analysis, and strategies for operationalizing growth. Special emphasis is on strategic planning as a policy and decision-making process with the potential to leverage underrepresented voices.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Articulate the value and common missteps of strategic plans for nonprofit organizations in various stages of development.
- Discuss the stages of strategic planning processes.
- Design stakeholder mapping and context analysis processes that are consistent with an organization's values and mission.
- Evaluate efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in developing an organization's strategic planning process.
- Develop an original public or nonprofit sector strategic planning deliverable.
PUBPOL 5190 - Nonprofits and Public Policy (3 Credits)
The Nonprofit sector plays an important role in society and makes up a growing share of the U.S. economy. In this course, we use economic theory and econometric tools to examine the nonprofit market and how it gets shaped by public policy. Topics covered include theories of the nonprofit market, determinants of charitable giving and volunteering, the role played by religion, competition between nonprofits and for-profits in labor markets, and the effects of taxes, subsidies and regulations.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030 (or equivalent) and PUBPOL 3100 (or an equivalent course in basic econometrics).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the main theories explaining the need for having a nonprofit sector.
- Evaluate whether nonprofits are suitable or needed in different industries.
- Apply and explain intuition behind economic models that describe the public and nonprofit sectors.
- Interpret econometric evidence and evaluate appropriateness of methods to address important question in the sector.
PUBPOL 5200 - International Human Rights Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This course will address major challenges in international human rights law, policy, and practice. Specific topics include children's rights, women's rights, LGBTQI+ rights, the rights of refugees and migrants, the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of minorities and freedom from discrimination, freedom from torture, the right to life, the death penalty, modern slavery, and the right to sustainable development. We will also discuss the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations with respect to human rights, as well as the impact of actions (and inactions) by states and institutions in the Global North on the realization of human rights in states in the Global South.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework and sources of law (treaties, customary international law, UN institutions and machinery) governing international human rights law and policy, as well as a strong introduction to the substance of many internationally recognized human rights.
- Build a strong foundation regarding the leading human rights challenges facing people around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
- Develop a keen understanding of how international human rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze U.S. legal sources (statutes, regulations, judicial and administrative opinions and guidance) as they relate to international human rights obligations of the U.S.
- Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing human rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular human rights issue in a particular location.
PUBPOL 5210 - Intermediate Microeconomics for Public Affairs (3 Credits)
The primary learning goals of this course are (1) to understand the core concepts of microeconomics and (2) to develop analytical/problem-solving skills. This course differs from typical intermediate-level microeconomic courses in that there will be more emphasis on the role of policy and the public sector in the economy, although understanding the role and effectiveness of markets will remain central. This course is not a substitute for a full-semester comprehensive course in public economics but is a good foundation for that field-level course.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the basic principles of microeconomics.
- Develop analytical/problem solving skills using tools of microeconomic analysis.
PUBPOL 5213 - Microeconomics for Public Affairs Executives (2 Credits)
The primary learning goals of this course are (1) to understand the core concepts of microeconomics and (2) to develop analytical/problem-solving skills. This course differs from typical intermediate-level microeconomic courses in that there will be more emphasis on the role of policy and the public sector in the economy, although understanding the role and effectiveness of markets will remain central.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply the basic principles of microeconomics to public policy challenges.
- Students will demonstrate analytical/problem solving skills using tools of microeconomic analysis.
PUBPOL 5220 - Public Finance: Economics of the Public Sector (3 Credits)
This course covers topics in public economics and political economy. The course will use the tools of economics to consider when and how the government should intervene in the economy, and how different levels of government might intervene differently. Both theory and applications will be covered.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5210 or equivalent intermediate micro-economics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain and identify conditions justifying government intervention in markets.
- Analyze the theoretical impact of possible interventions using indifference curves, budget constraints, and supply and demand functions.
- Evaluate the economic costs and benefits associated with major government programs, including social insurance and tax policy.
- Apply the theoretical tools of economic analysis to evaluate the substantive impact of existing government policies, both in the US and internationally.
PUBPOL 5230 - Comparative Education Policy (3 Credits)
This course equips students to critically evaluate the role of education in society, analyze and compare global education policies, and assess their effectiveness. By applying theoretical perspectives and comparative methods, students will synthesize insights to propose informed policy reforms addressing social, economic, and political challenges in diverse contexts.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply theoretical perspectives on the role of education in society to critically evaluate rationale for various policy approaches.
- Utilize comparative methods to critically analyze and compare education policies across different countries that seek to address social, economic, political, and human development challenges in diverse contexts.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of various education policy approaches by synthesizing insights on the successes and challenges faced by different countries in order to propose new policy reforms.
PUBPOL 5240 - Risk Management and Policy (3 Credits)
This course applies statistical and economic approaches to analyze risk, the approaches to managing risk by private and government actors, and the impact of government risk policies on the private economy. The course aims to provide students with a broad understanding of risk management problems and solutions, a greater appreciation of the importance of risk management and policy, and increased comprehension of the challenges and complexities of managing key societal risks. Students will enhance their capacity to analyze risk and appreciate the importance of managing risk; will gain working knowledge of important risk management terminology, tools, and institutions; will practice identifying and quantitatively measuring risk; increase their capacity for critical analysis of risk management approaches; and acauire capacity to contribute to discussions of risk governance and its implications.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5210 or equivalent, PUBPOL 5310 or equivalent, and PUBPOL 5220.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- The capacity to analyze risk and the importance of managing risk.
- A working knowledge of important risk management terminology, tools, and institutions.
- Practice with identifying and quantitatively measuring risk.
- Capacity for critical analysis of risk management approaches.
- Ability to meaningfully contribute to discussions of risk governance and its implications.
PUBPOL 5250 - Neighborhoods, Housing, and Urban Policy (3 Credits)
This course considers the dynamics of housing markets and neighborhoods in American metropolitan areas and the public policies designed to regulate them. In the first part of the course we examine the demographic and economic forces at work in metropolitan neighborhoods, focusing on trends in inequality and segregation and how they have been influenced by macroeconomic trends and public policies. In the second part of the course, we examine federal and local housing policies related to subsidized housing, homeownership, and land regulation and we analyze the empirical and normative debates surrounding their effectiveness. Students will also gain experience locating and analyzing data about neighborhoods and housing policies.
Forbidden Overlaps: CRP 3430, PUBPOL 3250, PUBPOL 5250, SOC 3250
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe the origins, evolution, and contemporary challenges of low-income housing policy in the US.
- Students will be able to identify and analyze descriptive data related to neighborhoods and housing.
- Students will be able to apply course concepts to the study of neighborhoods and housing in their local surroundings.
PUBPOL 5260 - Sexuality Law and Policy (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with FGSS 5260
This course will explore how American law and policy have confronted and continue to confront issues of sexuality. The focus will primarily be on how law and policy treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. While 2015 brought marriage equality and 2020 brought federal protections in employment, the fight for full LGBTQ equality continues. The class will discuss this fight's legal history and current status. Current debates, Constitutional and otherwise, will also be explored around topics such as the First Amendment and LGBTQ family formation. The potential effects that the 2022 abortion rights decision may have on LGBTQ rights will also be addressed. This course will provide a grounding in the contours of current sexuality law and policy while delving into some emerging areas that remain ripe for new policy formation. Students will also learn how to read and brief legal opinions. The class will be taught primarily through a legal lens. Still, prior legal education or experience is neither required nor expected. The course will be taught through a hybrid combination of lecture and seminar-style discussion and a few guest speakers directly involved in the debate.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2024, Summer 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will explain and apply the fundamental principles of the law as they impact LGBTQ lives. These include constitutional doctrines (e.g., liberty, equality, expression, and religious exercise), nondiscrimination (in employment, healthcare, and school), and family law.
- Students will describe the history of LGBTQ efforts toward achieving legal rights and some of the theoretical, political, and social implications of these efforts.
- Students will interpret the evolution of judicial understandings of sexual orientation and gender identity over time.
PUBPOL 5270 - Constitutional Law: An Introduction (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with GOVT 6271
In this course, we will examine one of the most important documents in American history - our Constitution. Course topics will include the historical background of the document from the Magna Carta to the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. We will look at the creation of the Constitution, including the conflict between strong supporters of this proposed new Constitution (Federalists) and their opponents (Anti-Federalists). How did the Founders resolve their differences and what led the States to adopt a document limiting and balancing the powers of the President, Congress, and the Judiciary? We shall look at the constant tension (from the beginning to the present) over the balance of power between the three co-equal branches. We shall discuss the role of the Constitution from both empirical and theoretical perspectives and look at how it has evolved from 1788 to the present day. Special attention will be paid to the use of Amendments, particularly the Bill of Rights, to address events/circumstances unforeseen by the drafters. Finally, the course will discuss critical cases where the Supreme Court defined and redefined what the Constitution meant.
Forbidden Overlaps: PUBPOL 3270, PUBPOL 5270
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify key stakeholders in the formulation of the Constitution.
- Students will identify and discuss key cases in controversy in which the Supreme Court ruled to establish clear parameters on how the Constitution has been interpreted for more than 200 years with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights.
- Students will analyze why the Constitution remains such an important aspect an influence in American daily life.
- (graduate students) Assess the scholarly understanding of the role of the Constitution and Constitutional Law in American politics and policy.
PUBPOL 5280 - Population Health for Health Managers (3 Credits)
Population health focuses on the health and well-being of entire populations. Populations may be geographically defined, such as neighborhoods or counties; may be based on groups of individuals who share common characteristics such as age, race-ethnicity, disease status, or socioeconomic status; or may be attributed to accountable healthcare organizations using a variety of methods. With roots in epidemiology, public health, and demography, a key component of population health is the focus on the social determinants of health and collaborative, holistic, patient-centered and coordinated care to improve population health, identify and reduce health disparities, improve healthcare quality, and reduce healthcare costs. Given the shifting health care environment - from fee-for-service to value-based care - healthcare managers who are able to apply tools to measure, analyze, evaluate and improve population health (one aim of IHI's Triple Aim) will be well-positioned for positions in health care as the field continues to evolve.
Forbidden Overlaps: GDEV 3280, PUBPOL 3280, PUBPOL 5280
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Apply a population health and health equity perspective to problem solving.
- Calculate and use for decision-making, key population health metrics and methods.
- Leverage publicly available social, place, demographic, and health data to analyze the health of a population.
- Synthesize existing tools to design a population-tailored social determinants of health (SDH) screening tool.
- Analyze claims data to identify high cost patients and build tailored care teams to support patient needs.
- Build an Excel tool to identify patients at high risk for readmission following surgery and develop a tailored care transition plan designed to reduce readmissions.
- Recommend population health management practices (i.e., risk stratification, care coordination, complex care management, patient engagement, cross-sector collaboration), population health delivery models (e.g., medical homes, telehealth), and payment models (e.g., capitation; Medicaid waivers), to achieve the Triple Aim.
- Consider different perspectives and demonstrate multicultural competence and inclusive communication while working in diverse groups or sharing in discussion posts.
- Explain how structural racism contributes to observed health disparities and apply a health equity framework to class projects and discussions.
- Demonstrate flexibility, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we navigate a potentially shifting class environment.
PUBPOL 5281 - The Economics and Regulation of Risky Health Behaviors (3 Credits)
Risky health behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking, risky sex, poor diet, physical inactivity, and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana laws, will be debated in class. Students will also participate in a policy wargame on the subject of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5210 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Employ the economic perspective to explain risky health behaviors; in particular: a. Distinguish the economic way of thinking from other viewpoints b. Apply economics and other perspectives to understand why people engage in risky health behaviors, and assess the merits of each. c. Define and describe the economic rationale for government intervention - to fix market failures - to evaluate the justification for, and design of, public policies.
- Recognize and analyze how economic research is conducted, in particular, differentiate the methods used by economists to estimate the effect of one variable on another. These methods include randomized experiments, the method of instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and difference-in-differences models. Accurately interpret the results of these methods.
- Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to compose clear and testable statements, critically examine arguments, fairly assess evidence, and conclude.
- Explain and interpret the basic facts about risky health behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, obesity, risky sex, and suicide.
PUBPOL 5283 - Population Health for Executives (1.5 Credits)
Population health focuses on the health and well-being of entire populations. Populations may be geographically defined, such as neighborhoods or counties; may be based on groups of individuals who share common characteristics such as disease status, socioeconomic status, or race-ethnicity; or may be made of patients attributed to accountable healthcare organizations using a variety of methods. With roots in epidemiology, public health, and demography, key tools of population health management include risk stratification, chronic care management, identifying upstream social determinants of health, improving health equity, and cross-sector collaboration to improve prevention and wellness. Given the shifting health care environment - from fee-for-service to value-based care - healthcare managers who are able to apply tools to measure, analyze, evaluate, and improve the health of populations (and achieve the Triple Aim) will be well-positioned to achieve value as the field continues to evolve.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the key drivers underlying population health policies and practices and evaluate efficacy of population health progress to date.
- Develop a holistic view of health outcomes inclusive of health behaviors and traditional medical care, but also social determinants of health, health equity, and non-medical interventions.
- Apply risk stratification principles to tailor population health strategies to the needs of different populations.
- Consider the perspectives of various stakeholders in the health care ecosystem (e.g., payers, providers, employers, government) to analyze the pace of population health adoption and develop market-appropriate strategies.
PUBPOL 5290 - The Economics and Regulation of Risky Health Behaviors (4 Credits)
Risky health behaviors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, risky sex, drug use, poor diet and physical inactivity (leading to obesity), and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana laws, will be debated in class. We will conduct a policy wargame, with students creating advertisements and giving oral presentations to advocate a specific policy position.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will learn how to apply economic theory in order to understand why people engage in risky health behaviors. They will also learn how to use econometrics to estimate the causes and consequences of risky health behaviors, and the effects of policies to prevent and reduce them.
- Students will complete numerous written assignments in which they evaluate the economic rationale for government policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age, medicinal marijuana laws, and assisted suicide laws. They will also each give a presentation in a policy wargame, regarding their position on taxing sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Students will develop critical thinking skills, demonstrating that they can understand and weigh perspectives from multiple disciplines, and interpret data and research studies.
PUBPOL 5310 - Applied Econometrics for Public Policy (4 Credits)
This class is an applied introduction to multivariate statistical inference that is aimed at graduate students with little prior statistical experience, and satisfies the Quantitative Methods and Analytics requirement in the MPA Program. We will begin with a brief introduction to basic statistical concepts and probability theory before introducing the linear regression model. We then review several tools for diagnosing violations of statistical assumptions, including how to deal with outliers, missing data, omitted variables, and weighting. We will next consider situations in which linear regression will yield biased estimates of the population parameters of interest, with particular attention paid to measurement error, selection on unobservables, and omitted variables. The course will end with an introduction to extensions of the linear regression model, including models for binary and categorical outcomes. While statistical modeling is the focus of the course, we proceed with the assumption that models are only as good as the theoretical and substantive knowledge behind them. Thus, in covering the technical material, we will spend considerable time discussing the link between substantive knowledge and statistical practice. The course is designed primarily for professional masters students.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment preference given to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Conduct statistical analysis using the multiple regression tool.
- Diagnosis and understand the limitations to the multiple regression tool.
- Interpret results from a linear model.
- Critically assess statistical models displayed in scholarly research articles.
- Produce a data and research project using multivariate tools.
PUBPOL 5313 - Managerial Statistics for Public Affairs Executives (1 Credit)
An introduction to statistical methods commonly used in managerial decision making. Topics to be covered include the descriptive analysis of data, inferential methods (estimation and hypothesis testing), regression and correlation analysis, as well as quality control methods. The course will involve a research project designed to give experience in collecting and interpreting data.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate analytical and functional competency in basic statistical skills.
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of ethics as it relates to statistical analysis and communication.
- Demonstrate the ability to solve practical problems.
- Develop skills to be critical consumers of business and policy research.
PUBPOL 5320 - Mental Health Care Delivery and Policy (3 Credits)
Mental illnesses are common in the United States. More than 1 in 5 adults (greater than 50 million people) live with a mental health illness and 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) will have experienced a seriously debilitating mental illness in their lifetime. Yet, less than half of those who need treatment receive it: Depression is the leading cause of disability, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14, and unmet mental health needs have profound long-term consequences including reductions in overall health and quality of life; substance use and addiction; family disruption; criminal justice system involvement; homelessness; unemployment and productivity losses; and early preventable mortality. This course provides an overview of the state of mental health in the United States with a focus on the drivers of mental well-being, mental illness, and mental health inequities. We will examine how mental health practice and policy can improve (or impede) community mental well-being, quality of mental health care, and mental health outcomes for those experiencing mental illness. Intentional focus will be given to topics such as stigma, historical trauma, and racism in addition to the importance of culturally intentional and patient-centered evidence-based care in order to collectively envision healthier and more equitable futures.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 5280.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Define mental health and poor mental health including mental illness and disability.
- Describe the overall burden of mental illness in the US and its drivers, consequences, evidence-based treatment best practices, and historical and contemporary mental health policy.
- Working in pairs or trios, demonstrate the competencies described in #2 by co-authoring a 4-stage research project, including a 5-minute lightning talk, for an instructor-approved mental health issue and population of their choosing.
- Use Photovoice as a personal lens for critical reflection on historical and contemporary mental health structures and inequities to envision mentally healthier futures for all.
- Consider different perspectives and demonstrate multicultural competence and inclusive communication while working in diverse groups in class.
PUBPOL 5325 - Public Systems Modeling (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with CEE 6930
This course serves as an introduction to the art of model building, especially related to public sector planning and management issues. The course also introduces the quantitative approach for identifying, evaluating and estimating the physical, economic, environmental, and social impacts of alternative decisions planners and managers are asked to make.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate proficiency with quantitative modeling techniques, including simulation, optimization, and linear/dynamic programming.
- Students will identify, evaluate, and estimate the physical, economic, environmental, and social aspects of alternative decisions planners and managers are asked to make.
- Students will integrate concepts learned in class through a team project.
PUBPOL 5330 - Children's Law and Policy (3 Credits)
This class explores the most pressing legal and policy dilemmas in the field of children's rights. We will take a U.S. and international law approach to major topics including: protection from child abuse and neglect; alternative care and adoption; juvenile justice, police and community violence; education rights, including the rights of children with disabilities; internet freedoms and dangers, including cyberbullying and pornography; health and medical decision-making; sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking; the rights of refugee and immigrant children; child poverty; the right to a sustainable environment; and issues of child voice, including children's rights to participate in the political process and the ethical obligations governing the legal representation of children.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze and apply U.S. and international legal sources.
- Build a strong foundation regarding the leading children's rights issue facing children and teens in the U.S. and around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
- Develop a keen understanding of how children's rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
- Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing children's rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular children's rights issue in a particular location.
- Develop communication and political strategy and advocacy skills necessary to persuade relevant (fictional) policymakers to adopt the policy proposal developed in 5 above.
PUBPOL 5334 - Corporations, Shareholders, and Policy (3 Credits)
The term firm has very broad usage. It refers to any organizational form that people use to create teams or groups that focus on achieving a specific purpose. Firms provide a structure through which people can organize themselves into those groups or teams. They are categorized by the nature of the property rights owners hold in the firm, and by the details of the firm's contractual arrangements. Common firm types include partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profits, mutuals, and publicly traded corporations, among others. This course focuses on one important firm type: the modern publicly traded, privately owned corporation. The course uses economic and statistical analysis to study the interaction of the public corporation, the market, and the law, and how those interactions affect the welfare of managers, shareholders and consumers. The costs and benefits of that standard corporate form of organization are examined. A variety of legal institutions, some of which have evolved over decades, are analyzed. Those institutions define and govern the corporation. They include limited liability, fiduciary duties, the business judgment rule, and shareholder voting. The mechanisms of corporate governance, i.e., those legal and market-based forces that help control the corporation and ensure that managers operate it in shareholders' interest, are examined. Corporate governance mechanisms include hostile takeovers, insider trading, outside directors on the board, the monitoring role of institutional investors, audits, and executive compensation plans. State corporate law and anti-takeover devices are also discussed. The role and impact of federal policies, such as the 1933-34 Exchange Acts, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act in affecting corporate structure and managerial behavior will be an important focus. Other institutions and policies related to publicly traded corporations, such as sovereign wealth funds and government-sponsored enterprises, will also be examined along the way.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 and PUBPOL 2101, or equivalents.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain what a publicly traded corporation is, how it is organized, why it exists, its benefits and costs to society, how it is governed, controlled, and regulated, and its broader role in society.
- Be able to describe the structure and effect of the law and policy surrounding the public corporation.
- Students will be able to analyze and engage in policy controversies surrounding the corporation.
- Students will be able to explain and demonstrate the role and importance of alternative organizational forms, including private partnerships, mutuals, and non-profit enterprises.
PUBPOL 5340 - Regulation and Infrastructure Policy (3 Credits)
Infrastructure provides essential services such as road and highway transportation, ports and airports, communications, electricity, clean drinking water, and wastewater treatment. This course examines policies related to operation, maintenance, and especially funding and financing of critical physical infrastructure. It includes regulatory issues such as controlling market power, ensuring adequate service quality, and maintaining the assets in question.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain the motivation and rationale for various types of government policies toward infrastructure.
- Students will be able to explain the standard set of economic and policy issues that are raised by the unique nature of much infrastructure. This includes the history of those sectors as well as the details of institutional arrangements surrounding them.
- Students will be able to explain the actual effects of intervention in the infrastructure sector, and why some forms of regulation have been eliminated or modified over time.
PUBPOL 5343 - Program Evaluation for Executives (1 Credit)
This course is a general introduction to evaluation research for assessing social programs and interventions. The course uses an evolutionary and systems thinking perspective on evaluation. Students will learn essential concepts in program evaluation that will enable them to design a high-quality evaluation plan for a program or intervention. The basic steps involved in creating any evaluation plan are explained, including: 1) Preparation (entering the system, developing a memorandum of understanding, identifying internal stakeholders, creating working group(s), and assessing evaluation capacity); 2) Program Model Development (stakeholder analysis, program review, program boundary analysis, program lifecycle analysis, logic modeling, program pathway models, setting evaluation scope, identifying relevant prior research); and 3) Evaluation Plan Creation (evaluation purpose, evaluation questions/hypotheses, measurement, sampling, design, data management and analysis, reporting and utilization).
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe evolutionary and systems thinking principles.
- Students will be able to describe how to prepare for an evaluation planning effort.
- Students will be able to describe the basic components of an evaluation plan, including evaluation questions, sampling, measurement, design and analysis.
- Students will be able to produce a high-quality program model report that could be used to plan an evaluation.
PUBPOL 5345 - Evaluation of International Programs and Projects (3 Credits)
This course examines results-based management of the programs and projects of international organizations, with an emphasis on evaluation. The course covers how results-based management concepts can be applied at the international level, the process of planning an evaluation, the main analytical techniques that are usually employed and, as a final step, undertakes evaluations of specific projects and programs made by the main organizations at the international level.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or by permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
PUBPOL 5350 - US Health Care System (1-4 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022
PUBPOL 5353 - Health Care Organizations and Behavior (1.5 Credits)
This course examines the various stakeholders of the U.S. health care system and how the stakeholders interact with one another, examining the objectives and structure of key financers of medical care utilization in the system: private insurance companies and public insurance programs, providers of medical services and pharmaceutical and medical device firms that supply products that providers use. Building upon our understanding of the structures, features, and incentives of various health care organizations, we will end the course with an examination of the organizational behaviors commonly seen in these organizations, identifying the key leadership behaviors that enable success in addressing the myriad challenges that face the organizations that fund, manage, supply, and provide health care in the U.S. system.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the behavior and objectives of key stakeholders in the U.S. health care system.
- Calculate how physicians, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home care agencies, and pharmaceutical firms are reimbursed.
- Demonstrate a comprehensive overview of the US health care system.
- Apply stakeholder analysis to the prevalent organizational behavior challenges of the health care ecosystem and develop relevant leadership skills to address.
PUBPOL 5360 - Program Evaluation for Community Organizations (4 Credits)
This course serves as an introduction to the principles and practice of collaborative program evaluation for community-based organizations. This is an applied research methods course in which students will learn how to develop frameworks and tools that help small and mid-sized nonprofits and NGOs answer the question: Is our program working? and/or how can our program be improved? This course is part conceptual and part applied, teaching students critical thinking for evaluation and practical skills in M&E planning and evaluation design. During the semester students will work with a community development organization in a consultancy project to design and present an evaluation plan for use in a real practice setting. ALL students will produce a rigorous non-experimental evaluation design for a local practice-partner organization or ‘client.’ Client organizations are recruited from a variety of sectors including education, health, and the environment, and include both domestic (US-based) and international NGOs. This is an intensive field-based engaged course that requires substantial collaborative group work.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- Describe different epistemological approaches to evaluation practice, and the practical applications of these approaches for organizational problem-solving.
- Distinguish between evaluation types, and identify the practical and methodological difference between experimental versus nonexperimental approaches to evaluation and when each are appropriate.
- Assess the strengths, limitations and rigor, of diverse non-experimental evaluation designs.
- Design a rigorous non-experimental evaluation and associated tools including: surveys, interview guides, sampling strategies, results frameworks, and theories of change.
- Apply advanced written and oral communication skills to the management of professional relationships.
- Apply evaluative thinking skills to solve complex organizational problems.
PUBPOL 5362 - Spreadsheet Modeling for Executives (0.5 Credits)
This is a hands-on course in spreadsheet-based modeling and data. This course is designed for professionals who have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel and want to take their data analysis and quantitative modeling skills to a new level. The footprint is a compilation of highly reusable material that has been selected for its relevance, immediate applicability, and productivity value. Topics include making data usable, developing flexible dashboards to enable insight discovery, and building evaluation models to quantify tradeoffs in the presence of uncertainty. A variety of data analysis and decision problems will be introduced that incorporate relevant concepts from probability, and statistics. User-friendly design and robust construction will be emphasized.
Prerequisites: enrollment in Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) Program.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will convert a raw data set into one that is complete, clean, and ready to use as a dashboard source.
- Students will use user-friendly dashboards to enable discovery and diagnosis.
- Students will build robust evaluation models that assess tradeoffs and incorporate the impact of uncertainty.
PUBPOL 5370 - Economics of Health Care Markets (3 Credits)
This course will review and enhance existing knowledge of health care delivery and related policy issues, using the lens and tools of microeconomics. The topics covered will span consumer behavior, sources and markets for health insurance, provider markets, provider incentives and regulation, as well as market consolidation across a variety of key industries (e.g., physicians, hospitals, and post-acute care providers). Importantly, a key differentiator as well as pedagogical feature of the course will be extensive exposure to classic and contemporary empirical (i.e., data-driven) research tied to these topics. This aspect allows students to be aware of and accumulate knowledge from the frontier of what is scientifically known about key and salient health economics and health policy topics. The selected academic studies incorporated into each lecture will reinforce the core economic theories and insights accompanying a given topic and demonstrate how existing theories can be formally tested as well as refined or expanded using strong empirical research designs.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the objectives and behavior of the key stakeholders in the US healthcare system: payers, insurers, providers, and suppliers.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine health policy issues and proposals.
PUBPOL 5373 - Health Economics for Managers I (1.5 Credits)
This course is the first of a two-part sequence for Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students. The sequence is largely dichotomized into demand-side (first course) and supply-side (second course) health economics material. Both courses will review and enhance existing knowledge of health care delivery and related policy issues, using the lens and tools of microeconomics. Within Health Economics for Managers I, the specific topics covered will span consumer behavior, sources and markets for health insurance, health behaviors, and environmental and population health.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the objectives and behavior of some of the key, demand-side stakeholders in the US healthcare system: public payers, private insurers, and patients.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine demand-side health policy issues and proposals as well as market events.
PUBPOL 5374 - Health Economics II for Managers (1 Credit)
This course is the second of a two-part sequence (i.e., Health Economics I & Health Economics II). The sequence is largely dichotomized into “demand-side” (prior course) and “supply-side” (this course) health economics material. Both courses review and enhance existing knowledge of health care delivery and related policy issues, using the lens and tools of microeconomics. Within Health Economics II, the specific topics covered will span provider markets and regulation, healthcare workforce, hospital markets, health care mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and private equity ownership.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5373.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the objectives and behavior of some of the key, supply-side stakeholders in the US healthcare system: clinicians, hospitals, and post-acute care facilities.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine supply-side health policy issues and proposals as well as market events.
PUBPOL 5380 - Markets, Policy and Sustainability (3 Credits)
This course is a survey of environmental economics and policy, covering both general models and specific applications. We learn how economists estimate the demand for environmental goods and services and the costs of preserving them, and then study the efficient extraction of oil and minerals, economics of pollution control, climate change, fisheries, forests, and endangered species. We also cover the intersection of international trade and environmental regulation, as well as sustainability.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5470 (or equivalent), and PUBPOL 2100 or PUBPOL 2101.
Forbidden Overlaps: ECON 3850, PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand market failures most relevant to environmental policy (externalities, public goods, common property) and the role of policies intended to address these market failures.
- Interpret and use economic models of efficient pollution control and natural resource management.
- Distill basic information from peer-reviewed economics journal articles focusing on environmental policy, and interpret economic content in media articles on environmental policy and management.
- Effectively communicate principles of market-based environmental policy to others.
- Model respectful disagreement using reasoned economic arguments with appropriate support.
PUBPOL 5383 - Translational Research for Executives (1 Credit)
The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of the challenges and benefits of bridging research, practice, and policy. More specifically, the course focuses on the process of expanding, strengthening, and speeding the connections between cutting-edge research and the design, evaluation, and implementation of policies and practices that enhance human development, health, and well-being.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain the many dimensions of the study of bridging research, practice, and policy.
- Students will be able to describe research considerations and methods used when developing research partnerships.
- Students will be able to effectively communicate and present research findings to a variety of audiences.
PUBPOL 5390 - Foundations of Machine Learning for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of machine learning. Our focus will be on applying these techniques to applications in specific policy related scenarios. We will cover the intuition of the theoretical underpinnings, with a focus on practical use of supervised learning tools.
Prerequisites: PUPPOL 5301 and PUBPOL 5302 (or equivalent).
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the approaches and algorithms for various machine learning techniques.
- Understand the core concepts that guide machine learning approaches.
- Use Statistical programs (e.g. Stata, Python, R) to implement supervised learning techniques on actual data, and correctly use and interpret the results.
- Assess challenges in the use of ML techniques in Public Policy contexts.
PUBPOL 5391 - Data Science Modeling II (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of unstructured data analytics. The focus will be on applying these techniques to applications in specific policy related scenarios. We will cover the intuition of the theoretical underpinnings, but the focus here is on using tools to understand and use unstructured data. We will cover topics manifold learning, clustering, topic modeling, and deep neural networks. We will use Python and learn to utilize Jupyter Notebooks. Using these tools, students will learn the underpinnings of each method so that they can choose the most appropriate for particular applications. This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Data Science for Public Policy program. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5390.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify possible structure within unstructured data using visual and other techniques.
- Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of various unstructured modelling techniques.
- Use Python to do exploratory and prediction with real world unstructured data.
- Describe good data and modelling practices.
PUBPOL 5400 - Economics of Consumer Policy (4 Credits)
This course is designed to develop students' critical understanding of government policies aimed toward protecting consumers' wellbeing in markets. The course uses the tools of microeconomic analysis to investigate the various rationales for and the effects of these forms of government regulation. Economic theory is applied to the study of specific consumer protection policies in the United States and elsewhere.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2000 (or equivalent) and ECON 3030 (or equivalent).
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe specific consumer protection regulations in place in a variety of markets; compare policies across markets and across government jurisdictions.
- Use concepts from information economics and behavioral economics to explain the rationale for specific types of consumer protection regulations.
- Analyze the predicted efficiency and distributional consequences of consumer protection regulations, using the tools of microeconomics.
- Use empirical evidence to critically analyze the performance of regulations.
PUBPOL 5403 - Media Strategy for Policy Executives (1 Credit)
In today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, even the most impactful initiatives can fail without strategic media communication that moves audiences to action. This course is designed for professionals in or looking to transition to public-facing roles, providing essential skills for anyone who needs to amplify their message, build public support, and drive meaningful change through effective media engagement. In the course, students will gain practical tools and strategies to enhance their media presence while advancing their organization's mission. They will discover the art of building relationships with key media influencers and create powerful narratives that drive action and support for public initiatives. As the course progresses, students will have the opportunity to explore ways to craft and deliver memorable spoken content that captures media attention through strategic storytelling and impactful delivery. By examining persuasive writing techniques for press releases, op-eds, and other media formats, they will discover how to transform complex issues into compelling narratives. Finally, they will strengthen their message in the media by building strategic validator networks that give their stories credible support and authenticity. The courses are particularly valuable for students who want to translate their technical work into narratives that resonate with broader audiences and influence public policy.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Plan, implement, and evaluate media strategy campaigns that leverage your “Most Valuable Press” stakeholders, or “MVPs.”
- Construct and present advocacy tools that utilize the four cornerstones of effective media writing: substance, surplus, sequence, and style. These tools will tap into key elements of persuasion, including credibility, emotional appeal, and logical argument, while leveraging rhetorical devices and storytelling to create compelling narratives.
- Build and demonstrate persuasive speaking skills for media by adopting three essential mindsets to transform ordinary communications into compelling stories: connecting before you communicate, defining your 10% takeaway, and harnessing energy to drive engagement.
- Analyze media stakeholder interests and motivations to uncover opposing perspectives and craft strategies to transform potential opponents into allies. Building on this foundation, you will create a powerful network of validators who will strengthen your initiative in the media in four ways: establishing your credibility, refining messages for specific audiences, sharing powerful personal stories of impact, and creating media interest through unexpected allies.
PUBPOL 5407 - Mediation for Managers and Executives (0.5 Credits)
Conflict is an inherent part of organizational life. Nevertheless, organizational members often lack the adequate skills necessary to manage and resolve the host of tensions and disagreements that arise at work. Negotiation is a broad category that encompasses direct negotiation between two or more parties, mediation, and arbitration to help settle disputes. This course is designed to develop and strengthen students' conflict resolution skills with a focus on the mediation of organizational conflicts. As such, the course will provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the mediation process. This foundation will then be used to apply mediation concepts and principles to everyday workplace conflict. By understanding how to properly set expectations, adapt to the needs of the disputing parties, channel emotions in a productive way, and help the parties to problem solve in a way that addresses everyone's interests, students will be better able to handle the inevitable workplace conflict and prevent it from escalating.
Prerequisites: enrollment in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) Program.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will analyze and identify different features and characteristics of workplace conflict.
- Students will select an appropriate mediation style in resolving a conflict.
- Students will recognize the role of emotions in a given conflict.
- Students will demonstrate the problem-solving capacity of mediation.
PUBPOL 5410 - Nonprofit Management and Finance (3 Credits)
Provides students with a practitioner's focus on financial, managerial, and leadership issues in the non-profit sector, both domestic and international, including universities, hospitals, environmental groups, arts organizations, government agencies, and foundations. The course will include an overview of non-profit financial statements, financial ratios, debt issuance, bond ratings, endowment management, budgeting, venture philanthropy, auditing and ethics, tax issues, organizational governance, leadership, strategy, mergers and alliances, and executive compensation. The course includes such guest speakers as the founder of a major Indian non-profit organization, the head of credit ratings at Moody's, the leader of a social services agency, and others. The course has a mid-term and final exam along with three 5-page papers on completing a bond rating for a university, balancing a budget for a hospital, and recommending merger partners for a struggling non-profit.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply tools for evaluating financial statements in the nonprofit sector.
- Students will evaluate debt financing as a financial management strategy, including how debt financing impacts financial flexibility, financing techniques, bond ratings, and coverage ratios.
- Students will apply tools for evaluating alternative investments (particularly in the context of endowments).
- Students will evaluate frameworks for nonprofit management, including frameworks for risk management, auditing, conflict of interest, organizational governance, and partnership/alliance-building.
- Students will analyze Form 990s, and evaluate how these documents inform nonprofit tax and compliance issues.
- Students will draft three short, analytical papers on interpreting financial ratios for a college, analyzing a budget for a hospital, and recommending a merger of several nonprofits.
PUBPOL 5411 - Technological Change at Work (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ILRGL 6066
Artificial intelligence (AI), computers, and digital technologies including robotics, machine learning, large language models (LLMs), internet-enabled platforms, and other “high-tech” drivers of automation have revolutionized the nature and organization of work in the U.S., with material implications for workers and their families, among others. This upper-level course begins with a rhetorical inquiry into whether and when the technological change engendered by digitization, information technology, and AI benefits workers. We then consider the broader impact of recent technological advances on manufacturing and fabrication, low- and semi-skilled service work, i.e., restaurant servers and bus drivers, and even on expert and professional work like that to which most of you presumably aspire. Among the central themes is the notion that technology does not unilaterally act upon workers, their employers, or society-at-large. Rather, workers, managers, customers, institutions, and policymakers shape which advances take hold and which do not, the ways that these technologies are deployed in the workplace, and the ways that society can actively mitigate the costs to technological advancement while harnessing its benefits.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (ICE-IL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- You will be able to direct and redirect workplace technological change strategically to ensure it meets our chosen societal objectives.
- You will be able to identify potential points of conflict and change in workplace hierarchy given information about how a new technology is being used in a contemporary workplace.
- You will be able to prescribe policy responses aimed at mitigating the potentially deleterious impact of workplace technological change, and articulate the potential unintended consequences of these policies.
PUBPOL 5413 - Strategic Nonprofit Management for Executives (1.5 Credits)
Designed for Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students, this course provides a practitioner's focus on financial, managerial, and leadership issues in the non-profit sector, including universities, hospitals, environmental groups, government agencies, and foundations. The course will include an overview of non-profit financial statements, financial ratios, debt issuance, endowment management, credit analysis, tax issues, organizational governance issues, mergers & alliances, and industry-sector trends.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (D-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply tools for evaluating financial statements in the nonprofit sector.
- Students will evaluate debt financing as a financial management strategy, including how debt financing impacts financial flexibility, financing techniques, bond ratings, and coverage ratios.
- Students will evaluate frameworks for nonprofit management, including frameworks for risk management, auditing, conflict of interest, organizational governance, and partnership/alliance-building.
- Students will draft three short, analytical papers on interpreting financial ratios for a college, analyzing a budget for a hospital, and recommending a merger of several nonprofits.
PUBPOL 5414 - Project Management (3 Credits)
This hands-on, graduate-level course is designed to prepare leaders how to best manage public sector projects including but not limited to government agencies, nonprofits, consulting firms, and think tanks. The goal of this course is to build project management strategies including fundamental processes as well as invest in innovative trends and new approaches to plan, manage, and implement projects. The class also includes skill building to effectively manage teams which includes leadership, equity, critical thinking, and conflict resolution. As a graduate-level course, students are expected have thoroughly read all assigned materials prior to class and to be well-prepared to participate meaningfully throughout the semester. This course is highly engaged, and students will be working on teams collaborating throughout the semester to practice these skills.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate how to plan, schedule, manage, and control projects including timelines, budgets, and all aspects of project implementation.
- Students will demonstrate effective management strategies and leadership skills including conflict resolution, forming project teams, and managing performance.
PUBPOL 5415 - Project Management for Executives (0.5 Credits)
This Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) course is designed to prepare leaders on how to best manage public sector projects including but not limited to government agencies, nonprofits, consulting firms, and think tanks. The goal of this course is to build project management strategies including fundamental processes, innovative trends, and approaches to plan, manage, and implement projects. The course also invests in skill building to effectively manage teams which includes equity, critical thinking, and conflict resolution. This course is highly engaging, and students will be working on teams collaborating to build these skills.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will develop and apply fundamental project management strategies as well as innovative trends and new approaches to project management.
- Students will build a management toolkit for effective project implementation.
- Students will apply leadership skill sets including conflict resolution, equity, inclusivity, project teams, and managing performance.
PUBPOL 5418 - Strategic Stakeholder Engagement (1.5 Credits)
This graduate-level survey course addresses the key concepts and tools of stakeholder identification, mapping, analysis and engagement. Concepts, tools, and strategies may be applied across multiple sectors, including nonprofit/human services, municipal planning/government, community and economic development, and corporate/business clients or consumer-facing organizations. During this course, we will also consider how individuals working in the respective fields listed above can engage historically marginalized, underrepresented, or disadvantaged communities as part of their stakeholder engagement plans.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or by permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe principles of stakeholder identification, mapping, analysis, and engagement strategies tailored to the stakeholder groups in various situations.
- Students will explore and apply stakeholder engagement tools and techniques used by municipal planners, nonprofit or human services organizations, and/or international businesses or organizations to real-world cases in our community or on campus.
- Students will analyze and develop a strategic deliverable around a stakeholder engagement scenario drawn from their own experience, an identified/approved example, or from a community-based project.
PUBPOL 5423 - Financial Accounting for Executives (1 Credit)
In this course, you will construct and interpret accounts of revenue, accounts receivable, inventory, assets, long-term debt, and equity. You will have the opportunity to examine the rules for financial statements and learn how the field of financial accounting has evolved over time to meet the needs of businesses, particularly those in the healthcare industry. This understanding of core financial accounting principles will enable you to independently analyze an organization's financial standing and viability as well as understand when organizations are using gaps in accounting rules to their financial advantage.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will construct and interpret accounts of revenue, accounts receivable, inventory, assets, long-term debt, and equity.
- Students will examine the rules for financial statements and learn how the field of financial accounting has evolved over time to meet the needs of businesses, particularly those in the healthcare industry.
- Students will be able to converse confidently in the language of finance and present a company's financial performance to internal stakeholders as well as investors, creditors, suppliers, and customers.
PUBPOL 5424 - Public Budgeting and Finance for Executives (1 Credit)
This course will contribute to the success of future public and nonprofit leaders by introducing them to a critical aspect of public service management - budgeting and finance. The class covers the terminology, components, practices, documents, and methods of public budgeting and finance at all levels of government and in the non-profit world.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 5425 - Fundamentals of Accounting and Financial Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3 Credits)
This course is designed for students who have no previous training or experience in accounting. It consists of 5 modules: Fundamental Accounting Issues, Financial Accounting Issues, Managerial Accounting Issues, Nonprofit Accounting Issues, and Governmental Accounting Issues. In each module, where appropriate, financial statement analysis/ratio analysis will be incorporated to facilitate a deeper understanding of the material. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the material in three ways: exams, case studies, and participation/article discussions.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify the differences between financial accounting, managerial accounting, nonprofit accounting, and governmental accounting.
- Read, interpret, and analyze corporate, nonprofit, and governmental financial statements.
- Participate in budgeting activities and budget analysis.
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of Federal taxation and how it applies to different business entities.
PUBPOL 5426 - Public Budgeting, Finance and Analysis (3 Credits)
This course will contribute to the success of future public and nonprofit leaders by introducing them to a critical aspect of public service management, budgeting and finance. The course covers the terminology, components, practices, documents, and methods of public budgeting and finance at all levels of government and in the non-profit world.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply budget terminology and analyze budget structure in a public affairs context.
- Students will prepare and estimate public and nonprofit sector budgets.
- Students will interpret and use budget information in policy analysis.
- Students will analyze employment and performance measures in budgets.
- Students will debate strategies for gaining advantage in the competition for budget resources.
PUBPOL 5431 - Fundraising, Grantmaking, and Lobbying (1.5 Credits)
This course will provide an overview of philanthropy, specific giving vehicles (annual fund, major gifts, capital gifts, deferred gifts, etc.), capital campaigns, grant writing, working with private foundations and community foundations, and crowdfunding techniques. At the completion of the course students will have a strong working knowledge of key principles and techniques of fundraising and a familiarity with gift vehicles and instruments.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate understanding of key fundraising instruments and how to apply them in different situations.
- Students will demonstrate how to structure and mount a comprehensive capital campaign.
- Students will apply basic principles and techniques used in grant writing.
PUBPOL 5432 - Public and Nonprofit Marketing (3 Credits)
This course covers the foundations of nonprofit and public policy marketing. In this course students will learn how to develop marketing strategies and messages for nonprofit organizations and how to apply these strategies to the promotion of public policy. Students will understand how traditional marketing techniques and theories of engagement, information processing, and behavior change, can be very useful for increasing charitable donations, gaining support for a public issue, recruiting volunteers, and achieving an organizational mission. The course will cover how to develop key elements of strategic marketing campaigns, including SWOT analysis, SMART goals and objectives, message construction, and creative stories for digital media. We will be exploring cases of mission-driven organizations and entities including government; health and human services; social, economic, and racial justice; education; and the environment.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students in the Master of Public Administration Program.
Course Fee: Course Fee, TBA. TBA.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will examine the basics of branding, framing, and re-branding in the not-for-profit space, including the long-term effects of good/bad messaging on an organization.
- Students will differentiate between a variety of tools, approaches and methods for traditional and digital media, strategies to employ them, and metrics for measurement.
- Students will develop an effective, research-based marketing strategy for nonprofit organizations or public policy.
- Students will apply the skills and knowledge gained throughout the course to recognize, analyze, and draft effectives stories and messages that aptly portray an organization's core mission and vision.
PUBPOL 5433 - Managing Change in Public Affairs for Executives (1 Credit)
This graduate-level course addressing change management processes in public administration is designed for Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students pursuing careers in government agencies, state and local authorities, and nonprofit organizations; and with private firms working in the public interest at the interface with government agencies. A central theme of the course is planning and understanding how to implement change processes within public institutions to ensure they welcome change and remain vibrant learning organizations at the service of their constituents. The objectives of the course are to provide students with analytical tools to properly implement change management processes in government institutions where organizational change is rarely encouraged or practiced. Concepts are paired with a case study for the class as well as empower students to develop a controlled case study of their own to encourage learning through application. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings/cases/case memos with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will take-on change management opportunities and challenges for public institutions.
- Students will use analytical tools for designing and implementing change processes.
- Students will plan and manage change in their own organizations.
PUBPOL 5434 - Fundraising for Executives (1 Credit)
This course will provide an overview of philanthropy, specific giving vehicles (annual fund, major gifts, capital gifts, deferred gifts, etc.), capital campaigns, grant writing, working with private foundations and community foundations, and crowdfunding techniques. At the completion of the course students will have a strong working knowledge of key principles and techniques of fundraising and a familiarity with gift vehicles and instruments.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the philanthropic field.
- Students will demonstrate understanding of key fundraising instruments and how to apply them in different situations.
- Students will demonstrate how to structure and mount a comprehensive capital campaign.
- Students will apply basic principles and techniques used in grant writing.
PUBPOL 5435 - Public and Nonprofit Marketing for Executives (0.5 Credits)
In this course students will learn how to develop marketing strategies and messages for nonprofit organizations and how to apply these strategies to the promotion of public policy. Students will understand how traditional marketing techniques can be very useful for increasing charitable donations, gaining support for a public issue, recruiting volunteers, and achieving an organizational mission. The course will cover how to develop key elements of strategic marketing campaigns, including SWOT analysis, SMART goals and objectives, message construction, and creative stories for digital media. We will be exploring cases of mission-driven organizations and entities including government; health and human services; social, economic, and racial justice; education; and the environment.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will examine the basics of branding, framing, and re-branding in the not-for-profit space, including the long-term effects of good/bad messaging on an organization.
- Students will differentiate between a variety of tools, approaches and methods for traditional and digital media, strategies to employ them, and metrics for measurement.
- Students will develop an effective, research-based marketing strategy for nonprofit organizations or public policy.
- Students will apply the skills and knowledge gained throughout the course to recognize, analyze, and draft effective stories and messages that aptly portray an organization's core mission and vision.
PUBPOL 5441 - Effective Writing for Public Policy (1.5 Credits)
The course explores policy writing in its various forms, including: memos, briefs, position papers, op-eds, legislative testimony, formal letters, email, press releases, and social media. This course will feature lectures, interactive discussion, written deliverables, workshops, and guest speakers. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be prepared to discuss readings in class.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or by permission of instructor.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and assess targeted audience for writing in the context public policymaking and develop effective written communication.
- Generate evidence for a written argument.
- Draft a variety of written communication pieces that demonstrate mastery of the various genres of writing associated with public policy.
- Demonstrate peer review techniques, such as editing and critiquing writing by peers.
PUBPOL 5442 - Effective Policy Writing for Public Affairs Executives (1 Credit)
The course explores policy writing in its various forms, including: memos, briefs, position papers, op-eds, legislative testimony, formal letters, email, press releases, and social media. While this course is designed for Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students. This course will feature lectures, interactive discussion, written deliverables, workshops, and guest speakers. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be prepared to discuss readings in class.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and assess targeted audience for writing in the context public policymaking and develop effective written communication.
- Generate evidence for a written argument.
- Draft a variety of written communication pieces that demonstrate mastery of the various genres of writing associated with public policy.
- Demonstrate peer review techniques, such as editing and critiquing writing by peers.
- Add additional rows if you need to document additional outcomes.
PUBPOL 5443 - Systems Thinking for Executives I (1 Credit)
This course serves as an introduction to systems thinking methods and technical tools that are foundational to all other advanced Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) coursework. This course focuses on answering three essential questions: (1) Why does systems thinking exist (i.e., its promise and popularity)? (2) What is systems thinking? (3) How do we do systems thinking? We also explore two subsequent questions: (4) How do we apply systems thinking to personal mastery and professional development? (5) How do we apply systems thinking to the social and policy challenges we face?
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate a deep understanding of systems thinking and its application to public sector planning and management issues.
- Students will demonstrate proficiency with systems thinking modeling techniques.
- Students will be able to tackle complex problems from multiple perspectives that can get in the way of policy analysis, planning, evaluation, leadership, and management.
PUBPOL 5444 - Systems Thinking for Executives II (1 Credit)
This course explores the functional elements required to design, develop, lead, and manage a complex adaptive organization (CAO) through the lens of Systems Thinking. Students will explore the essential importance of organizational learning and development of culture through shared mental models in order to perform a thorough analysis of mission-critical systems that yield capacity for carrying out coordinated daily tasks that subsequently achieve the vision of the organization.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will use the Systems Leadership Framework (VMCL) to design, align, and lead an adaptive learning organization, and Diagnose Plan, Command, Control, and Utilize (PCCU) organizational design thinking errors and differentiate PCCU from VMCL.
- Students will use checks to analyze the implicit Mission of an existing organization using the underlying simple rules of a Complex Adaptive System (CAS), analyze system behavior to identify system structure failures (aka, "system structure determines behavior," or SSDB), and map an organization's Capacity Systems for organizational understanding (CapMap).
- Students will demonstrate fractal use of VMCL across levels of scale in organizations (individual, team, department, and whole organization).
PUBPOL 5449 - Systems Thinking Modeling (3 Credits)
This course serves as an introduction to systems thinking methods and technical tools in the field of public affairs. Students will develop skills that allow them to understand how to improve their analysis of complex, unpredictable, real-world systems.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate deep understanding of systems thinking and its application to public sector planning and management issues.
- Students will be able to tackle complex problems from multiple perspectives based on both a deeper understanding of complex systems as well as the cognitive biases that get in the way of policy analysis, planning, evaluation, leadership, and management.
- Students will gain a general understanding of systems thinking as a field and the many tools and technologies available to solve problems or analyze complex systems.
- Students will demonstrate proficiency in applying systems thinking modeling techniques.
- Students will integrate concepts learned in class through a team project to solve a wicked problem, analyze a complex systems, or serve an unmet need using systems thinking and modeling. Project presentations will be the highlight of an annual MPA Systems Thinking conference/symposium and will be evaluated by an expert panel of judges.
PUBPOL 5450 - Democracy Promotion in Modern U.S. Foreign Policy (3 Credits)
Promotion and support of democracy is a well-established principle of U.S. foreign policy. However, even four decades after its insertion into Washington's approach overseas, it is misunderstood and still under challenge, internally within the U.S. Government and from external actors. In this course, the modern origins of democracy support, or promotion, will be examined, beginning with the values-based focus of the Carter Administration's foreign policy leading into its Cold War use in the Reagan presidency. The development of bipartisan democracy promotion through succeeding Administrations up to the challenges under Donald Trump and the Biden Administration's response, including the Summit for Democracy process, will be examined. Real-world applications and connections will be central. How democracy assistance is conducted and how it is perceived will be a focus of the course. Course participants will discuss the relationship between democracy promotion and its distinction with human rights and the concept of democracy prevention as a response by external actors to democracy promotion.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Underline the motivations behind and identify individuals who led the transition towards values-based support of democracy and human rights in U.S. foreign policy, and be able to discuss/summarize the early arguments pro and con for its inclusion.
- Analyze, interpret, and model policy initiatives related to Washington's democracy support and human rights practice.
- Explain and assess democracy assistance in light of the U.S. national elections in 2024.
- Formulate, revise or predict support to democracy and human rights in future U.S. foreign policy.
PUBPOL 5451 - International Public and NGO Management (3 Credits)
This course offers students the opportunity to understand and analyze the key structural, operational, and ethical issues involved in the governance of international NGOs. What does it mean to be the leader of an international nonprofit organization in an era of globalizing operations, donor-funded policy agendas, and decolonial social movements? We construct an answer to this question through a broad examination of the role of international nonprofit organizations in global policy, and a detailed study of the accountability mechanisms produced by basic nonprofit structure, and diverse models of nonprofit leadership and governance. Course learning is delivered through lectures, in class discussion, and case study analysis.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 5453 - International Public Management for Executives (1.5 Credits)
This course develops from a general discussion of the differences between management of international public and NGO organizations and similar organizations at the national level or below, through an examination of the management process in the context of results-based management, which is the dominant approach taken in both public and non-governmental organizations. It then examines the application of analysis methods to specific organizations. The goal is to provide students with the tools to be intelligent consumers of international services, effective participants in their governance and, at an introductory level, how to evaluate them.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply tools for using results-based management to plan the work of international public and NGO organizations.
- Students will articulate how the international public sector works and how it is different from national public sectors.
- Students will draft a paper analyzing the strategy of an international public or NGO institution in terms of RBM and participate in the design of a new organization.
PUBPOL 5455 - Comparative Public Administration (2 Credits)
The purpose of this seminar is to provide graduate students with an introduction to the scholarly development of comparative public administration, as well as criteria for comparison in public leadership, accountability/transparency, political participation, and the interaction of culture, politics, and public management.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Course Fee: Field Trip Fee, $1500. This covers double occupancy accommodations in San Jose (single occupancy is available for an additional cost), in-country transportation, programming, and some meals. Students are responsible for airfare, which will vary depending on departure location.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe criteria for comparison in public administration and apply global benchmarking frameworks for evaluating public administration and urban policy.
- Students will discuss problems with engaging in comparative field research on public administration (case selection, cultural factors, etc.), and apply remedies in their own research designs.
- Students will develop an original scholarly analysis of one or more aspects of urban policy agenda.
PUBPOL 5460 - Culture, Law, and Politics of Information Policy (3 Credits)
This course will address a wide range of information policy issues and their relationship to governance, government, and governmentality. While focused primarily on American political culture, it will include some international comparisons, particularly in areas such as privacy (both government surveillance and consumer), anti-trust, and regulatory compliance. We will also discuss information security, intellectual property, algorithmic fairness, (dis)misinformation, and, with emphasis, content moderation of social media platforms. Course outcomes will include familiarity with law and policy of the internet; a foundational understanding the market, social, legal, and technical dynamics that shape information policy; and, finally, how those dynamics affect the U.S. political landscape.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
PUBPOL 5472 - Leveraging Information Technology for Public and Nonprofit Management (1.5 Credits)
Information technologies, including both established technologies and emerging technologies such as e-commerce, social media, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence, have been fundamentally transforming public and nonprofit sectors and shaping markets, economies, and policies worldwide. This course explores the strategic, managerial, societal, and policy issues surrounding technologies, while equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets for analyzing, designing, and leveraging technology in diverse settings. Specifically, the course integrates: I. managerial concepts and practices, including technology acquisition, sourcing models, project management, risk governance, cybersecurity, and digital strategies; II. technology trends, such as online platform, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence; III, case studies spanning diverse markets and industries, such as arts, health, retail, finance, and government; IV. conceptual frameworks and problem-solving toolkits, such as the value chain model, platform strategy, and design thinking. This course is designed for students both with and without technical background.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to analyze, communicate, and manage the value and risk of diverse technology initiatives.
- Students will be able to evaluate emerging technologies and the impact of technologies on public and private sectors.
- Students will be able to conceptualize and design technology-based strategies, prototypes, solutions, recommendations, and policies.
PUBPOL 5473 - Microeconomics for Managers (2 Credits)
Introduces microeconomic theory and its application to decision-making in the management and policy arenas. Places special emphasis on the economic environment of health care organizations and the problems faced by managers in this environment.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate familiarity with the basic tools of microeconomic analysis.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the use and limitations of these tools and have experience in applying them to examine issues in healthcare policy and management.
- Present economic concepts and applications to health issues orally and in written form.
PUBPOL 5475 - Public Interest Technology for Executives (1 Credit)
This course will equip students with an understanding of the technical, strategic, organizational, managerial, societal, and policy-related issues surrounding technologies in public and related sectors, and enable students to develop the knowledge and skills for analyzing, conceptualizing, designing, and managing technologies in diverse settings. The course integrates: I. key managerial topics, such as technology acquisition, sourcing model, project management, risk governance, and digital strategies; II. emerging technology trends shaping global economies and policies; III. case studies from different regions and sectors; IV. analytical frameworks for problem-solving and decision-making in real-life scenarios. The course is designed for students both with and without a technical background.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Articulate the key elements of technology systems and their development and governance process.
- Analyze and manage the value and risks of a diverse portfolio of technology projects and programs.
- Apply the analytical frameworks in the course to design solutions and strategies for real-life cases.
- Assess emerging technology trends and leverage them to transform global public and private sector.
PUBPOL 5480 - Sustainability Education Policy in the U.S. and Ecuador (4 Credits)
This course connects Cornell and USFQ students to study Sustainability Education Policy in the U.S. and Ecuador. Focusing on UN SDG 4, the course includes collaborative research, international exchange, and direct engagement with local educators and policymakers to address global education challenges and promote sustainable development.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes:
- Critically analyze and evaluate education policies in the US and Ecuador, with a specific focus on how these policies align with and support the goals of UN SDG4 (Quality Education).
- Assess and compare strategies aimed at promoting equity and inclusion within the educational systems of the US and Ecuador, identifying best practices and areas for improvement.
- Engage in effective fieldwork with education policy organizations and schools in Quito, Ecuador, including the ability to collaborate with local stakeholders, understand cultural contexts, and apply theoretical knowledge to practical challenges.
- Interpret personal intercultural experience from the perspectives of more than one worldview and demonstrate the ability to act in a supportive and sensitive manner that recognizes the feelings of other cultural groups or communities.
PUBPOL 5500 - Introduction to Senior Living and Related Programs (2 Credits)
Crosslisted with HADM 6033
With the aging population, longer life expectancies and the population bulge of the baby boomers, serving both the hospitality and housing/care needs of seniors will be a tremendous growth area. The facilities and programs to serve these populations have certain specialized aspects related to healthcare, but they also share a number of the operating characteristics of many hospitality and real estate operations and design.This course will provide students with a basic introduction to some of the concepts, approaches and related terminology regarding the planning, development, and operations of the growing sector of senior living and assisted living plus to a lesser degree, the area of continuous care retirement communities (CCRCs). We also expect to touch on some related programs such as home health, and PACE programs, hospice etc. We will discuss some associated entrepreneurial opportunities and potential relationships to develop affiliations and new ventures with hospitals as acute care providers look to more closely coordinate care across post-acute providers to manage readmissions and look towards various government and insurance initiatives to manage care, and in some cases risk across the continuum of care.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and categorize a number of facility issues and special attributes on the design and operations of senior housing, assisted living and CCRCs.
- Write a brief description of some unique aspects of branding, marketing and sales approaches to senior housing and assisted living properties.
- Explain some current or potential future trends and innovations and to be able to identify at least one potential entrepreneurial opportunity in the field.
- Describe different financing options available to developers of senior living facilities and distinguish some of the advantages and disadvantages between them.
- Identify opportunities to apply hospitality approaches to healthcare settings whether it be senior living or related areas.
PUBPOL 5510 - United We Stand - Divided We Fall: The Rise of Polarization and Social Division - and What it Means (4 Credits)
When did bipartisan become a bad word? Should we unfriend and unfollow people who have different opinions than our own? How did we become a country that grows more polarized and divided every year? Most importantly, can we change, or are we destined to continue down this path?
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify and describe long term trends, key individuals, and events impacting politics in the U.S.
- Students will analyze the impacts of those key individuals and events and discuss how those impacts are likely to affect future U.S. politics.
- Students will formulate possible strategies to reinforce, or alter, current trends within the U.S.
- Students will research and synthesize the scholarly understanding of specific aspects of polarization (graduate students).
PUBPOL 5520 - Health Care Services: Consumer and Ethical Perspectives (1.5 Credits)
Focuses on consumer and ethical issues faced by professionals in the health care field today. Broad topics discussed include ethical standards and guidelines, health care costs and accessibility of services, government role in health care delivery, health care as a right or privilege, private industry role in health care, services for the medically indigent and elderly, practitioner burnout and training, ethics of transplant surgery and funding, reproductive technology, AIDS research and funding, animals in medical research, right to die, and baby and granny Doe cases.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2016
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the role of medical ethics regarding research and health care delivery in historical context.
- Understand ethical principles, and apply them to current situations in the health field.
- Analyze health care situations regarding conflicting ethical principles to determine which principle should supersede, and why.
- Examine ethical health care questions from the consumer perspective.
- Understand and be familiar with the Code of Ethics of various organizations including the American Hospital Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the American Medical Association.
- Understand the role culture and history play in the application of ethical principles in medicine.
- Communicate ethical concepts and their application in writing and orally.
- Work in a team setting to develop and advocate for ethical arguments.
PUBPOL 5543 - Health Law for Managers (1 Credit)
This course examines how health law and regulations affect health care systems so that administrators and executives can proactively plan to avoid pitfalls that impede operational efficiencies, quality of care delivered and organizational profitability. By presenting a wide range of legal issues encountered in health care, this course is designed to equip students with an understanding of the legal environment in which health care services are provided and to develop skills in analyzing many of the current legal and ethical issues facing health care practitioners, administrators and other decision-makers.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Use substantive legal doctrine fundamental to this course to identify and evaluate ethical considerations and other requirements professionals and organizations must comply with in the practice of medicine.
- Describe the legal issues that affect health care providers and apply legal reasoning and analysis to solve problems in a logical and structured manner to issues covered in this course.
- Explain how risks arise by examining real life cases involving fraud and abuse, tort liability, medical malpractice, and be able to communicate effectively as to the legal reasoning and analysis of these cases.
PUBPOL 5550 - Collaborative Modeling Methods for Policy and Program Evaluation (3 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2021
PUBPOL 5560 - Market Design for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course introduces students to public policy applications of game theory and market design, including (i) matching algorithms for assignment problems such as school choice, public housing allocation, kidney exchange, refugee resettlement, and labor markets; (ii) auction design for allocation of natural resources, public radio spectrum, emission permits, and government procurement; (iii) platform/exchange design for online markets.
Prerequisites: ECON 1110 (or equivalent) or PUBPOL 5210 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe public policy applications of game theory and market design.
- Analyze public policy interventions by considering the strategic behavior of economic agents.
- Assess the ethical and equity implications of different market designs and policy interventions.
- Communicate economic research findings effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
PUBPOL 5563 - Managerial Finance I (1 Credit)
This course provides an introduction to business finance through video lectures and assignments. Topics include basic financial accounting, time value of money, stock and bond valuation, capital budgeting, portfolio theory, asset-pricing models, cost of capital, dealing with risk, capital structure, acquisitions, and options. Application of theory to practical applications will be emphasized.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Perform basic valuation of cash flows from projects, bonds, and stocks.
- Make capital budgeting decisions through the use of concepts including the time value of money and discounted cash flow analysis.
- Assess the relationship between risk and return and integrate that knowledge in determining corporate cost of capital.
- Explain the role of debt and equity in corporate capital structure.
PUBPOL 5564 - Managerial Finance II (1 Credit)
Speaking and understanding the language of finance are essential skills for leaders and managers in every organization; smart business decisions rest on this fundamental knowledge. Without a clear understanding of financial analysis and management, you lack credibility with finance managers and business leaders. This course in financial management consists of units that demystify financial terminology and concepts, giving you the tools you need to communicate fluently with finance managers and articulate business investment and project proposals to decision makers. Upon completion of this course, you will have a solid foundation in finance that will serve you throughout your career, regardless of the field you choose to pursue. Working through the examples in this course using both a financial calculator and popular spreadsheet applications like Excel will help you practice applying the tools and strategies and will set you up to make project decisions that lead to growth and profitability, as well as help you improve your personal financial management.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5563.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate basic valuation of cash flows from projects, bonds, and stocks.
- Examine capital budgeting decisions through the use of concepts including the time value of money and discounted cash flow analysis.
- Assess the relationship between risk and return and integrate that knowledge in determining corporate cost of capital.
- Explain the role of debt and equity in corporate capital structure.
PUBPOL 5570 - Health Care Organizations (3 Credits)
The course examines the various stakeholders of the US healthcare system and how the stakeholders interact with one another. We will intentionally start with a strong historical foundation for a relevant stakeholder and then capture the accompanying evolutions over years and decades that lead us to the contemporary circumstances facing the stakeholder today. Our first journey examines the objectives and behavior of key financers of the US healthcare system: patients, employers, and taxpayers who pay for medical care consumption as well as key insurance intermediaries that manage the funds: private and public (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid). We then shift to the supply of medical services via hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professional industries that provide the actual care consumed. We will finish the semester by investigating pharmaceutical and medical device firms, which ultimately supply medical products that providers use to care for patients.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan students or permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the objectives and behavior of the key stakeholders in the US healthcare system: payers, insurers, providers, and suppliers.
- Apply basic economic reasoning to examine health policy issues and proposals.
PUBPOL 5571 - Corporate Responsibility (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course provides an overview of the area of corporate responsibility, with particular emphasis on the finance industry. The focus will be on understanding how a growing recognition of the challenge of sustainability affects corporate behavior. Through a combination of classroom presentations, discussion of assigned reading and case studies, and independent research, students will learn about the most important themes at the intersection of business and sustainability, including environmental and social risk management, sustainability initiatives and self-regulation in the corporate sector, stakeholder engagement and management, and the growth of sustainable business, including environmental finance and impact investing.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will understand the key trends in the broad field of corporate sustainability and the risks and opportunities that result from a growing public awareness of the environmental and social impacts of corporate activity.
- Students will recognize sustainability risks associated with particular corporate activities and will be able to propose actions that mitigate those risks.
- Students will be able to critically examine the interactions between corporate entities and their peers, regulators, the public, and their other stakeholders, and to recognize opportunities for improving the outcomes of those interactions.
- Students will be able to identify ways in which the tools of finance can be leveraged to better manage natural resources and attain particular social objectives.
PUBPOL 5573 - Corporate Responsibility for Executives (1 Credit)
In this course, you will critically examine the sustainability-based interactions between corporate entities, their peers, regulators, the public, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for improving the outcomes of these interactions. To do this, you will examine how corporate structure affects business practices and how different industries are affected by the sustainability movement. You will then identify how these factors influence a company's motivation to act more sustainably. Next, you will appraise the complex relationships between corporations and their stakeholders and consider the balancing act today's corporate leaders face as they uphold their corporate fiduciary duties and navigate ever-changing sustainability demands. Last, you will assess the impacts of business activities on the environment and pinpoint a company's positive and negative sustainability efforts.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will analyze corporate structure and its relationship to sustainability motivation.
- Students will examine the relationships of corporations with their direct and indirect stakeholders.
- Students will evaluate a company in detail to analyze/understand sustainability practices.
PUBPOL 5575 - Statistics for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This course will teach you basic “frequentist” statistical techniques used by researchers to investigate social, economic, and political phenomena. These techniques are really just tools to effectively organize data and present information about the world. For example, researchers have recently employed these statistical techniques to answer the following kinds of questions: “To what extent do women and men differ in their opinions about same-sex marriage?”, “Does receiving a college degree increase or decrease preferences for living in diverse neighborhoods?”, “Are birth defects related to local levels of water pollution?”, “Are there significant regional differences in student test score achievement?”. By the end of this semester, you will be skilled enough in the art of statistics to address questions like these. Just as important, this course is designed to help you become an informed consumer of social statistics. You will develop an awareness of the uses of statistics in everyday life, gaining the ability to think critically about statistics, and building skills to interpret and critique research employing these techniques.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science and Environmental Sustainability Policy Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Employ basic numeric and visualization tools to describe data.
- Apply inferential statistical analysis to policy-relevant research questions.
- Conduct statistical evaluations of data in a computing environment.
- Critique methodological approaches to social scientific research.
PUBPOL 5580 - The Healthcare Industry from a Consulting Perspective (0.5 Credits)
This course aims to help students develop a holistic and pragmatic view of the healthcare industry and enhance their consulting toolkit. It offers an overview of different segments (pharma, payer, provider), the major challenges different players are trying to solve, and the consulting approach to address these challenges. Students will get to practice core consulting skills such as problem solving, synthesis and storytelling.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2350 or PUBPOL 5570.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify the key strategic and operating challenges facing various stakeholders in the health care system: payers, providers, and suppliers.
- Describe the methods and analyses a consultant would use in order to develop recommendations to address the key challenges.
PUBPOL 5583 - Managing Operations (2 Credits)
This course prepares students to think analytically and managerially about operations processes, and to use the tools and intuition they acquire to ensure that the operations in production and service systems support the business strategies for these systems. A process view of operations will be used to analyze different key operational dimensions such as flow time management, service operations management, quality management, inventory management and supply chain management.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Use quantitative techniques to support decision making in general operations settings.
- Analyze different key operational dimensions such as flow time management, service operations management, quality management, inventory management and supply chain management.
- Describe strategies to improve the operational performance of an organization.
PUBPOL 5590 - Environmental Justice and Policy (3 Credits)
Environmental justice, as defined by the U.S. EPA, refers to the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all individuals-regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability-in agency decision-making and federal activities that impact human health and the environment. This principle ensures that all people are protected from disproportionate and adverse effects on their health and environment, including risks related to climate change, cumulative environmental burdens, and the legacy of racism and systemic barriers. It also emphasizes equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment for living, playing, working, learning, growing, worshipping, and engaging in cultural and subsistence practices (U.S. EPA, 2024). This hands-on seminar course explores key topics, policies, and themes in environmental justice, focusing on the disproportionate impacts of climate change and related adaptation and mitigation efforts, particularly on vulnerable groups, communities of color, and Indigenous communities. Additionally, the course examines policy drivers and levers that can create opportunities for meaningful change in the future.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize and explain the connections and intersections between inequality (social, economic, political) and environmental quality/sustainability.
- Illustrate and express why certain social groups and geographic communities are systematically overburdened with pollution and other environmental hazards.
- Relate concepts like environmental (in) justice, environmental racism, and racial capitalism to real people and communities through in-depth readings, course discussions, and engagement with community organizations.
- Give examples of the root causes of environmental injustices.
- Understand the history of environmental justice and identify key questions and obstacles to meeting goals of environmental justice.
PUBPOL 5605 - Political Analysis and the Policy Process (3 Credits)
This course is designed to provide an understanding of the key political dimensions of the policymaking process in the United States. We will examine the roles of government institutions and political actors both inside and outside government in developing and implementing policy. Past and present policy debates will be used to illustrate the concepts and theories discussed in class. Students will acquire an understanding of the political processes in which public policies are considered, and gain practical experience executing political strategies in the context of policy campaigns. Case studies will focus on policy and politics related to data science and technology.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science and Environmental Sustainability Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the key political dimensions of the policymaking process in the U.S.
- Articulate the role of politics in policy formulation, implementation and analysis.
- Apply their understanding of issue advocacy, policy framing and political strategy in an applied data science and technology context.
- Think critically about important policy dilemmas and how political processes shape them.
- Frame the key concepts and tools of the course in the context of historical and contemporary data science and technology policy debates.
PUBPOL 5607 - Global Policy Challenges (3 Credits)
This course will provide an overview of critical global policy challenges, with a focus on their implications for international relations and international policy. Students will explore the complexities of international relations, global climate change, conflict trends, disruptive technologies, nuclear proliferation, the great power implications of the space race, and emerging global policy challenges. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to address pressing global issues and propose informed policy solutions.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will debate the complexities of international relations, global climate change, conflict trends, disruptive technologies, nuclear proliferation, the great power implications of the space race, and emerging global policy challenges.
- Students will conduct independent research and write a short policy report on a global challenge of their choice from the module syllabus, arguing why it is the most important challenge for policymakers today.
PUBPOL 5610 - Data Analytics and Regression Analysis (3 Credits)
During the semester we will study the basic linear regression model, learn how to estimate multivariate relationships in a data sample, and test hypothesis about the underlying population. We will then consider situations where linear regressions can go wrong, and what to do about it. Examples include measurement error, selection on unobservables, and omitted variables. We will also introduce time-series and forecasting techniques. The course will end with a brief introduction to panel data techniques and regression discontinuity techniques, which are important in modern empirical policy analysis.
Throughout the course we will discuss how these techniques can be used to conduct policy analysis as well as the potential problems and pitfalls with doing so. The course will cover both theoretical and practical issues, and problem sets will contain applications to real data and require the use of Python. Gaining additional experience and expanding your Python toolkit will also be helpful for your future studies because many elective courses require the use of Python. You will also have first-hand experience working on a research paper of your own, where you will be guided through the process of finding adequate data, data cleaning, analysis and presentation.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5575 (or equivalent).
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science and Environmental Sustainability Policy Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the Multiple Regression Analysis tool.
- Explain how Multiple Regression Analysis tool works and what it can be used for.
- Use the Multiple Regression Analysis tool to analyze real-world relationships.
- Evaluate how other researchers have used the Multiple Regression Analysis tool.
PUBPOL 5612 - Intergovernmental Relations (3 Credits)
Public and private sector professionals interacting with government agencies need a working understanding of the jurisdictional boundaries of government, the interplay between federal, state, and local government, and the rise of nonprofits, regionalism, and public/private partnerships. This course is designed to enhance upper level undergraduate and graduate students' ability to navigate the complex and ever-evolving US system of government, the delivery of funding and services, and the implementation of statutes and regulations. This course will provide students with first-hand accounts and analysis of governmental functions and roles, from local boards to state and federal government.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or with permission of instructor.
Distribution Requirements: (HA-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will analyze and describe key points of decision-making, policymaking, and funding within the United States intergovernmental system.
- Students will describe the role of intergovernmental actors (elected officials, managers, staff) in policy implementation in the United States.
- Students will conduct research, draft original papers, and present findings on a public policy space affected by intergovernmental relations (healthcare, transportation, education, land use, environment, etc.).
PUBPOL 5613 - The Politics of Policymaking for Executives (0.5 Credits)
Public affairs professionals require a working understanding of political systems in order to accurately interpret policy proposals and anticipate potential policy changes. This course is designed to offer students a view into the challenges, processes, and political dynamics inherent in contemporary policy-making in the United States.This course focuses on political aspects of policy making that increasingly dictate policy outcomes. Students will gain a familiarity with political concepts covered in the course, providing tools to help separate consequential policy proposals and political actions from political antics. The course will examine the U.S. political system, how the major political parties have evolved and operate today, and how partisan politics impacts governing at federal, state, and local levels. The course will address how various interest groups influence politics and policy-making through campaigns, public engagement, lobbying, and activism.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify and evaluate key points of influence and key players in the legislative process.
- Students will think analytically about policy-making and critique legislative proposals in terms of timing, history, constituencies, politics, potential impacts, and likelihood of success.
- Students will articulate the policy making process from point of view of elected officials, staff, and external interest groups.
- Students will apply policy-making theory to analyze recent legislative actions and to forecast pending outcomes.
PUBPOL 5615 - Sustainable Finance: Southeast Asia and Global Perspectives (3 Credits)
Climate change presents a dilemma. Under the Paris Agreement, countries of the world committed to the goal of limiting warming to no more than two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. Scientists have warned that exceeding the threshold would increase the risks of heatwaves, drought, and extreme weather. Achieving the target, however, requires collective efforts to reduce emissions. Households, businesses, and governments would have to radically shift to cleaner energy supply and greener activities, which will take a great deal of financial resources. Sustainable finance attempts to address this challenge by integrating finance as a discipline into the sustainability framework. Designed for policy students, this course considers the perspectives of policymakers rather than business actors in navigating the green transition. Case studies will be drawn primarily from Southeast Asia, which is considered one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, although much of the framework is also applicable to other regions around the globe.
Prerequisites: introductory coursework in economics and finance, along with basic proficiency in Excel.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024 Learning Outcomes:
- Identify the state of climate change in Southeast Asia and around the globe.
- Recognize the role of government, and the limit thereof, in addressing climate change.
- Evaluate the feasibility of government financing (i.e., taxation) in the green transition.
- Identify private financing mechanisms and apply techniques to evaluate their efficacy.
- Identify policy interventions (and potential unintended consequences) to mobilize private financing in the transition.
PUBPOL 5619 - Politics, Policy, and Political Management (3 Credits)
This course will focus on the political aspects of policy making that increasingly influence policy outcomes. Students pursuing careers in public administration, legislative affairs, and intergovernmental relations will gain a familiarity with concepts and tools for developing political advocacy strategies within the administrative process.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will identify and evaluate points of influence and players in the policy-making process.
- Students will apply tools for thinking logically and analytically about policymaking, breaking policy issues down in components concerning timing, background, constituencies, political, and potential impact.
- Students will analyze the process from the point of view of an elected official.
- Students will draft briefs evaluating the relationships and political interplay of federal, state, and local government in the implementation of public policy.
PUBPOL 5620 - Health Care Managerial Finance I (3 Credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide a framework for evaluating how firms should make investment and financing decisions to create value for their shareholders or stakeholders. For most of the course we will focus on profit-maximizing firms, although we will discuss whether and how the investment and financing decisions are different for nonprofit firms that are prevalent in the health care industry. Therefore, this is primarily a course on general corporate finance. Specifically, we will discuss why the net present value (NPV) of discounted cash flows is the best investment criterion; calculate NPVs; derive appropriate discount rates; estimate the value of bonds, stocks, and options; and determine the optimal amount a firm should borrow. In order to understand how firms make investment and financing decisions, we will also consider how financial markets function and how investors in those markets should make decisions.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Use the concepts of time value of money and discounted cash flow analysis to evaluate corporate securities including bonds, common stocks, and preferred stocks.
- Critically evaluate the relevant cash flows of a project and their timing, including both positive and negative side effects of the project.
- Critically evaluate the risk of projects and understand why it is critical to only invest in projects that yield a positive net present value. Understand that the appropriate discount rate should be higher for riskier projects.
- Understand the impact of portfolio diversification and the systematic risk principal and apply this understanding to analyze risk-return trade-offs using the Security Market Line and the Capital Asset Pricing Model.
- Evaluate a firm's weighted average cost of capital and how it is influenced by the firm's debt and equity financing.
PUBPOL 5630 - Health Care Financial Management II (3 Credits)
This case-based course focuses on the financial analyses that managers in the health care industry use to make strategic and operating decisions. We will begin by examining how health insurers design and price their products and manage enrollees' medical expenditures. The reimbursement methods that public and private insurers use in turn affect how physicians, health systems, and other providers are organized and managed. Therefore, we will measure a health system's profitability by product/service line and examine how reimbursement can be used to align physician and hospital incentives. In the second half of the course we will we will review how firms set prices and forecast sales and cash flows. We will then review and apply three different methods of valuing medical products/services and companies: the expected net present value of free cash flows, multiples, and the venture capital method, and explore how to price products/services.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5620.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Devise and justify operating and strategic decisions for various health care organizations.
PUBPOL 5631 - Health Care Finance (1.5 Credits)
This case-based course focuses on the financial analyses that managers in the health care industry use to make strategic and operating decisions. We will begin by examining how health insurers design and price their products and manage enrollees' medical expenditures. The reimbursement methods that public and private insurers use in turn affect how physicians, health systems, and other providers are organized and managed. Therefore, we will measure a health system's profitability by product/service line and examine how reimbursement can be used to align physician and hospital incentives. In the second half of the course we will review bond financing, estimating the value of drugs in development, and how firms set prices. We will then review and apply three different methods of valuing medical products/services and companies: the expected net present value of free cash flows, multiples, and the venture capital method.
Prerequisites: Recommended prerequisite: Managerial/Corporate Finance (e.g., AEM 2241, AEM 5241, NCC 5560, or something similar) or instructor's permission. Students must have a solid understanding of corporate finance and some familiarity with accounting.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the financial incentives facing the key stakeholders in the health care system and how each stakeholder's products and services add value.
- Perform analyses to identify the financial impact of the strategic and operating options facing an organization.
- Develop strategic and operating recommendations for various stakeholders and justify why the recommendations are optimal.
PUBPOL 5633 - Health Care Finance for Managers (0.5-1.5 Credits)
This case-based course focuses on the financial analyses that managers in the health care industry use to make strategic and operating decisions. We will begin by examining how health insurers design and price their products and manage enrollees' medical expenditures. The reimbursement methods that public and private insurers use in turn affect how physicians, health systems, and other providers are organized and managed. Therefore, we will measure a health system's profitability by product/service line and examine how reimbursement can be used to align physician and hospital incentives. In the second half of the course we will we will review how firms set prices and forecast sales and cash flows. We will then review and apply three different methods of valuing medical products/services and companies: the expected net present value of free cash flows, multiples, and the venture capital method, and explore how to price products/services.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMHA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the financial incentives facing the key stakeholders in the health care system and how each stakeholder's products and services add value.
- Conduct analyses to identify the financial impact of the strategic and operating options facing an organization.
- Develop strategic and operating recommendations for various stakeholders and justify why the recommendations are optimal.
PUBPOL 5634 - Corruption, Governance, and Development (3 Credits)
This interdisciplinary graduate-level survey course addresses issues related to the nature and extent of corruption and fraud, waste, and abuse in the public sector, and in private/nonprofit sector organizations interfacing with the public sector.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or by permission of instructor.
Distribution Requirements: (CA-HE, HA-HE, KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate what corruption and fraud are, as well as the pervasiveness of both phenomena in the field of public affairs.
- Students will analyze the political, economic, and social consequences of corruption and fraud in public affairs.
- Students will explain best practices in identifying and preventing corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in public affairs.
- Students will draft an original research paper documenting lessons learned from a major case of corruption, fraud, waste, and/or abuse.
PUBPOL 5640 - Data Analytics in Health Care (1.5 Credits)
This course provides students with a hands-on understanding of how to make the best use of the data available within a healthcare setting to improve patient care, healthcare operations and overall healthcare system. Students will be expected to complete case studies and hands on analysis with healthcare data. Throughout the course students will learn basic and intermediate SQL concepts.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students in Master of Health Administration program.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
PUBPOL 5641 - Data Analytics for Healthcare Administrators (3 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
PUBPOL 5650 - Social Care Navigation to Advance Health Equity (3 Credits)
Unmet health related social needs (HRSN) – such as unstable housing, food insecurity, and lack of reliable transportation – exacerbate poor health. Health care organizations are increasingly screening patients for unmet HRSNs and collaborating with local community-based organizations (CBOs) to address patient social needs to deliver whole-person care and advance health equity. Critical to the screen-and-refer process are trained community members – patient social care navigators – who contact patients who screen positive for one or more HRSN and connect patients to local CBOs to meet those needs. In this course, students will develop and practice in the classroom the skills that navigators in the field use to work collaboratively with patients, participating clinician practices, community health workers, and not-for-profit organizations to provide social care navigation to patients to improve health outcomes and health equity of Tompkins County residents.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Define social determinants of health (SDOH) and demonstrate understanding of how they shape health outcomes.
- Analyze promising policies and practices nationally and locally to address health inequities by integrating clinical and social care (e.g. social needs screening and referral infrastructure, data interoperability systems, reimbursement for social care services through health insurance).
- Describe principles of trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches to care and actively put those principles into practice during role playing.
- Identify and propose solutions to barriers to care such as stigma, structural racism, access, lack of medical system integration, etc.
- Work collaboratively with an engaged course partner to support improvements in local social care navigation networks.
PUBPOL 5657 - Alternative Paradigms, Practices and Challenges in International Development (3 Credits)
This course will focus on international development strategies, the historical failures of aid and how rethinking the role of development processes can result in better outcomes for the global south. Students pursuing careers in public administration, international development, and public policy will acquire knowledge and skills to review, design, implement and evaluate development projects and programs.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students, or by permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
PUBPOL 5658 - Fixing the Future: Policy Solutions for Development Dilemmas (1.5 Credits)
This course will address dilemmas or contradictions impeding progress toward achieving sustainable and equitable development goals. Discussions will revolve around six wicked development dilemmas and will provide students with the tools required to develop options for governments seeking to avoid systemic problems on their paths toward sustainability. These development dilemmas include the value vs. wealth proposition, eliminating poverty in the context of resource intensity, cleaner production, governance with common values, the role of government in sustainability, and the capacity of intergovernmental systems.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or with permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Use system thinking by visualizing the larger dynamics of the system while keeping in mind human tendencies and behaviors. In this course, combine the analytical tools of systems thinking with human-behavior centered problem solving to make sense of complex human systems and challenge their engrained biases.
- Use creative thinking tools to expand their perspectives and think as if the box never existed to envision the emergence of a new human paradox.
- Structure open discussions around difficult issues specially those related challenges inherent in global efforts to achieving a more sustainable and equitable future.
- Articulate the future policy environments that will support future sustainability efforts.
PUBPOL 5659 - Cross-Cultural Communication for Executives (0.5 Credits)
When you're at work, you probably interact with employees, clients, and leaders from different backgrounds and cultures. Your Social Style? plays a role in how you communicate and behave in the workplace and how others, in turn, interact with you. This course will prepare you to communicate effectively, efficiently, and empathetically with people of different cultural backgrounds no matter your Social Style?.In this course, you will examine the four Social Styles? so you can communicate appropriately and effectively in a cross-cultural environment. You will practice becoming more aware of how your Social Style? is interpreted by others and how that impacts your interactions with others at work. You will also develop strategies for overcoming blind spots in order to mitigate the risk of ineffective communication in cross-cultural settings. Finally, you will discover the ways you can adapt your Social Style? for effective communication without compromising your core values.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Evaluate how your Social Style is interpreted by others.
- Become aware of your social blind spots in the cross-cultural work environment.
- Adapt for effective communication.
PUBPOL 5660 - Strategic Management and Organizational Design of Health Care Systems (3 Credits)
This course is designed to help students develop a thorough understanding of health care strategy and strategic management in order to provide effective leadership in future roles. In this course students will grapple with key strategic questions and develop an analytical framework for strategic management. Students will read and discuss various theoretical concepts and models, and then apply this knowledge to actual case studies focusing on many of the major issues and common challenges in health care. In doing so, students will assume the position of the leader and determine how best to lead and manage in that situation. This course is designed to provide students with confidence in working with strategy.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the core methods and frameworks that underlie strategic analysis.
- Recognize the interplay between delivery system structure, incentives, and the strategic options available to health care leaders.
- Apply strategic analysis to the common decisions and scenarios facing health care leaders.
- Understand the current state of the health care ecosystem and leading strategies to improve outcomes.
PUBPOL 5661 - Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Public Policy (3 Credits)
PUBPOL 5663 - Health Care Strategy for Managers (1.5 Credits)
Examines strategy and design issues faced by health care organizations. Topics include analysis of market conditions, organizational culture issues, development of an organizational mission and management strategy, the management of professionals, and the importance of roles, structure, and inter and intra-institutional relationships within organizations. Taught via a case study approach.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the strategic options available to different types of health care organizations.
- Explain the relationship of these strategic options to core underlying economic principles that influence firms and industries.
- Choose optimal strategy from the available options for health care organizations.
PUBPOL 5665 - Managing and Leading Organizations (3 Credits)
This graduate-level survey course is designed for students pursuing executive roles in government agencies, state and local authorities, and nonprofit organizations; and with private firms working in the public interest at the interface with government agencies. Through this course, students will develop capabilities uniquely suited to managing and leading organizations in an ethical and sustainable manner. This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Environmental and Sustainability Policy and MS in Data Science and Technology Policy programs. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science and Environmental Sustainability Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply principles of organizational behavior and human resource management and use these tools to become effective leaders and managers.
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct financial analysis, including reading and analyzing financial statements, creating budgets and performing budget variance analysis.
- Apply coaching and constructive feedback skills to peers in a variety of situations.
- Demonstrate listening skills with an aim of appreciating and valuing individual differences. Students will be able to share responsibility and information within diverse groups and navigate conflict across difference.
PUBPOL 5670 - Health Policy (3 Credits)
Addresses major health policy issues and the critical processes that influence them. Focuses primarily on the United States, with some coverage of health policy in other countries. Topics include Medicare, Medicaid, the uninsured, public health, the effect of welfare policy on health care, managed care development and regulation, state and federal health care reform, and many others. The course analyzes the politics of health policy in terms of legislative and executive processes; the forces involved including economic, social, ethical, and political factors; and key players in health policy, such as special interest groups, public agencies, and elected officials.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Have a good understanding of social and behavioral determinants of health in addition to the health care financing, delivery and regulatory systems; this is needed in order to analyze the effects of relevant policies on health; be familiar with some main outlets for dissemination of research that affect the health care sector.
- Have gained tools necessary to critique and economically analyze health policies that affect health care organizations and related entities.
- Develop familiarity with the statistical analysis in journal articles we read.
- Practice the art of providing constructive feedback to your colleagues on their term projects.
- Improve your written and oral communication skills, as well as your presentation skills.
- Work with diverse groups and teams.
PUBPOL 5673 - Health Policy for Managers (1 Credit)
This course addresses major U.S. health policy issues and the critical processes that influence them. Topics include policy process, public health, the effect of welfare policy on health care, social policy as health policy, health care reform, and others. The course analyzes the politics of health policy in terms of legislative and executive processes; the forces involved including economic, social, ethical, and political factors; and key players in health policy, such as special interest groups, public agencies, and elected officials.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMHA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Summer 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain the social and behavioral determinants of health in addition to the health care financing, delivery and regulatory systems; this is needed in order to analyze the effects of relevant policies on health; be familiar with some main outlets for dissemination of research that affect the health care sector.
- Critique and economically analyze health policies that affect health care organizations and related entities.
- Provide constructive feedback to colleagues on their term projects.
PUBPOL 5679 - Desktop and Modeling Solutions (3 Credits)
This course presents an advanced approach to data-intensive problem-solving using Microsoft Excel. Advanced concepts such as external queries, data tables, arrays, iterative techniques and macros will be reviewed. These will then be incorporated into an integrated business model. Emphasis will be on clear, separated input and output, data integrity, user interface design, documentation, maintainability, robustness and user support.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students (fall). Brooks school students (spring).
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- To master the vocabulary of personal computing.
- To understand the essentials of desktop and file management, especially with regard to security, safety, privacy, and protection against data loss.
- To be able to discriminate between seemingly competing software applications (spreadsheet, database, etc...) and be able to select the best application, or combination of applications, suited to a particular task.
- To become highly proficient in the use of MS Office suite. The focus is on understanding the characteristics of each application and the tasks they are best suited to support.
- To become an effective technological problem-solver, capable of assessing an overall problem, and understanding what the best combination of software applications, tools, and techniques are to address the problem.
- To expand students' Excel function vocabulary into the more flexible function categories, such as text parsing, time and date manipulation, index, lookup, and array functions.
- To expand students' ability to work with compound and nested logic within Excel formulas.
- To learn how to implement data protection and validation strategy to maximize model robustness.
- To learn how to use macros to automate redundant data management tasks.
- To maximize understanding of Excel's charting engine in order to exploit advanced charting and graphing features. Outcome 11: To give students the experience and rigor of breaking a substantial problem down into its constituent pieces to allow for programmatic solution.
PUBPOL 5680 - Towards a Policy of Democratic Unity (3 Credits)
Democratic leaders are increasingly concerned with authoritarian attempts to alter long-established values and interests of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Questions as to the abuse of Interpol against dissidents, the harsh reaction by China to WHO attempts to address the pandemic, and the rejection by Russia of its international obligations bring new policy questions but also solutions to this topic. As the international liberal order framework of the last 75 years shows its age, the question of which nations and value systems will shape the world for the next 75 years becomes more pressing. Are democracies capable of jointly addressing this challenge How far do democratic alliances go before national interests take charge? In this course, students will draw upon real-life case studies and scenarios through interaction with diplomats, civil society, and other practitioners in this arena. Students in this course will be equipped to shape the debate of a framework of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy for the future and present their ideas through the use of a structured debate as a final project.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Critique and debate the ability of democracies to pushback against expanding authoritarianism.
- Revise or propose a new narrative for concerted action by democracy to protect human rights and democracy in the multilateral system.
- Differentiate between reforms and attempts to replacement of universal values of human rights and the rule of law.
- Compare and contrast strategies to promote universal human rights.
PUBPOL 5690 - Regression Analysis and Managerial Forecasting (3 Credits)
Teaches various statistical methods for managerial decision making, with a particular emphasis on regression and forecasting. Other topics include ANOVA, correlation, confounding, interaction, and statistical process control. Emphasizes applications to health care organizations.
Prerequisites: at least one statistics course.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment preference given to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Be able to understand basic statistical data presentations using averages, standard deviation, tstatistics, and hypothesis tests.
- Use bi-variate and multivariate regression analysis techniques.
- Use dummy variables and fixed effects to analyze cross-state data.
- Use dummy variables and trend variables to analyze seasonal trends and make short-run forecasts.
- Understand the issues of endogeneity, correlation and causation when analyzing the relationship between variables.
PUBPOL 5693 - Business Statistics (1.5 Credits)
An introduction to statistical methods. Topics to be covered include the descriptive analysis of data, probability concepts and distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing, regression and correlation analysis. Applications from business, economics, and the biological sciences are used to illustrate the methods covered in the course.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain basic statistical data presentations using averages, standard deviation, t-statistics, and hypothesis tests.
- Explain the issues of endogeneity, correlation, and causation when analyzing the relationship between variables.
- Use bi-variate and multivariate regression analysis techniques.
- Use dummy variables and trend variables to analyze seasonal trends and make short-run forecasts.
PUBPOL 5700 - Accounting, Financial Reporting and Decision Making (3 Credits)
Introduces the basic concepts of financial and managerial accounting with emphasis on health care applications. Explains the measurement system of business operations, business valuation, financial reporting, budgeting, cost allocation, service and product costing, and special reports for managerial use. Ethical and international issues are integrated throughout the course materials with real world applications. At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to read, understand, and analyze the annual financial reports of an organization. Collaborative learning, cases, discussions, readings, research, presentations, speakers, problem solving, videotapes, and lectures are used for teaching the course.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Classify transactions and their impact on financial statements.
- Identify relevant accounting concepts and how they impact financial reporting.
- Analyze cost data for managerial decision making and explain and assess the budget making process within a health care organization.
- Analyze and present the financial position and results of operations for a business entity in the health care field.
PUBPOL 5703 - Financial Accounting for Managers (2 Credits)
Health Care Accounting is an introductory analytical course which emphasizes theory and concepts. However, accounting is a technical discipline and some mastery of technique is needed to demonstrate an understanding of theory. The course introduces the basic assumptions and concepts underlying the preparation and measurement of financial data related to a business organization. Measurement of business operations, financial reporting, budgeting, cost volume profit analysis, and and product costing are among the subjects to be discussed. Topics relevant to the health care industry will be emphasized. Ethical and global issues are integrated throughout the course along with real world issues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Classify transactions and their impact on financial statements.
- Explain relevant accounting concepts and how they impact financial statements.
- Analyze cost data for managerial decision making and explain and assess the budget making process.
- Analyze and present the financial position and results of operations for a business entity.
PUBPOL 5710 - Organizational Development and Human Resource Management in Health Care Organization (3 Credits)
Explores (1) the theoretical foundation of organizational theory, research, and human resource management with an emphasis on implementation; (2) real-world problems while analyzing, exploring, and discussing varied interpretations of selected cases; (3) the building blocks of managerial activity, internal organizational issues, performance issues related to organization design, and strategic issues. Key organizational change and development concepts enhance students' perspectives on how the theories, strategies, and practices relate to today's organizations. The course serves as a framework to establish the theory and the conceptual and competency foundations necessary for applying interventions.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the theoretical underpinnings of organizational development and change.
- Critically examine the implications of the theories discussed.
- Understand the many facets of organizational dynamics and how change impacts stakeholders.
- Understand the relationship of executive teams, organizational change and organizational design.
- To understand recruitment and selection and job analysis and design.
- To know how to manage groups and teams.
- To understand issues related to sexual harassment and diversity as well as employee and employer rights.
- Understand the importance of motivating and leading people and groups.
- To be able to chart the future and evaluate performance of individuals, groups, and processes.
- Understand the ways in which organizational structure and technology influence how organizations learn and change.
PUBPOL 5713 - Leadership, Innovation and Change Management (2 Credits)
This course will take on two major topics: organizational culture and identifying and aligning products, services, and strategies throughout a health care organization. The course will equip students with the proper tools to lead innovation and change within a health care organization. Topics will include culture, business analysis models such as BCG matrix, SWOT analysis, porters five forces, and strategic plans.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Summer 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Manage and implement cultural changes within a health care organizations.
- Build and evaluate strategic plans for a health care organization.
- Demonstrate knowledge of business analysis tools and apply information and strategies to health care organizations.
PUBPOL 5717 - Energy Transition: Policy, Financial, and Business Interactions (3 Credits)
The course utilizes discussions, presentations, research papers, and simulations to explore the policy, financial, and business implications, opportunities, and risks, of climate change, specifically the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. We will explore potential public policies in the context of their business impacts, effectiveness, and political viability. How does different policy design encourage distinct long-term pathways within a highly capital-intensive industry? What industries are most impacted by a transition to a lower carbon economy? How do incentives and structures influence business actors toward a smoother transition, or toward wasted capital expenditures, and stranded assets? Are financial markets pricing in an energy transition? What is the role of financial and market regulators in ensuring long-term beneficial capital allocation? With an industry in decline, what are the business strategy options for management of a fossil fuel producer? What are the policy, financial, and business implications for clean energy firms, electric vehicle manufacturers, and the metals and mining industry? Additional readings, research, and presentations are required of Master's students.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5210 or ECON 3030 (or equivalent).
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe potential impacts of the energy transition and related public policy interactions on business outcomes.
- Students will explain why market actors' incentives and other structural impediments can impede an effective and smooth transition and may also result in stranded assets and destruction of shareholder value.
- Students will examine financial and strategic approaches in assessing transition risk, and investor and management decisions-making in a carbon-constrained global economy.
- Students will explain the catalysts driving the speed and magnitude of the energy transition.
PUBPOL 5720 - Addiction Medicine Practice and Policy (3 Credits)
A community-engaged addiction medicine course that draws from experts in the field to address the neurobiology of addiction, risk and protective factors for substance misuse and disorder, barriers to treatment such as stigma, the recovery continuum, and a focus on drug policy and law in historical and contemporary context. Students will work in teams to complete a community engaged project and field trips will be offered. This course is geared toward future clinicians, policy makers, healthcare leaders, data analysts, and engaged citizens who care about human wellbeing and health equity.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 2300 or PUBPOL 2350 or PUBPOL 3280.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023 Learning Outcomes:
- Define addiction as a chronic relapsing medical condition.
- Describe the epidemiology of substance use, misuse, and abuse for a given substance (e.g. incidence, prevalence, trends including inequities, costs, and morbidity and mortality).
- Identify and propose solutions to barriers to care such as stigma, structural racism, criminalization of disease, access, lack of medical system integration, etc.
- Justify an appropriate recovery practice or policy across the ecosystem of care (e.g., prevention services, harm reduction, screening, outpatient treatment, inpatient care, detox, etc.).
- Work collaboratively in groups and with a community partner to complete a community-engaged service-learning project.
PUBPOL 5725 - Data Ethics for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students pursuing leadership or managerial roles in organizations across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors involved with shaping or making data science and technology. Special attention will be paid to ethical concerns associated with data science, including biases, privacy, surveillance, discrimination, transparency, accountability, and implications for artificial intelligence. This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Data Science for Public Policy program. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the lifecycle of a data science project, identify ethical concerns that might emerge at each stage of the project, and recommend measures for addressing these concerns.
- Apply best practices in data ethics in drafting an original data privacy policy directive memo for an organization.
- Discuss the pace of technological development in data science and regulatory policy governing this space.
PUBPOL 5730 - Comparative Environmental Policy (3 Credits)
This course focuses on environmental legislation such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and others as a foundation for US environmental policy. Internationally, focus on Environmental Policy in multiple countries and comparative to US environmental policy. Over the course we will discuss how environmental policy directly impacts community, public health, natural ecological systems, concepts of justice, and socioeconomics. We will explore these major environmental policies in the US as a basis of comparison and then apply those mechanism domestically or internationally to address climate change and improve other environment conditions. Students who seek to work in the US will build an analytic skill set to be competitive for jobs in environmental consulting, government, public policy, public health, non-profits, and advocacy groups.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or with permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will Analyze major United States environmental policy including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA) and others.
- Students will debate major environmental policy on international stage (UN) and also key policies in other countries.
- Students will analyze the challenges & opportunities in implementing effective mitigation, alternatives, & cumulative impacts to proposed projects & policies.
- Students will analyze the process of environmental policy, regulation, and rulemaking.
- Students will propose strategies for overcoming obstacles to effective environmental regulations.
PUBPOL 5733 - Vulnerability and Resilience Planning for Executives (1 Credit)
This is an Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) course designed to prepare leaders and develop an understanding of problems and trends in disaster policy, recovery, planning, and management. These concepts can translate to manage for the unexpected and equitably invest in building community capacity. This course focuses on the challenges leaders face working with vulnerable communities and how to build capacity and resilience. Students will learn about climate change, as well as the fields of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation. The class will think through likely outcomes of innovative policy interventions and discuss risk and pathways for evaluative decisions about hazards. What is a disaster, and how do disasters impact communities, governments, and organizations? What makes people vulnerable, and how to build their resilience to facilitate recovery and adaptation? How does climate change contribute to disasters?
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will describe key themes in disaster prevention, planning, recovery, adaptation, and climate-related disasters.
- Students will identify what makes communities vulnerable, and how to build their resilience to facilitate recovery.
- Students will evaluate policy interventions, identify risks/hazards, and tools for decision-making.
- Students will identify obstacles leaders face in disaster planning, including key political, financial, and technical concerns.
PUBPOL 5734 - Disasters, Vulnerability, and Resilience (3 Credits)
This hands-on graduate-level course addresses key topics and themes using vulnerability assessment and resilience planning. The focus is on developing innovative policy solutions to prepare for, adapt to, and mitigate natural and manmade disasters. The goal is to invest in building resilience and adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities. This course is for anyone who will be in a leadership role who wants to build a toolkit to manage and prepare for a range of crises including natural, manmade, social, and resource-related disasters. Students will discuss the lessons learned from academic research, government reports, case studies, and past experiences to develop effective management strategy.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe, examine, and explain key trends in disaster prevention, and disaster recovery.
- Identify the roles that different institutions play in disaster prevention and recovery spheres.
- Identify and evaluate obstacles to effective disaster prevention, recovery, and adaptation.
- Examine key political, financial, educational, and technical questions that need resolution.
- Describe and analyze innovative policy solutions to prepare for, adapt to, and mitigate disasters.
PUBPOL 5740 - Short Course in Fundamentals of Health Facility Planning for Managers (1 Credit)
Provides M.H.A. and other students who may be interested in careers in health care management with a basic familiarity regarding some of the concepts and terminology related to health facility planning projects. The course touches on areas that a manager might encounter, including working with designers, the relationship between strategic planning issues and facility planning, basic cost estimating techniques, simplified plan interpretation, and use of architectural and engineering scales. The course have two primary components. One portion is lectures and hands-on demonstrations on plan reading/measurements and an overview of the process of project planning. We anticipate a tour of an active or recently completed project at either Cornell or Cayuga Medical Center as time allows. The other involves live or videoconference presentations from invited practitioners and researchers in the health facilities area.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 Learning Outcomes:
- Define some basic architectural terminology and differentiate the types of drawings typically used in projects.
- Distinguish between a number of basic architectural plan symbols and assess components that would be difficult/costly to move in projects.
- Perform measurements using architectural and engineering scales to take off dimensions from building plans.
- Calculate very preliminary cost estimates for capital budgeting or other requests.
- Evaluate some general approaches used in actual cases that deal with ethical, financial and other tradeoffs in planning and evaluating new or alternative uses of facilities.
- Explain and write an assessment of some practical facility management/planning policy issues and trends presented by guest practitioners from their various professional perspectives regarding operating and designing health facilities.
PUBPOL 5750 - Causal Analysis and Impact Evaluation in Public Policy (3 Credits)
Second semester of a two-semester sequence in applied statistics for Public Policy. Review of key material (regression analysis, and statistical inference for regression). Advanced topics in regression analysis such as: interaction terms, log transformations, binary independent and dependent variables. Introduction to research design for causal analysis, including: experiments, Differences-in-Differences, and Regression Discontinuity.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5310.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Correctly interpret results from linear regressions.
- Run and correctly interpret regression models using interactions, data transformations, and binary variables as both independent and dependent variables.
- Describe and diagnose ways that regression analysis can break down (violations of model assumptions).
- Correctly use causal research designs to identify and estimate causal effects of policy interventions.
PUBPOL 5755 - Infrastructure Financing (3 Credits)
This course is designed for graduate students considering a career in the public sector in budgeting and debt management, a career in planning, implementing and operating public infrastructure (including transportation, water and sewer, power, education, etc.) or a career in capital markets. At the completion of the course students will have a strong working knowledge of key principles and techniques of public finance and a familiarity with finance instruments.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students or by permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Student will apply key finance tools (discounted cash flow, NPV, IRR, amortization, cost of capital) to public finance problems (with emphasis on infrastructure finance).
- Student will describe how capital markets and credit analysis/ratings affect public sector financial decisions.
- Student will analyze public income and balance sheet statements.
- Student will discuss the role of bond markets in shaping public finance.
- Student will develop an original position paper on a topic in public finance.
PUBPOL 5757 - Infrastructure Project Management and Finance Practicum (1.5 Credits)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
PUBPOL 5758 - Managing Large-Scale Investment Projects (1.5 Credits)
Large, multi-billion dollar mega transportation projects can fundamentally change how we move people and goods, but they are tough to deliver - requiring decades to develop, complex capital structures, sophisticated technology solutions, highly technical engineering, advanced construction methods, consensus across diverse stakeholders, and overcoming difficult environmental and legal challenges. This course explores strategies for bringing these types of projects to fruition.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will analyze the full scope of activities and risks associated with developing and delivering major infrastructure projects.
- Students will apply planning skills to advance a project from the development phase to successful delivery, including effective scoping, community and stakeholder engagement, procurement, funding, workforce and delivery.
- Students will identify ways to incorporate key project elements in the initial scope of the project that address the long-term impacts of climate change and accelerate implementation.
- Students will strategize around leveraging various public and private sector stakeholders.
PUBPOL 5767 - Cybersecurity for Executive Leaders (1 Credit)
Cybersecurity is continuously evolving, with new threats and vulnerabilities constantly emerging, making the need to be vigilant in security measures and protocols more important than ever. This course will guide students through the regulatory framework that can often feel like a maze of changing requirements and security system updates. They will explore the various risks faced by different industries and examine ways to adopt best practices that enable them to efficiently safeguard against cyber threats and attacks. As students investigate the responsibilities their organization has to ensure cybersecurity, they will recognize it as a team effort and discover how building a cybersecurity culture can be the foundation of their organization's ability to do business safely in today's cyber world.
Prerequisites: enrollment in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) Program.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Recognize the principal framework that governs cybersecurity.
- Examine the discretion that is involved within the regulatory framework as it applies to your organization.
- Discuss how third-party actions as well as your own can impede business objectives.Br
- Project changes in an ever-evolving system of operational security practices and prepare to adapt accordingly.
- Identify threats and vulnerabilities both internal and external to your business.
PUBPOL 5770 - Health Care Services Marketing (3 Credits)
This course provides an introduction to health care services marketing and the role of essential tools and functions of marketing for creating, communicating and delivering value for patients, the community, the organization, and stakeholders. The course explores the history, perspectives, concepts, processes, and roles of marketing within the healthcare industry. The growing importance of social media for communicating the organization's brand, mission, values and vision is covered as is the emergence of value-based reimbursement, population health management, telehealth, community benefit, health equity, transparency, rise of consumerism, and data security. The course will focus on selected marketing themes including services versus product marketing, segmentation, pricing, target marketing, customer experience, branding, and more.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students or other professional students with permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand and apply fundamental marketing principles, tools and techniques in health care.
- Identify needs, trends, developments and opportunities and how health care organizations should respond to them.
- Conduct and defend a market research and analysis within marketing frameworks such as the 4Ps.
- Describe, employ and critically analyze healthcare marketing concepts, tools, and methods.
- Critically analyze marketing cases and present recommendations competently, including articulating, advocating for, and supporting one's position.
PUBPOL 5773 - Health Marketing for Managers (1.5 Credits)
This case-based course serves as an introduction to health care services marketing. The course is intended to give students an appreciation for the marketing discipline and how it can be used as a tool to understand and address the needs and wants of the consumer. Students will be expected to think critically about health care marketing, speak the marketing language and apply the tools and concepts from readings and lectures to assigned cases and classroom discussion.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply marketing tools and techniques appropriately.
- Explain key marketing concepts: customer orientation, consumer behavior, and consumerism in the health care industry.
- Analyze cases and present recommendations competently, including articulating, advocating for, and supporting one's position.
- Identify trends, developments and opportunities, and how health care organizations should respond to them.
PUBPOL 5780 - Artificial Intelligence and Public Sector Decision Making (3 Credits)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been playing increasingly prominent roles in today’s public and private sectors. The recent rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI applications, in particular, has accelerated the adoption of AI among individuals, institutions, industries, communities, and societies. As a technology dating back decades, AI is complex, multifaceted, and dynamic, involving different techniques, categories, philosophies, use cases, and varied value and risks. Developing and maintaining an in-depth, nuanced, and up-to-date understanding of AI, AI-related technologies including big data and digital platforms, and the best practices and lessons learned during the design, implementation, and use of these technologies in diverse regions and sectors is critical to public policy. Such knowledge enables today’s and tomorrow’s practitioners and policymakers to design roadmaps, frameworks, strategies, artifacts, services, and policies to make a positive impact on our society. The course is designed for students both with and without a technical background.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025
Learning Outcomes:
- Articulate AI’s definition, evolution, categories, use cases, and policy implications.
- Analyze and manage the value and risks of AI-related initiatives in diverse regions and sectors.
- Address global challenges by designing and leveraging AI-related technologies, strategies, solutions, and policies.
PUBPOL 5783 - Comparative Health Care Systems for Managers (1 Credit)
This course is designed to make students familiar with comparative health care system analyses. Students learn about basic methodological tools to analyse and compare different health care systems using the example of the U.S. We learn about a unifying framework that allows us to categorize health care systems and benchmark them against each other.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Use a unified framework to simplify, analyze, and evaluate health care systems.
- Identify the basic organizational setups of the following health care systems with their various components and interactions: U.S., Germany, Canada, China, Singapore, UK, and others.
- Apply statistical analysis to OECD indicators in order to benchmark the performance of health care systems. To be able to discuss the limitations, advantages and disadvantages of such statistical comparisons.
- Develop awareness of the challenges of political reform initiatives and why it is so difficult to fundamentally change existing health care systems. Explain why most health care systems are unique and historically grown.
PUBPOL 5787 - Leadership in the Algorithmic Age: AI and Public Policy (0.5 Credits)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in society, impacting various facets of our lives. As AI technologies advance, the need for effective public policy frameworks becomes increasingly critical. This graduate-level course explores the dynamic intersection of AI and public policy, delving into the ethical, regulatory, and practical considerations that shape the development and implementation of policies governing AI. This course also emphasizes the need for proactive development of policies to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies. Through a combination of lectures, readings, discussions, and a practical policy project, students will gain a holistic perspective on the challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies in society.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will discuss the Foundations of AI and gain a comprehensive understanding of AI technologies, their applications, and the implications for individuals, communities, and societies.
- Students will examine regulatory landscapes; explore the historical evolution of AI regulation globally, comparing approaches taken by different countries and regions. Analyze challenges and opportunities in regulating rapidly evolving AI technologies.
- Students will debate privacy and security in the AI Era: Investigate the intricate relationship between AI and privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection. Assess policy responses aimed at safeguarding individual rights and ensuring the security of AI systems.
- Students will identify opportunities to address bias and fairness: Explore the ethical dimensions of algorithmic bias and fairness in AI decision-making. Evaluate policy strategies and frameworks designed to mitigate bias and promote fairness.
PUBPOL 5790 - Community Impact Analysis in Development Policy I (1 Credit)
This course embodies community-engaged learning by positioning students as collaborative learners alongside community members, emphasizing mutual exchange, and addressing an issue that holds local significance. Students will not only conduct a community impact analysis but will also engage directly with residents and local stakeholders to understand their perspectives, experiences, and priorities. This interaction enables students to learn with and from the community, building skills in cultural humility, active listening, and responsive problem-solving. Throughout the course, critical reflection will be an integral component; students will regularly examine their assumptions, document their learning through field notes, and engage in reflective discussions. These reflective practices will challenge them to consider the social and ethical dimensions of their work, helping them refine their approach to ensure it aligns with community needs and fosters equitable, sustainable outcomes.
Corequisites: PUBPOL 3791/5791 (Winter) and PUBPOL 3792/5792 (Spring).
Enrollment Information: Students must commit to the remaining additional course sequences.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL)
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate understanding of the historical, political, and cultural context surrounding the community impact analysis site, identifying factors that shape current social, economic, and environmental conditions.
- Apply ethical principles in community-based fieldwork, including stakeholder analysis and participatory evaluation methods, to plan a respectful and inclusive data collection process.
- Conduct field-based data collection in partnership with local stakeholders, using participatory methods to gather insights into community experiences and perspectives.
- Exhibit effective communication and collaboration skills when engaging with community members and organizational partners to ensure transparent and mutually beneficial data gathering.
- Analyze collected data to identify patterns, challenges, and opportunities relevant to the social, economic, and environmental impact of development initiatives within the community.
PUBPOL 5791 - Community Impact Analysis in Development Policy II (2 Credits)
This intensive, week-long January fieldwork course immerses students in hands-on data collection for a community impact analysis. Working with a host organization and community partners, students conduct interviews, surveys, and observations, applying ethical fieldwork and participatory evaluation methods to gather insights that will inform their final analysis and recommendations.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5790.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL, CU-ITL)
Learning Outcomes:
- Conduct field-based data collection in partnership with local stakeholders, using participatory methods to gather insights into community experiences and perspectives.
- Exhibit effective communication and collaboration skills when engaging with community members and organizational partners to ensure transparent and mutually beneficial data gathering.
PUBPOL 5797 - Fundamentals of Cybersecurity Policy (3 Credits)
Cybersecurity is a top priority for individuals, organizations, and governments. Cyber risks impact public health and safety, financial systems, business operations, national security, geopolitical relationships, and more. Because systems are interconnected and interdependent, and cybercriminals and nation-state actors often look for the weakest link to gain access, reasonable cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Policies, laws, and frameworks addressing cybersecurity have advanced considerably over the years, but do not always keep pace with evolving technologies, uses, and threats. Now, with the widespread use of AI and the ever-expanding Internet of Things, the implications and impact of cybersecurity policy have become all the more critical.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of cybersecurity policy priorities, processes, and stakeholders.
- Evaluate existing cybersecurity and data protection policies, standards, regulations, and laws.
- Assess principles of cybersecurity accountability, and liability.
- Analyze benefits and issues regarding public-private collaboration in the U.S. and internationally.
- Examine policy implications related to AI (artificial intelligence), VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality), IoT (Internet of Things), and digital currencies (crypto), and explore how policies may and should evolve.
PUBPOL 5799 - Data Management and Programming (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students interested in learning the foundations of data management and programming in Python. The goal is to teach students how to obtain and curate real world data, determine its reliability, manage large databases, create variables useful for analysis, and more. Much of the work will be done using Python libraries, which can help facilitate the functionality of Python without increasing the complexity.
This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Data Science for Public Policy program. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate an understanding of variable types, lists and arrays, and how to use packages in Python.
- Assemble data by importing it into Python.
- Appraise data quality and accuracy using common functions in Python.
- Use Python code to manage and analyze databases.
PUBPOL 5805 - Communication for Data Science and Public Policy (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students pursuing leadership or managerial roles in organizations across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors involved with shaping or making data science and technology. Special attention will be paid to “storytelling” technical or data-rich information, including assessing the audience for policy communication, assembling evidence, structuring an effective written argument, providing relevant charts/graphs/tables and delivering oral presentations. This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Data Science for Public Policy program. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well-prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Data Science Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and assess their targeted audience for writing in the context of public policymaking and develop effective written communication.
- Generate evidence for a written argument.
- Write a variety of written communication pieces that demonstrate mastery of the various genres of writing associated with public policy.
- Demonstrate peer review techniques, such as editing and critiquing writing by peers.
- Demonstrate mastery of executive presence and oral presentation techniques.
PUBPOL 5813 - Disruptive Innovation in Health Care I (1.5 Credits)
What will US health care look like in five years? Who will gain or lose influence in the battle for value and market position? While the debate rages on how to improve US health care, major players are jockeying to reinvent US health care as we know it. In this 1.5 credit course the instructor applies research in disruptive innovation to health care, drawing from interviews with venture capitalists, health system innovation leaders, start-ups, and Big tech.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Evaluate the application of "disruptive innovation" research and principles to today's health care environment.
- Anticipate how the initiatives of big tech companies and venture-backed innovation sectors will create value and impact the health care industry.
- Evaluate the value proposition and/or threat posed by disruptive primary care models.
- Translate your knowledge of industry disruptions into well-informed implications for incumbent health care enterprises.
PUBPOL 5820 - Policy Communication for a Sustainable World (3 Credits)
The course will cover the basics principles of communicating policy, with an emphasis on the distinctive challenges and politicization of climate change policy at the sub-national, national, and international levels. This course meets the NYSED requirements for what constitutes a given number of credit hours through a minimum of 45 hours of instruction and 90 hours of supplementary assignments, where students will practice written, oral, and visual communication techniques, while developing a deep understanding of the complexity for building public support for climate change policies.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Environmental Sustainability Policy Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and explain cultural and social dimensions of the environment and how this influences policy making, as well as public perceptions of policy.
- Understand and describe the importance of climate change policy domains (energy, waste, transport, food) from the individual, social and economic perspectives.
- Articulate the role of institutional partners in promoting or hindering conservation and protection of the environment and their role in environmental and climate justice debate.
- Understand and apply conventional communication techniques to the environment and climate change context.
PUBPOL 5823 - Disruptive Innovation in Health Care II (1 Credit)
The goal of this course is to empower students with current, cutting-edge insights on the external threats and opportunities presented by technology and insurgent forces in healthcare, and how incumbents can successfully respond to these threats and opportunities in a COVID and post-COVID world. My hope is that you will be inspired to understand and embrace disruption, and to become an innovator, an influencer, and a force in creating a new and better healthcare world.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5813.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment preference given to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Anticipate the trajectory of insurgents and the response of incumbents to ignore, resist, adopt, co-opt, or compete.
- Evaluate strategic alternatives for incumbents to minimize the risk of disruption and take advantage of opportunities presented by insurgents.
- Translate your knowledge into action by proposing a strategic initiative to enable an incumbent to not just survive but to be strengthened and thrive in a changed, disrupted healthcare industry.
PUBPOL 5840 - Data Visualization for Public Policy (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students interested in learning how to better communicate using data. Students will learn the foundations of data use and visualization tools and gain experience using these tools for the purpose of creating a shared understanding with an audience. Students will learn to organize data and create clear, creative graphs, charts, and dashboards for the purposes of story-telling and effectively conveying information.
Learning Outcomes:
- Distinguish between the strengths and weaknesses of various software programs, modelling methods, chart types, and graph types for specific visualization applications.
- Create effective visual reports using real world data.
- Synthesize data for a variety of audiences, including creating code and supporting materials that are reproducible and sharable.
- Write supporting materials that clearly describe data visualizations, highlighting key takeaways for the target audience.
PUBPOL 5843 - Startup Funding (1 Credit)
If you're an entrepreneur, you may have an original or disruptive idea and you need to seek funding sources. If you're an investor, you may be looking for an appropriate opportunity and you need to evaluate choices. In this course, you'll explore how to articulate a business model and evaluate how it fits with an investor type in order to identify good opportunities for investment.For an entrepreneur, this means determining the type of investment you need in your startup.For an investor, it means determining the type of startup investment most suitable to your needs and goals.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply the appropriate strategic framework to a business opportunity using the Business Model Canvas.
- Navigate the investor/investment landscape to find potential investors or investments for your needs.
- Create a capitalization table based on a sample startup.
- Identify the negotiating range for both the entrepreneur and the investor in terms of valuation.
- Estimate a fair valuation for a sample startup.
PUBPOL 5848 - The Fight Against Unemployment: Advocacy and Policy (1.5 Credits)
Crosslisted with ILRID 6635, LAW 6635
Unemployment is damaging to individuals, families, and society. Governments around the world have attempted to mitigate these harms, in some countries through generous out-of-work benefits, targeted retraining services for job seekers, and disincentives for employers to lay workers off in the first place. But why is unemployment so persistent in capitalist societies? What does it mean for an individual to be unemployed? What can the US learn from other countries to better combat unemployment and reduce its socially damaging effects? Students will work with community partners to assist the unemployed or conduct policy-relevant research.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Distribution Requirements: (ICE-IL)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2020 PUBPOL 5853 - AI and Digital Transformations for Executives (1 Credit)
Digital transformation isn't just for tech startups. It's a critical strategic focus area for today's leaders - and an initiative necessary for nearly every organization or venture to compete. In this course, you will learn how to find and produce new, streamlined, and disruptive business ideas through digital auditing and a rapid ideation process.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Conduct a builder audit to assess product ideation at your organization.
- Identify opportunities for digital transformation.
- Use product and service design, business model transformation, and sales transformation templates to generate new ideas.
- Work daily with a structured format to produce a large number of business ideas.
PUBPOL 5856 - International Human Rights Law and Policy for Executives (0.5 Credits)
We will address major challenges in international human rights law, policy and practice. Specific topics include children's rights, the rights of refugees and migrants, freedom from torture, the death penalty, modern slavery, and the right to sustainable development. We will also discuss the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations with respect to human rights, as well as the impact of actions (and inactions) by states and institutions in the Global North on the realization of human rights in states in the Global South.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: students in the Executive Master of Public Administration program.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply an understanding of the legal framework and sources of law (treaties, customary international law, UN institutions and machinery) governing international human rights law and policy, as well as a strong introduction to the substance of many internationally recognized human rights.
- Students will debate how international human rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
- Students will apply legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze U.S. legal sources (statutes, regulations, judicial and administrative opinions and guidance) as they relate to international human rights obligations of the U.S.
- Students will utilize legal reasoning and argumentation skills necessary to conduct oral arguments on behalf of fictional clients in leading U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding human rights.
PUBPOL 5857 - Introduction to R Programming (0.5 Credits)
This course is an introductory overview of the R programming language as it is applied to social science research, specifically data management and descriptive statistics. Through the fourteen (14) modules of this course, you will learn essential skills for getting started with the open-source R programming language in the context of social science research and policy analysis. These technical skills will be taught through accessible applications of real world data to pressing social policy issues like inequality, COVID-19, and criminal justice.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: EMPA students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate how to navigate RStudio, write code that follows R syntax and style conventions, and diagnose and correct code if it has error.
- Students will demonstrate understanding of what basic data structures are and how they map onto ideas like variables and data sets from social science research, compute descriptive statistics, with or without grouping, and manipulate and visualize data using the tidyverse libraries.
- Students will estimate and make predictions from descriptive linear regression models.
PUBPOL 5858 - Business and Inequality (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 5850
Through discussions, presentations, and research papers, we will examine increasing US inequality, and the interaction of business's role and impacts, alongside potential policy prescriptions (UBI, tax policy, job guarantees, etc.). Topics will also include potential sources of inequality. Areas explored include: Can public policy blunt inequality without unduly harming markets? What are the responsibilities of private sector companies to society, and what are their incentives? How does inequality affect business (through customers, workers - human capital), how does business exacerbate and exploit inequality? Does inequality reduce economic growth and productivity (due to rent-seeking activities, reduced opportunity)? Does corporate influence on the political system reinforce inequality? Is labor disadvantaged by social safety net structures, such as policies tying benefits to work requirements? Does inequality destabilize financial markets and fuel speculation (e.g., 1920's margin investing, GameStop, etc.)? Additional readings and in-depth research paper required of Master's students.
Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics (PUBPOL 5210, ECON 3030 or equivalent). Recommended prerequisite: introductory coursework in statistics and finance.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will investigate inequality's potential sources, magnitude, and changes over time.
- Students will articulate business's role within society as it pertains to inequality.
- Students will explain how short-term and/or individual financial incentives can erode long-term economic/societal outcomes.
- Students will describe when business interests are mutually aligned with inequality reductions and when they deviate.
PUBPOL 5859 - Human Rights Obligations (0.5 Credits)
Even organizations with the best intentions could negatively impact human rights. Has your organization conducted due diligence of its operations to identify potential human rights concerns? Does your organization have a business and human rights policy? This course will help you explore the human rights problems your organization could face. You will examine the various rules, laws, and guidelines that apply to your specific organization or industry, both in the United States and abroad. You will learn how a commitment to respect human rights can benefit your workforce as well as your organization. You will then discover the steps to conducting human right due diligence and developing and implementing a human rights policy to ensure your organization can meet its human rights responsibilities as it accomplishes its objectives.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will anticipate the types of human rights issues that could affect their organization.
- Students will recognize the international human rights framework and explore the potential negative human rights impacts of organizational activities.
- Students will assess the legal and regulatory landscapes to understand how practitioners determine which human rights rules, guidelines, and standards are most relevant for their organization.
- Students will articulate how to develop achievable plan to ensure that their organization, business unit, or functional area complies with all applicable human rights standards.
PUBPOL 5860 - Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Developing Country Contexts (3 Credits)
This course investigates the evolution of discourses surrounding gender and development, focusing on how women have gained economic independence, agency, and socio-economic mobility in developing country contexts and have thus emerged as successful entrepreneurs and leaders in their respective eco-systems. It examines how certain socio-economic factors have lifted women out of poverty, exclusion, and marginalization. By exploring both individual potential and collective power through dedicated activism, the course spans the fields of economics, sociology, and public policy.
Learning Outcomes:
- Deepen students' understanding of the intersection of gender and development, encouraging the design of initiatives that foster women's empowerment and economic inclusion, contributing to broader sustainable development goals.
- Equip students with the knowledge and skills to develop leadership potential and entrepreneurial ventures, with a focus on sustainability, social impact, and innovation in challenging environments.
- Develop students' capacity to critically assess and propose solutions to the systemic issues affecting women's leadership and entrepreneurship in developing countries, fostering innovative approaches to overcoming these barriers.
- Encourage and enable students to improve communication skills and develop creative and critical faculties through diverse course activities, such as reading, writing, and presenting elevator pitches, writing policy memos, while gaining a nuanced understanding of pressing issues in global food systems.
PUBPOL 5865 - Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Aspects of Environmental Policy (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course is designed for students pursuing leadership or managerial roles in organizations across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors involved with shaping or making environmental policy. Special attention will be given to practice at the intersections of law, regulation, and ethics, including recent developments in the fields of environmental justice and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. This course is designed for students in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Environmental and Sustainability Policy program. Other students may only enroll with permission of the instructor. As a graduate-level course, students are expected to have thoroughly read all materials prior to class and be well prepared to discuss readings and cases with colleagues.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks School Environmental Sustainability Policy Masters students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will analyze the process of environmental policy, regulation, and rulemaking.
- Students will develop strategies for overcoming obstacles to effective environmental regulations.
- Students will apply ethical frameworks for evaluating managerial and leadership decisions involving sustainability concerns.
- Students will analyze the relationship between inequality and sustainability, including applications of concepts such as environmental justice and environmental racism.
PUBPOL 5870 - Economic Evaluations in Health Care (3 Credits)
This course covers economic evaluation methods used for decisions in the health care sector and health policy. Economic evaluations include cost analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-utility analysis. The course discusses how to measure opportunity costs, monetary benefits, and health outcomes such as quality-adjusted life years. Actual economic evaluations of pharmaceuticals, health care and public health interventions, and health and safety policy are reviewed and critiqued.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify differences between economic evaluation methods and analyze when it is appropriate to use cost-analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis or cost-utility analysis.
- Identify and evaluate the opportunity costs associated with the resources used as the result of health policies and health care interventions.
- Calculate health gains in terms of natural units such as life years gained and utility-based measures such as quality-adjusted life years gained.
- Analyze the roles of time discounting and uncertainty in economic evaluations of health.
PUBPOL 5880 - Brooks Engaged Learning Capstone (4 Credits)
This course, known as the Cornell Brooks Engaged Learning Capstone, provides students with opportunities to practice concepts and skills gained in prior coursework and professional experiences to address policy or management problems for real-world clients. Brooks Masters students work on research projects in consultation with leaders in organizations working in the public and policy space.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply knowledge from the MS curriculum to analyze and address real-life organizational problems in policy and public administration.
- Manage projects and teams effectively to meet objectives and deadlines in a collaborative setting.
- Deliver clear and engaging oral presentations and engage in professional dialogue across diverse audiences.
- Produce well-organized and effective written communication tailored to professional contexts.
- Evaluate complex problems using critical, creative, and reflective thinking, and develop relevant, actionable recommendations for the capstone client organization.
PUBPOL 5900 - Special Topics in Health Administration and Finance (0.5-3 Credits)
A special topics course specifically designed for students in the Sloan Program in Health Administration. Possible multiple offerings using adjunct faculty teaching in areas of expertise not covered in depth in the Sloan core curriculum and relevant to students preparing for careers in health management. Format ranges from intensive courses offered over several full days to longer courses meeting on a weekly basis. Each section represents a separate stand-alone course occurring over the dates indicated.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan students or permission of Sloan program (sloan@cornell.edu). Add/drop deadline is two weeks prior to the course start date. Permission of your college registrar needed to make changes after the university deadline.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
PUBPOL 5903 - Quality Improvement for Managers (0.5 Credits)
The course introduces students to the predominant roles that Clinical Outcomes, Patient Safety, and Patient Satisfaction have in the health care industry and their growing impact on reimbursement. The focus of the course is to provide students with the abilities to lead collaborative efforts between physicians, front-line clinical staff, and hospital operations personnel in efforts that maximize quality, safety, and service for patients.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) and Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain the rationale behind Value-Based Purchasing, the present and future metrics being assessed, and the methodology for calculating the financial implications to the organization.
- Create and manage techniques to engage physicians and clinical personnel in performance improvement initiatives.
- Describe the importance of cultural factors in leading successful organizational change and initiatives.
PUBPOL 5905 - Environmental and Sustainability Policy Colloquium (3 Credits)
This colloquium course is offered in Fall Semester to students enrolled in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy MS in Environmental and Sustainability Policy program. It examines the complex interplay between policy, environment, and society and equips students with the knowledge and analytical tools to address pressing global concerns through effective policy formulation and implementation. Through case studies and guest speakers, students will examine policy responses to issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource management, community resilience, and more. Case studies have been developed by students under the supervisions of faculty and are designed to facilitate discussion-based, interactive learning about environmental and sustainability policy issues and management strategies in the public and not-for-profit sectors.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyze the complex interplay between policy, environment, and society in the U.S. and globally using a case study-based approach.
- Apply the knowledge and analytical tools to address pressing global concerns through effective policy formulation and implementation.
- Demonstrate techniques from practical experience with issue advocacy and policy design in the context of pressing environmental threats.
- Evaluate important policy dilemmas in an environmental and sustainability context and how political processes shape them.
PUBPOL 5910 - Master of Public Administration Capstone (Part 1) (1.5 Credits)
PUBPOL 5910 is the first part of the MPA Capstone course, which provides students with opportunities to practice project management and research and analysis skills gained through their previous coursework while conducting projects and developing reports and presentations that address policy or public management problems for real-world organizations. Students work in small teams and develop leadership and team management skills, gain experience in conducting policy-related research and communicating research with policymakers and decisionmakers, and learn how to navigate organizational demands and constraints. In this course you will develop a report and several presentations that address policy and public management problems, weigh possible options and their consequences, and provide recommendations to an organization working in the policy and public affairs space. Second-year MPA students use the reports produced in this course to meet their Brooks MPA writing requirement for graduation.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate the ability to apply learning from the MPA curriculum to real-life organizational problems related to policy and public administration.
- Students will demonstrate project and team management skills.
- Students will demonstrate oral presentation and professional dialogue skills.
- Students will demonstrate written communication skills.
- Students will demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing with relevant and useful research and recommendations for organizations working in the policy and public affairs space.
PUBPOL 5911 - MPA Capstone (Part II) (2 Credits)
PUBPOL 5911 is the second part of the MPA Capstone course, which provides students with opportunities to practice project management, research, and analysis skills gained through their previous coursework while conducting projects and developing reports and presentations that address policy or public management problems for real-world organizations. Students work in small teams and develop leadership and team management skills, gain experience in conducting policy-related research and communicating research with policymakers and decisionmakers, and learn how to navigate organizational demands and constraints. In this course you will develop a report and several presentations that address policy and public management problems, weigh possible options and their consequences, and provide recommendations to an organization working in the policy and public affairs space. Second-year MPA students use the reports produced in this course to meet their Brooks MPA writing requirement for graduation.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5910.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate the ability to apply learning from the MPA curriculum to real-life organizational problems related to policy and public administration.
- Students will demonstrate project and team management skills.
- Students will demonstrate oral presentation and professional dialogue skills.
- Students will demonstrate written communication skills.
- Students will demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing capstone organizations with relevant and useful research and recommendations.
PUBPOL 5913 - VUCA Leadership for Executives (1 Credit)
This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to expand their knowledge and understanding of the key leadership skills required for success in today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business world. It will build on the skills discussed in NCC 5040 Leading Teams and Managing and Leading Organizations, through discussion and interaction with an experienced practitioner and former leader of the United States Army. The course will be comprised of four modules: 1) Leadership Principles for a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World; 2) Developing and Communicating Vision and Strategy; 3) Setting Conditions for Success; and, 4) Character and Leadership.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students and Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Assess the four critical dimensions of your operating environment (internal, external, competitive, and relationship) and identify potential vulnerabilities in and opportunities for your organization in each of these areas.
- Define the elements of an effective business strategy in a VUCA world so you can clearly communicate your own business strategy.
- Evaluate and describe three ways to build commitment to a common goal and use those techniques to outline a plan that cultivates buy-in from your team or organization.
- Formulate a plan that specifies how you intend to create or strengthen inclusiveness in your environment and achieve your vision and strategy as a result.
PUBPOL 5920 - Public Affairs Externships (1-8 Credits)
Combines a professional public affairs externship in a metropolitan area with academic study to provide experience and understanding of the planner's role in formulating and implementing plans and policies. Externships are available in international organizations, federal, state, and local government agencies, legislative offices, and comparable settings include development of research, analysis, and other technical skills. Weekly seminars draw on student field experiences, assigned readings, and guest speakers to examine current issues of federal, urban, and regional policy from the perspective of public affairs practice.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
PUBPOL 5923 - Service Excellence (1.5 Credits)
This course provides students with a framework for critical thinking and techniques that can be adopted by customer-facing employees in any role. It provides tools that can be applied to any situation involving internal or external customers.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- The course will enable students to develop service excellence competencies, practice servant leadership, and deliver and excellent customer experience for their organizations.
- Foster ethical conduct to promote service excellence.
- Create a team-centered, collaborative culture.
PUBPOL 5930 - Writing Professional Reports for Public Affairs (1.5 Credits)
This seven week course will focus on writing for policy and professional audiences in public affairs. This course is directed toward second-year students in the MPA program who plan to complete a professional report to meet the MPA degree writing requirement. Students will define their research project for a client organization, and develop the professional report proposal, project management workplan, and literature review for their professional report.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will demonstrate research project and proposal development in relation to client organizations, including determining project scope, purposes, objectives, and procedures and alignment with the mission and need of a client organization.
- Students will develop a prospectus and a literature review for a professional report of relevance to a client organization, as well as demonstrate skills necessary to communicate with a broad audience.
- Students will present research findings to non-academic audiences through oral and written presentations.
PUBPOL 5933 - Introduction to Driving High Reliability in Healthcare (1 Credit)
This course is intended to provide future health care leaders core knowledge leading to competencies based on high-reliability principles of operational design and management, team leadership and collaboration within adaptive complex health care environments.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate comprehension of core high reliability principles for application to complex adaptive health care environments.
- Apply tools and talents within a small team-based activity to demonstrate collaboration and comprehension of high-reliability methods.
- Evaluate outcome measure methods for appropriate application to scenario-based events requiring post-event failure analysis.
PUBPOL 5940 - Consulting for Nonprofit and Government Organizations (3 Credits)
This graduate-level course covers the fundamental toolkit of a management consultant, with a particular emphasis on applying those skills to public and nonprofit sector contexts. Students will practice the skills that they will need to effectively work with partners on projects, either formally as external consultants, or as leaders within their organizations. The course covers the practice of management consulting, project definition, conceptual frameworks for approaching problems, quantitative and qualitative insights, written, and verbal communications.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the role and definition of a consulting relationship.
- Define and structure a problem with a client.
- Analyze data in creative and effective ways.
- Effectively communicate the results of complex analyses and recommendations to senior leaders.
- Work well on a team to manage a project, including adjustments required midstream.
PUBPOL 5943 - Negotiation Essentials (1 Credit)
Negotiation is the art and science of securing an agreement between two or more interdependent parties. A basic premise of the course is that while a manager needs technical and analytical skills in order to develop optimal solutions, a broad array of negotiation skills is needed for these solutions to be accepted and implemented.The course is designed to help you approach negotiations with confidence. You have the opportunity to develop your negotiating skills experientially and to gain insight into what works, what does not, and why.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Approach negotiations with confidence.
- Develop your negotiating skills experientially.
- Gain insight into what works, what does not, and why.
PUBPOL 5949 - Systems Thinking, Mapping, and Leadership Practicum I (1.5 Credits)
This engaged learning course will connect students to real-world problems in systems thinking, mapping, and leadership. Students will learn about how to apply a range of cutting-edge tools in systems thinking to a complex problem presented by a public affairs client organization (topics change annually). Note that this course requires a one-week field component held over winter break that represents .5 credit of the overall course grade.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Master of Public Administration (MPA) students participating in the Systems Thinking, Modeling, and Leadership (STML) Fellows Program.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Winter 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply quantitative and qualitative mixed research methods to an on-the-ground experience utilizing a SysEval tool and the Knowledge Methods Matrix (KMM).
- Students will apply systems thinking (ST-DSRP) modeling and leadership concepts to observing, understanding, and analyzing a complex systemic problem set.
- Students will work with a team to develop and propose a comprehensive 10 year plan for policy and action recommendations to be submitted to local stakeholders and authorities.
- Students will work with a team to deliver a professional conference presentation (recorded) and publish the results of fieldwork in a journal. Fellows have been accepted to present their findings at the 2020 Cornell Systems Thinking Symposium in April 18-20, 2020 and publish their findings in the Cornell Policy Review.
PUBPOL 5950 - Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) Capstone (0.5-7.5 Credits)
The course is designed to act as an integrative experience combining the competencies and knowledge gained during the student's time in the EMPA Program and the experiences gained in employment. The field study allows students to work on a long-term project within their organization that has been identified as relevant to the coursework and important to the organization.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate the ability to apply text, classroom, and career learning to real-life organizational problems.
- Demonstrate oral presentation and dialogue skills.
- Demonstrate written communication skills.
- Demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing their organization with a reasonable solution.
PUBPOL 5951 - Field Studies in Health Administration and Planning (1 Credit)
Students interested in developing administrative and program-planning research skills are given an opportunity to evaluate an ongoing phase of health care agency activity in the light of sound administrative practice and principles of good medical care. In planning and carrying out the research, students work closely with a skilled practicing administrator and with members of the faculty.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Learning Outcomes:
- Evaluate and explain a specific health care problem or issue in the context of the client organization and its market environment.
- Research and evaluate the problem tissue using ( but not limited to) up to date and relevant best practices, expert opinions, the research literature, conducting interviews and surveys, data collection, and data analysis.
- Organize and present (verbally and in written form) a comprehensive, cohesive, understandable, documented and meaningful report of their project including the group's objectives, methods, findings, and recommendations.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of their work and be able to provide alternative solutions/recommendations and innovative approaches.
- Please the client and be professional at all times.
PUBPOL 5952 - Field Study in Health Administration and Planning (3 Credits)
Students interested in developing administrative and program-planning research skills are given an opportunity to evaluate an ongoing phase of health care agency activity in the light of sound administrative practice and principles of good medical care. In planning and carrying out the research, students work closely with a skilled practicing administrator and with members of the faculty.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-CEL)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Learning Outcomes:
- Evaluate and explain a specific health care problem or issue in the context of the client organization and its market environment.
- Research and evaluate the problem issue using (but not limited to) up to date and relevant best practices, expert opinions, the research literature, conducting interviews and surveys, data collection, and data analysis.
- Organize and present (verbally and in written form) a comprehensive, cohesive, understandable, documented and meaningful report of their project including the group's objectives, methods, findings, and recommendations.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of their work and be able to provide alternative solutions/recommendations and innovative approaches.
- Please the client and be professional at all times.
PUBPOL 5953 - Health Managers Practicum I (1-1.5 Credits)
The course is the first half of the integrative capstone experience combining the competencies and knowledge gained during the first three semesters of the students' time at Sloan and the experiences gained in employment. In part 1 of this course, students work with their managers, capstone faculty, and Executives-In-Residence to identify a performance improvement project, strategy implementation project, or business development project that is of high importance to their organization. Students define the problem, research best practices, and trial solutions. Students present their preliminary findings and how they applied their coursework to their field study while on campus.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate the ability to apply text, classroom, and career learning to real-life organizational problems.
- Demonstrate oral presentation and dialogue skills.
- Demonstrate written communication skills.
- Demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing the client (their organization) with a reasonable solution.
PUBPOL 5954 - Health Managers Practicum II (1.5-2 Credits)
The course is the second half of the integrative capstone experience combining the competencies and knowledge gained during the last two semesters of the students' time at Sloan and the experiences gained in employment. In part two of this course, students track and analyze their data, perform a financial analysis, and present their findings.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Communicate effectively through oral presentation and dialogue skills.
- Write effectively and clearly.
- Develop compelling solutions for a client organization by conducting critical, creative, and reflective thinking.
- Demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing the client (their organization) with a reasonable solution.
PUBPOL 5959 - Systems Thinking, Mapping, and Leadership Practicum II (1.5 Credits)
This course is a real-world immersion experience into the kind of work Fellows will undertake. Dealing with wicked and non-trivial problems in large and complex systems where the client may or may not be ambiguous, the work may or may not be contracted and the product may or may not be welcomed. Deliverables for the course include a single, team-based Professional Report and a Professional Presentation. These products will summarize the results of the STML Fellows research and propose a framework for clients to understand and act upon the problem using systems thinking and leadership methods. The report relies heavily on a review of the literature on the topic, Fellows' discussions and interviews with experts in the field, and their own original analysis.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Graduate students participating in the Systems Thinking, Modeling, and Leadership (STML) Graduate Certificate Program.
Distribution Requirements: (KCM-HE, SBA-HE)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will apply quantitative and qualitative mixed research methods to an on-the-ground experience utilizing the Knowledge Methods Matrix (KMM); students will apply systems thinking (ST-DSRP) concepts to observing, understanding, and analyzing a complex systemic problem set; students will apply systems mapping (SM) process to observing, understanding, and analyzing a complex systemic problem set.
- Students will apply systems leadership (VMCL) functions to observing, understanding, and analyzing a complex systemic problem set, as well as to increase functionality of the group workflows and dynamics.
- Students will work with a team to develop a new analytical tool for policy makers (clients); and work with a team to deliver a professional conference presentation (recorded) and publish the results of fieldwork in a journal.
PUBPOL 5960 - State Policy and Advocacy Clinic I (4 Credits)
We will learn how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by practicing these skills before the legislative and administrative branches of the State of New York. In consultation with the professor, student teams will design public policy proposals based on a review of the academic, governmental and think tank literature; conversations with subject matter experts at Cornell and various NGOs; research and analysis of similar proposals in other states and countries; conversations with state and local policymakers; and discussions with community members and organizations, including community partners with lived experience. Although we will engage in policy design and advocacy primarily in New York State, we will also provide research and policy design services to stakeholders in other states, especially when a comparative or multi-state approach offers strategic benefits.
Enrollment Information: Application required.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices. Build a theoretical and practical understanding of legislative and administrative process in New York and other states.
- Develop a strong understanding of state and local politics in New York, the extent to which legislative and administrative institutions and machinery mold political choices, and the extent to which political considerations influence the menu of viable policy choices.
- Develop the legal research and reasoning skills needed to engage in comparative state policy analysis; develop a basic understanding of state and federal constitutional constraints on legislative and administrative decision-making.
- Develop the policy research, design and reasoning skills needed to design and evaluate various policy alternatives. Gain an introduction to basic legislative or regulatory drafting skills.
- Design, in teams, a creative, compelling, and politically viable state legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing public policy challenge, based on a review of the academic, government and think tank literature, comparative state and country policy research, discussions with subject matter experts, and conversations with community partners and leaders, including community members with lived experience.
PUBPOL 5961 - State Policy and Advocacy Clinic II (4 Credits)
As a continuation of our work in PUBPOL 4960/PUBPOL 5960, we will learn how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by practicing these skills with community partners and stakeholders and before the legislative and administrative branches of the State of New York. In consultation with the professor, student teams will design and advocate for public policy proposals based on a review of the academic, governmental and think tank literature; conversations with subject matter experts at Cornell and various NGOs; research and analysis of similar proposals in other states and countries; conversations with state and local policymakers; and discussions with community members and organizations, including community partners with lived experience. Although we will engage in policy design and advocacy primarily in New York State, we will also provide research and policy design services to Stakeholderrs in other states, especially when a comparative or multi-state approach offers strategic benefits.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 5960.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Develop a strong understanding of the importance of state-level policy in the United States and of the interaction of federal, state and local governments in our federalist system.
PUBPOL 5963 - Process Thinking and Quality Improvement in Healthcare (1 Credit)
Quality improvement and process thinking; you've likely heard these phrases before. But what do they mean for the health care industry? In this course, you'll examine how principles developed and refined in manufacturing can be applied to healthcare. You'll examine case studies that explore the impact of changing processes and talk with your peers about what quality means for the healthcare industry. You'll access resources to help you identify the best solution to a problem, to analyze your data for useful information and to identify the root causes of a problem.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021
Learning Outcomes:
- Use Excel to examine the process flow in your organization.
- Create an action plan to improve decision-making at your organization.
- Use quality improvement methods to identify areas for improvement at your organization.
- Apply quality management approaches to improve quality at your organization.
- Add additional rows if you need to document additional outcomes.
PUBPOL 5970 - Economics and Environmental Policy (3 Credits)
This class will focus on the use of economics as a tool in forming and evaluating environmental policy, with a focus on how economists measure the health and economic effects of pollution and environmental regulation in the United States. Topics include: externalities in an environmental context; regulation methods such as command and control, Pigouvian taxation, and cap and trade; overview of current environmental legislation; environmental quality and health; regulation and environmental justice.
Forbidden Overlaps: AEM 4510, ECON 3850, ECON 3865, PUBPOL 3380/5380, PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to explain the reasons for market failure in the presence of externalities in an environmental context.
- Students will identify common methods of government intervention in environmental regulation, and explain relative strengths and weaknesses in the context of both social efficient and equity.
- Students will discuss and evaluate methods used to measure the health and economic effects of environmental quality and various environmental policies.
- Students will address the common tradeoffs between equity and efficiency in environmental policy, including environmental justice.
PUBPOL 5979 - Environmental Finance and Impact Investing Practicum (0.5-2.5 Credits)
This experiential learning course will provide the opportunity for students to work as a team on some of the leading questions in the area of sustainable finance and impact investing today, while developing skills in client relationship management and project execution. Students will work with experts at South Pole, a leading sustainable finance firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, to develop and propose a financial product intended to deliver both economic as well as environmental and social returns. Specifically, the student team will be charged with conceptualizing and proposing a fund focused on investments in companies and projects in the area of sustainable tourism.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: MPA students participating in the Environmental Finance and Impact Investing (EFII) certificate program.
Distribution Requirements: (SBA-HE)
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Winter 2021 Learning Outcomes:
- Define how the tools of finance can be used to address societal challenges such as ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecosystems.
- Identify opportunities to leverage the power of the investment markets to achieve environmental and social outcomes, by unlocking cash flows inherent to preserved or sustainably-managed ecosystems.
- Critically examine investment propositions in the impact investing space and identify the non-economic returns they deliver.
- Collaborate with an external client to deliver a product that is responsive to the client's needs and meets its expectations.
- Conceptualize, articulate, and propose a financial product that delivers both economic and environmental and social returns to investors.
PUBPOL 5990 - Challenges and Trends in the Health Services Industry (1 Credit)
Provides students with information and exposure to current and emerging issues in the health services industry. Topics may include financial management of health care facilities, human resource management, information systems, cost-effective clinical decision making, quality measurement and outcomes, public health, and entrepreneurship in the health services industry.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students or with permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will gain familiarity with different aspects of the health care industry and how they relate to each other, and with management challenges faced by leaders in various areas and their approaches to these challenges. Examples of topics include management challenges in health care consulting, hospital operations, health care finance, information systems and health policy.
- Students will develop an understanding of potential career paths in the health care industry.
- Students will develop networking and communication skills to facilitate their personal and professional growth and begin to learn to manage the professional social environment typical of the health care industry, including skills in resume writing and interviewing.
PUBPOL 6000 - Special Problems for Graduate Students (1-15 Credits)
Advanced independent study for graduate students approved by the Sloan Program Director.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Sloan Master of Health Administration (MHA) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Summer 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
PUBPOL 6020 - Intermediate Statistics for Sociological Research (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 6020
This course provides the second part of a two-semester introduction to quantitative methods in sociological research. It is designed for first-year graduate students in sociology. The course covers intermediate topics in linear regression, and provides an introduction to models for categorical and count data, the analysis of time data, and longitudinal data. We'll also discuss data-related issues such as missing data and weighting, and data that are complicated by issues of non-random design. While statistical modeling is the focus of the course, we proceed with the assumption that models are only as good as the theoretical and substantive knowledge behind them. Thus, in covering the technical material, we will spend considerable time discussing the link between substantive knowledge and statistical practice.
Prerequisites: SOC 6010.
Exploratory Studies:
(CU-SBY); (EUAREA)
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 PUBPOL 6040 - Qualitative, Survey, and Mixed Method Approaches to Policy Research (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 6150
Introduces students to theories and methods of data collection techniques such as in-depth interviews, ethnography, focus groups, and surveys as well as mixed-method approaches used in policy and evaluation research. Addresses the strengths and weaknesses of various methods and the design of qualitative and mixed-method studies. Covers epistemology, ethics, induction and deduction, measurement, validity, and triangulation. Also discusses more concrete issues such as gaining access to a field site, developing a qualitative interview guide and survey questionnaire, conducting a qualitative interview, managing data, and assessing data quality.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students. Master of Public Administration (MPA) students may enroll with instructor approval. Recommended prerequisite: previous course in social science research methods.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
PUBPOL 6050 - Social Demography (3 Credits)
The objective of this course is to provide a conceptual overview and technical tool-kit for studying population issues and public policies. What is a demographic perspective? And how can it be applied usefully to important domestic and international policy issues of the day (e.g., housing segregation, health and retirement, labor mobility and immigration, and above- and below-replacement fertility, school projections, etc.). The course will introduce students to various demographic data sources (e.g., decennial census and periodic fertility surveys), conventional measures (e.g., fertility rates and measures of poverty/inequality), and conventional demographic techniques (e.g., life tables, rate standardization, and population forecasting) used in social demography. For the most part, the course places the emphasis on the appropriate application of demographic tools and on scientifically-sound interpretations.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Appreciate the many different ways that demographers approach significant substantive and empirical policy problems.
- Apply a demographic perspective and methods broadly across many different substantive areas in the social sciences (e.g., family social sciences, health, criminology, and education.
- Pursue more advanced technical courses in demographic methods or in substantively-oriented demography courses.
PUBPOL 6060 - Demographic Techniques (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with GDEV 6080
This is the second course in the demographic techniques sequence. It has two foci. First, we will learn the basics of constructing single and multiple decrement life tables, along with extensions to cause-deleted life tables. Second, we will learn the basics of survival analysis, as well as how survival analysis relates to life tables. Although the primary goal is learning to use these techniques, this class also has a heavy emphasis on thinking about how to use these methods to produce something new and important for research. The grad students will also be asked to complete a 10 page research proposal.
Prerequisites: statistics.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020
Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate how to build a life table using various methods and understand the connections between life tables and survival analysis.
- Think creatively about how to use these methods and existing data to make a novel research contribution.
- Write clearly about what the results from life tables can tell us about demographic processes.
PUBPOL 6090 - Empirical Strategies for Policy Analysis (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 6590
Focuses on empirical strategies to identify the causal effects of public policies and programs. The course uses problem sets based on real-world examples and data to examine techniques for analyzing nonexperimental data including control function approaches, matching methods, panel-data methods, selection models, instrumental variables, and regression-discontinuity methods. The emphasis throughout, however, is on the critical role of research design in facilitating credible causal inference. The course aids students in both learning to implement a variety of statistical tools using large data sets, and in learning to select which tools are best suited to a given research project.
Prerequisites: ILRLE 7490 or AEM 7100 (or equivalent).
Enrollment Information: Enrollment preference given to: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 6091 - Empirical Strategies for Policy Research II (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 6591
This course is the second of a two-course sequence. Both PUBPOL 6090 and this course are, for the most part, targeted at students looking to do empirical research into the effects of some X on some Y. Both courses require students to complete problem sets that involve hands-on exercises - some based on real data and some using Monte Carlo simulations. The hope is that this learning by doing will reinforce what is taught in class. Usually, the first course covers core methods, specifically regression adjustment, matching and instrumental variables. This second course covers additional topics in matching (we will touch on machine learning methods in the process), regression discontinuity designs, panel data methods, and mediation analysis.
Prerequisites: PUBPOL 6090.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
PUBPOL 6210 - Seminar in Education Policy (3 Credits)
The course provides an overview of key concepts and current issues in education, drawing on theoretical and empirical research in the field. Includes reading and discussion of academic literature on various topics: purpose and contemporary aims of education, school spending and accountability, school choice and competition, early childhood education.
Prerequisites: PhD level courses on microeconomics and econometrics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Outline and discuss the main concepts, theories and models in education.
- Critically evaluate empirical research and identify the main empirical issues in education.
- Apply empirical methods to education policy-related issues.
- Develop strategies for communicating, collaborating, and critiquing.
- Further your writing skills and practice writing about research.
PUBPOL 6280 - Family Demography (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 6280
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2016, Fall 2013
PUBPOL 6390 - Microeconomics for Policy Analysis (3 Credits)
This comprehensive course covers microeconomic theory and its application to public policy analysis. Topics addressed include consumer decision-making, the theory of the firm, general equilibrium, welfare economics, monopolies and oligopolies, strategy, and market imperfections.
Prerequisites: calculus and intermediate microeconomics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
PUBPOL 6410 - Health Economics I (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 6410
This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors such as cigarette smoking, drug use, alcohol abuse, risky sex, and poor diet and physical inactivity (leading to obesity), and suicide. We will examine in detail the research literature on the demand for health, economic models of addiction, the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors (e.g. education, prices, peers), and policies for modifying risky behaviors (e.g. taxes and other financial incentives, and providing information).Classes will begin with a lecture on how an aspect of microeconomic theory can be applied to the study of risky health behaviors, and testable predictions will be discussed. Critical discussions of the relevant health economics literature follow. Students will take turns presenting published research papers. You will write referee reports on three recent, cutting-edge working papers. Each student will also write an original research paper, testing predictions from microeconomic theory by acquiring suitable data and estimating the appropriate econometric model. You will present your research findings in a poster presentation and a research seminar.
Prerequisites: Ph.D. level courses in microeconomic theory and econometrics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2020, Fall 2019
Learning Outcomes:
- Convey to you information about the most up-to-date studies, methods, and findings from economic research on risky health behaviors.
- Help you transition from being a consumer of research to a producer of research.
- Improve your communication skills (both written and oral).
PUBPOL 6420 - Health Economics II (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 6420
This course belongs to the health economics sequence. In addition to health economics, some topics cover public and labor economics. Students will also learn how to develop research sketches. First, we talk about U.S. health insurance and its intersection with the labor market. Then, we talk about health care providers, their reimbursement and behavior. Next, we study social insurance systems for health risks, such as disability or sick leave insurance. Finally, we cover specific topics like health measurement, the value of a statistical life or cost-benefit analysis. The lectures will not cover health behaviors (PUBPOL 6410), human capital and early childhood effects, the environment-health literature, and effects of income, education, and unemployment on health (behaviors).
Prerequisites: Ph.D. level courses in microeconomic theory and econometrics.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Ph.D. students in Applied Economics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Fall 2016
PUBPOL 6440 - Health Economics Workshop (1 Credit)
Presentations of completed papers and work in progress by faculty members, advanced graduate students, and speakers from other universities. Focuses on professionalization and on the formulation, design, and execution of research papers and dissertations.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022
PUBPOL 6810 - Demography Training Seminar (1 Credit)
CPC's weekly training seminar provides training and professional development to graduate students in demography and serves as a requirement for the graduate demography minor. Includes workshops and presentations of completed papers and work in progress by faculty members, advanced graduate students, and external speakers.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Critically evaluate presentations of research in various areas of demography.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of data sets and methods of data analysis.
- Develop knowledge of demography's substantive and methodological breadth.
- Develop professional skills, e.g., working collaboratively with faculty and peers; effectively communicating research results; preparing for the job market.
PUBPOL 6900 - Professional Seminar in Public Policy (1 Credit)
This course consists of an introduction to policy research and the PhD program for graduate students. Enrolled students will become familiar with: a) current topics in policy research, b) resources and opportunities available for research in public policy and at Cornell more broadly, and c) best practices for success in graduate school.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Brooks Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023
Learning Outcomes:
- Define current topics in policy research.
- Utilize resources and opportunities available for research in public policy and at Cornell more broadly.
- Demonstrate best practices for success in graduate school.
PUBPOL 6950 - Spatial Demography (3 Credits)
Crosslisted with SOC 6950
Spatial Demography introduces core concepts and techniques for analyzing spatially referenced population data. Students learn about the spatial structure of social phenomenon and how to analyze and account for spatial relationships in formal analyses. We draw from examples in housing, health, and education to evaluate how populations are spatially distributed. The course covers methods for addressing spatial dependence and heterogeneity, as well as tools for describing spatial relationships (including various indices of segregation). A substantial portion of the course is also dedicated to practical skills for managing and presenting spatial data using GIS software, including geographic projections, geoprocessing, geocoding addresses, spatially joining layered data, and distance buffering.
Prerequisites: a course in Multivariate Regression using Stata.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: graduate students, or permission of instructor.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
Learning Outcomes:
- Think critically about spatial constructs in answering demographic questions.
- Create thematic maps with mapping software.
- Interpret and analyze maps, spatial data, and spatial methods critically.
- Identify the use of various spatial analytic methods in social science research.
- Calculate, and identify strengths and weaknesses, of common segregation indices.
PUBPOL 6970 - Empirical Public Finance and Taxation (4 Credits)
Crosslisted with ECON 6970
The principal objective of this course is to explore empirical evidence on the role of government intervention in the economy. The focus of the course will be on reading important papers and learning techniques that will allow you to produce original research in public economics and to analyze critically existing research in the field.
Prerequisites: Ph.D. level microeconomic theory and econometrics training.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: juniors, seniors, or graduate students.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2016
PUBPOL 6971 - Topics in Public Finance and Behavioral Economics (3 Credits)
In this course, we will cover topics in public finance and explore how behavioral economics has influenced our thinking and analysis of major questions in the field. We will focus on reading and discussing important papers, as well as building an experimental toolkit. The goal of the course is to identify open questions at the research frontier and to develop new research ideas.
Prerequisites: students must pass the micro and econometrics qualifying exams in economics, OR be a PUBPOL/AEM Ph.D. student in good academic standing.
Enrollment Information: Enrollment limited to: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students with an interest in Public Finance and Behavioral Economics.
Last Four Terms Offered: Fall 2024
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify key concepts in public finance and behavioral economics recalling the main theories, models, and empirical findings discussed in class and readings.
- Critically evaluate the contribution of specific papers to the literature, including assessing the validity of their methodologies and the robustness of their findings.
- Develop original research questions that address gaps or open questions in the field of public finance or behavioral economics.
PUBPOL 8990 - Master's Thesis and Research (1-15 Credits)
Independent master's thesis research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member in public policy.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
PUBPOL 9990 - Doctoral Thesis and Research (1-15 Credits)
Independent doctoral thesis research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member in public policy.
Last Four Terms Offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023