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Ph.D.
Program Concentrations
Regional Development and Transportation Technology, Science, and Innovation US Governance Culture and Society Organizational and Information Technology Global and International Systems Entrepreneurship, Growth, and Public Policy Regional Development and Transportation Public policy is influenced by location and mobility. This concentration focuses on two policy areas. It looks at the changes in economic structure of sub-national regions, and how policies affect these changes and direct these dynamics. It also considers how movement of goods and people can influence the ways regions and cities develop, and how transportation policy has evolved, not only to afford greater economic efficiency in its own right, but also as part of the spatial development process. While policy makers less commonly discuss the development of sub-national regions than national macroeconomic policy, it affects where people live, train, look for work, and raise families. Transportation and modern communications allow people and institutions within a region to interact and provide the basis of everyday life and, as a result, develop in an internally coherent and externally unique way. The history of regions’ and transport’s legal, economic, industrial, and cultural development leaves a legacy that evolves, but is seldom broken. Hence, the development of social and cultural expressions and values needs to be recognized in the design and execution of regional policy. In addition, there is increasing awareness that regional economies contain the basis for national economic well-being. Faculty associated with this concentration include Kenneth Button, Stephen Fuller, Jonathan Gifford, Kingsley Haynes, Laurie Schintler, and Roger Stough. Back to Top Technology, Science, and Innovation New technologies present extraordinary opportunities for achieving major public policy objectives, such as economic growth, environmental sustainability, public health, military security, and the advancement of knowledge. Yet, they may also place the very same objectives in jeopardy. Whether the public benefits from technological change depends on how well the processes of innovation and diffusion are governed. The TSI concentration focuses on understanding and improving the institutions that are engaged in governing these processes. Faculty and students in TSI also seek to develop new and deeper understanding of the processes of scientific discovery and of technological change in order to improve the foundation for analysis of related governance challenges. Faculty associated with the concentration include Zoltan Acs, Philip Auerswald, David Hart, Christopher Hill, Todd LaPorte, Wayne Perry, Stephen Ruth, and Tojo Thatchenkery. Back to Top US Governance This concentration is concerned with the nature of governance in the United States, with appropriate comparisons with non-U.S. and international systems. Governance includes the theoretical and practical approaches that societies take to organizing themselves for making decisions about public policy issues. Emphasis is placed upon the values that underpin institutional and policy choices, including the ethical and accountability aspects of policy making. Particular attention is devoted to policy making institutions such as Congress, the Presidency, executive branch agencies, and state and local governments as well as to the theories and processes of public policy, including agenda building, the media, instruments of implementation, regulation, interest group activity, intergovernmental relations, budgeting, and tax policy. Faculty associated with the concentration include Michael Fauntroy, Lee Fritschler, Jeremy Mayer, James Pfiffner, Mark Rozell, Catherine Rudder, and Susan Tolchin. Back to Top Culture and Society The Culture and Society concentration emphasizes the role that social institutions, social processes, and culture play in the development and implementation of public policy. Study in this concentration is grounded in the understanding that public policy decisions are not made in a vacuum; they are the result of cultural and social forces, from both contemporary and historical perspectives. These forces also provide the context for policy making. In order to analyze public policy, the student will be exposed to a wide range of theoretical and methodological frameworks that offer insight into the policy process both in the United States and internationally. Through exposure to these frameworks and the development of others, the student will be able to analyze how public policy is made and implemented, determine why specific policies are formulated, and evaluate their relative merits and effectiveness. Students in the concentration are expected to focus on both functional areas of public policy as well as attending to their contextual frameworks. These include attention to specific issues and areas in public policy such as education, race and ethnicity, crime, gender, health, the family, corruption, immigration, and the media, among others. Faculty associated with this concentration include Mark Addleson, David Armor, Jack Goldstone, Connie McNeely, Tojo Thatchenkery, and Janine Wedel. Back to Top Organizational and Information Technology The Organizational and Information Technology concentration makes use of emerging theories and philosophies to examine the roles and impact of information technology on both public policy and organizational change management. The intention is to give particular emphasis to the interconnections between policy, organizational structures, cross-functional process integration, and knowledge management-based initiatives. For example, IT is used to “connect” public organizations, to make them more efficient or more responsive. Or, enterprise integration tools change the way organizations function (they enable outsourcing for example) but they have an impact in the public sphere through issues such as job creation, security, and privacy. A doctoral thesis in this concentration is expected to focus on one or more of the following areas: enterprise integration, leadership challenges, e-commerce and e-government, reframing public policy. It will be informed by the nexus of policy, organization, process, and information technology issues. It is expected to have a professional orientation, meaning it should contribute to the understanding and development of practices. Faculty associated with the concentration include Mark Addleson, Ann Baker, Thomas Gulledge, Rainer Sommer, and Tojo Thatchenkery. Back to Top Global and International Systems Students in the Global and International Systems concentration can pursue a wide range of international and comparative policy issues, including those related to economics, development, conflict and security, democracy and governance, and international relations. Technological change and the economic, political, and cultural aspects of international policy are an integral part of the concentration. Also, given the nature of international policy issues, informal or formal links to the other concentrations within the School of Public Policy are appropriate. The first course in the concentration surveys the field of Global and International Public Policy with a focus on relevant theoretical and methodological approaches and debates, and provides students with tools for analyzing various world problems and policies. The second course in the concentration is more applied and focuses in greater depth on specific problems in international politics and policy, seeking ways to deal with issues of security, conflict processes, inequality, international migration and refugees, democracy, and international governance. Alternately, students in this concentration may study international trade policy, addressing international trade theory, trade policy analysis, regional economic integration, and the institutional arrangements governing world trade. Faculty associated with this concentration include Desmond Dinan, Jack Goldstone, Jack High, Todd LaPorte, Stuart Malawer, Connie McNeely, John Peterson, Ramkishen Rajan, Kenneth Reinert, Louise Shelley and Janine Wedel. Back to Top Entrepreneurship, Growth, and Public Policy Entrepreneurship is the process of uncovering an opportunity to create value through innovation, and entrepreneurs are rewarded for transforming knowledge into new products and bringing them to the market. This multidisciplinary program examines entrepreneurship policy from the perspective of the agent, business, economy and society. Relying less on the state for wealth creation, distribution and ownership, an entrepreneurial society looks to individual initiative to propel the economy and the society. Increasingly, the concept of entrepreneurship is being adjusted and applied to the public and nonprofit sectors. Building on and expanding existing strengths in SPP in regional economic development and in science and technology policy, the concentration in entrepreneurship policy prepares students to understand the role of entrepreneurship in society and help create entrepreneurial economies. The concentration encompasses a number of considerations, including:
Faculty associated with this concentration include Zoltan Acs, Philip Auerswald, David Hart, Jack High, and Roger Stough. Back to Top Course
Descriptions (PUBP) |
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