The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of how government can influence the progress toward improving social conditions. Students will examine the processes and tensions that characterize the formulation, adoption, and implementation of government policies and programs and how they are affected by a diverse range of values and priorities in a democratic context. Students will examine their own values and explore how they affect their views of social problems and proposed policy solutions.

This course examines the development of American social policy. It considers definitions of social policy and a systematic framework for policy analysis of service delivery systems. We consider American individualism and its relationship to the development of social policy from the 1930s, through the Great Society programs of the 1960s, to contemporary social issues. This course was previously SOC-620501.

This study of policy implementation deals with what happens after policy is formulated through legislation, executive action, or organizational governance. Implementation is often bureaucracy-driven, especially in the United States where virtually any domestic policy implementation is dependent upon multiple layers of federal, state and local governments and their agencies and where other types of organizations are hierarchically structured. The course includes the analysis of theories and their application to case studies in an effort to understand the reasons for the success and failure of implementation. This course was previously SOC-620601.

Research in the public sector serves to inform new policies and evaluate existing ones. Conducting meaningful research is truly a process. This course will provide a framework for initiating, developing, and implementing research methodologies to answer context-appropriate policy questions. The course will focus on the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative analysis and the elements of research design necessary to conduct policy-relevant public sector research. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches will be examined through the lenses of formulating a research question, research design, the identification of key variables, establishing appropriate measurement devices, and carrying out appropriate methods of data collection. The course will also discuss research ethics and help students identify and comply with ethical concerns in conducting research with human subjects. This course was previously RAM-620591.

This course will introduce policy studies students to the requirements of conducting graduate level research. It will emphasize qualitative methodology (meaning non-statistical data) while also discussing how to identify and use good quantitative research sources. Topics that will be covered include how to identify bias in sources, different types of sources, how to properly integrate research sources into graduate research, and the processes involved with human subject research.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the methods and techniques of analyzing, developing and evaluating public policies and programs. Emphasis will be given to benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analysis and concepts of economic efficiency, equity and distribution. Methods will include problem solving, decision making and case studies. Examples will come from human resource, environmental and regulatory policy. This course was previously SOC-620565.

The emphasis of this course is on gaining the knowledge and skills required for effective advocacy in state and community-level government. Students will focus on learning activities that promote efficiency in individual and organizational advocacy for social change and meeting the needs of marginalized populations. The course will consist of a mini-study in state and local community government; and case studies in community advocacy. This course is required for the Advanced Certificate in Community Advocacy. This course was previously SOC-620518.

This course will examine the broad array of state and federal policies for children, youth, and their families, with a particular emphasis on understanding policies and services for populations involved with child-serving systems. The course will also examine the historical foundations of these policies and how they have evolved over time in response to unmet needs. Students will develop critical frameworks for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of these policy interventions and of the delivery of child-oriented social services based on social and behavioral science research evidence and through the lens of multiculturalism and social justice values. This is a required course in the Child and Family Advocacy advanced certificate.

In this course, students will examine how social policy influences, and is influenced by, the way in which human service functions, service populations, outcomes, and resources are publicly and privately defined, identified, secured, and measured. Students will examine the interactional effects of social policy and human services at organizational, and professional levels.   For example, at the community level, local funding agencies such as the United Way often act as gatekeepers controlling community resources. At the organizational level, this might be expressed as a conflict between the stated mission of an organization and actual practices necessitated by the requirements of its funding sources. An example at the professional level is the socialization of human service workers which often includes membership in professional associations. These associations serve as interpreters of state-of-the-art practices and attitudes and lobby for their expression in social policy, law and regulation. By semester's end, students should be capable of effectively analyzing or deconstructing any human services agency or concept in current social policy. This course is required for the Advanced Certificate in Community Advocacy and the Advanced Certificate in Child and Family Advocacy. This course was previously SOC-622535.

This course is designed to develop understanding of the implications of race, class, and gender for U.S. public policy. We will consider both social structural and cultural dimensions of this question, and we will examine a range of policy areas from domestic policy and civil rights to international affairs and foreign policy. We will investigate the political and theoretical basis of policymaking as it reflects and affects social-structural relations between social groups, especially relations of gender, race, and class. We will seek to understand the social relations that systematically disadvantage some social groups and privilege others. We will explore how these social relations shape policy processes and how this influences how governments respond to public problems.

In this course, students examine the institution of the family through the lens of cultural values and as an area for policy decisions. More generally, this course will explore the reciprocal linkages between family functioning and public and private policies in this country. Topics raised in the course consider how the family unit has evolved over time, the cultural values that shape not only how family is viewed but also how that view shapes policy decisions that affect the family and the impact that these policy decisions have upon both families and the larger society. This course is required for the Advanced Certificate in Child and Family Advocacy.

This study examines social policy regarding the aged in American society. Students examine the social construction of aging in American society and current policies applying to the aged at both the federal and local levels. Among specific policies considered are those related to employment and retirement, income maintenance, health insurance, health care, institutionalization and family support systems. Cross-cultural national and historical variations in social policy are also considered.

The content of this course will vary by term and section. Students may repeat this course for credit as long as the topic differs. Please refer to the Term Guide for course topic offerings.

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor/advisor in Public Policy (PPOL). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.

As the concluding study in this Master of Arts program, the student will complete a culminating project, in which he/she engages in a sustained examination of a critical question or issue related to this program. The final project will take the form of a policy memorandum. This course is designed to guide the student through the implementation of a policy memorandum. Policy Memorandums are not published in the ProQuest/UMI service. Prerequisites: PPOL 6007, PPOL 6010, PPOL 6015, PPOL 6021 (preferred) OR PPOL 6020 (for students intending to pursue doctoral studies), and PPOL 6030.

As the concluding study in the masters' program, students will complete a culminating independent research project in the form of an academic thesis, in which they engage in a sustained examination of a critical question or issue related to their program. In a thesis, the student is expected to make a contribution to the current body of knowledge in a scholarly field. To do that, students may conduct an original investigation or develop an original interpretation of existing research and/or literature. A thesis is a scholarly piece of work that systematically and analytically explores a specific topic or question. It is an in-depth investigation that contributes new knowledge to a field, and can be either theoretical or empirical. Writers of theses make appropriate inferences based on a deep analysis of the chosen topic or question. The thesis is the best choice of final project for students with plans to continue their studies toward a doctorate. Completion of the thesis requires an oral defense. All theses are published in the ProQuest/UMI service. This course was previously SOC-620595 Prerequisites: Students must have taken all required core courses..

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor/advisor in Public Policy (PPOL). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.