Public Policy Minor

Coordinator: Herschel S. Nachlis, Senior Policy Fellow and Assistant Director, Rockefeller Center and Research Assistant Professor of Government

Senior Policy Fellow and Assistant Director, Rockefeller Center and Research Assistant Professor of Government Herschel S. Nachlis; Rockefeller Center Director Professor Jason Barabas;    Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology and Rockefeller Center Policy Research Shop Director Kristin E. Smith; Lecturer Julie L. Kalish; Senior Lecturer in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Adjunct in Public Policy, Government, and Education Melissa R. Herman; Research Scientist and Policy Research Shop Manager Daniel Schroeder. 

To view Public Policy courses, click here. 

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth coordinates the Minor in Public Policy, which is open to students from all majors who seek a coherent program of study in the field of public policy, broadly defined.

Drawing on faculty in the social sciences and interdisciplinary programs, the minor provides a variety of perspectives on policy questions, such as changes in values, institutions, technology or markets, and it enables students to pursue a focus on either domestic policy or international policy. In addition to fostering a general knowledge of the policy process and policy analysis, it includes a topical specialty that complements students’ policy interests. The Public Policy Minor is intended to foster a critical understanding of policy issues and solutions.

Students who wish to pursue the minor must officially sign up for it no later than the third term prior to graduation. The six courses required for the minor may not count toward a student’s major or another minor.

Prerequisite: One course conveying quantitative or qualitative research methods. Options include: PBPL 10, ECON 10, GOVT 10, MATH 10, PSYC 10, SOCY 10, QSS 15, GEOG 9.01, GEOG 11, or SOCY 11.

Requirements: A total of six courses. The courses must include:

PBPL 5: Introduction to Public Policy

Two (2) public policy methods courses. Choices include:

ECON 20: Econometrics

ENGS 18: System Dynamics in Policy Design and Analysis

PBPL 40 - PBPL 49

Two (2) courses in a policy track (students may design their own policy track). Possible tracks include:

Domestic economics and public policy

Education and public policy

Environment and public policy

Health and public policy

Identity and public policy

Institutions, organizations and public policy

International relations and public policy

Law and public policy

Leadership and public policy

Urban issues and public policy

One (1) Public Policy Seminar relevant to the chosen policy track. In certain circumstances, a student may petition the faculty advisor to substitute a Social Science seminar requiring a research paper relevant to the chosen policy track for this requirement.