Programs: Bachelor of Arts

The core courses in the undergraduate Public Policy Program develop the skills necessary for understanding the political constraints faced by policy makers, assessing the performance of alternative approaches to policy implementation, evaluating the effectiveness of policies, and appreciating the sharp conflicts in fundamental human values that often animate the policy debate.

After completing the core, students apply these skills by focusing their studies in one of several areas of concentration. The areas of concentration address a specific field of public policy, types of institutions, or a deeper development of the tools of policy analysis. A list of recommended courses for each concentration (click here) is available on the web and in the Public Policy Program office.

Students who want to declare Public Policy must complete a major declaration form, which is available both in our offices in Encina Hall West, Room 204 or as a fillable PDF below. After declaring the major in Axess, students have until the following quarter to find their Faculty Advisor and submit the Concentration Declaration Form and Faculty Advisor Form to the Program office.

Required Coursework:

Completion of the program in Public Policy requires 87 units of course work, as described in the Stanford Bulletin. Here is a summary of the requirements:

*44 units of preparatory coursework:

A maximum of 10 units may be taken on a satisfactory/no credit basis in the prepatory courses, with the exception of Econ 50 and Econ 51, which must be taken for a letter grade.

*25-unit sequence of core courses:

• Students should plan to complete the core by the end of their junior year. All core courses must be taken for a letter grade.

  *Majors must complete 15 units of course work in an area of concentration. The 15 units of post-core course work must be approved by an adviser. This usually is done midway through the junior year, and must be done no later than the end of the second week of Autumn Quarter in the senior year.

  *Seniors are required to participate in one quarter (at least 3 units) of the Senior Seminar (Public Policy 200, which must be taken for letter grade). Honors students should plan on taking the senior seminar during Fall Quarter, when offered as 200A. Majors also must submit at least one research paper during the senior year and present it during the Senior Seminar. The senior paper may be a term paper for either the senior seminar or another course, or an honors thesis. Public Policy 200B (Winter Quarter) is organized as a practicum in which small student teams analyze real world policy problesm faced by Bay Area government agencies, and produce a report for use by the client.
  
  Students must complete the Public Policy core, concentration area courses and Senior Seminar with a grade point average (GPA) of 2.3 or higher.
  
  The Public Policy Program encourages students to participate in various Stanford internship programs, including those available through the Haas Center for Public Service and Stanford in Washington.