Download 2015–2016 MIT Bulletin

MINOR IN PUBLIC POLICY
MINOR IN PUBLIC POLICY
Students can obtain additional information from the public
policy website (http://web.mit.edu/polisci/academic-programs/
undergraduate/minorpublicpolicy.shtml); Sandra Wellford,
undergraduate administrator in Urban Studies and Planning,
Room 7-346A, 617-253-9403; or Tobie Weiner ([email protected]),
undergraduate administrator in Political Science, Room E53-483,
617-253-3649.
Some of the most far-reaching decisions about science,
technology, and enterprise are made in the public policy arena.
The interdisciplinary Public Policy Minor enables students from
across MIT to develop their understanding of public problems and
how governments attempt to address them, with emphasis on the
process and outcomes of policymaking.
Because the Bachelor of Science in Planning has a strong public
policy element and several subjects in the Minor in Public Policy are
redundant for Course 11 majors, those students are not eligible for
this minor.
The six-subject minor is a three-tiered program. The first tier is a
foundation built on the study of the institutions in which public
policy decisions are made and implemented. All students take two
subjects that introduce them to justifications for government action
—justifications that form the fundamental basis for making public
policy. The second tier is the study of the methods for assessing
the impacts of policy change on policy outcomes. The purpose is
to provide students with a basic understanding of the range of
approaches professionals use to evaluate public policies. The third
tier is an in-depth study of policymaking in one substantive field. All
minors specialize in an area of public policy, such as science and
technology policy, and take three subjects within that specialty.
Students may also do an internship to fulfill one part of the threesubject requirement.
Tier I: Introduction to Markets, Politics, and Public
Policy
11.002[J]
Making Public Policy
12
14.01
Principles of Microeconomics
12
Tier II: Policy Analysis
11.003[J]
Methods of Policy Analysis
12
Tier III: Policy Concentration
Select three subjects in one of the following tracks:
1
36
Social and Educational Policy
Environmental Policy
Infrastructure Policy
Science and Technology Policy
Labor and Industrial Policy
International Development Policy
Security and Defense Policy
Urban and Regional Policy
Total Units
1
72
Students may propose their own track for approval by their minor
advisor; students may substitute a semester-long internship in their
chosen field for one subject, with the approval of their minor advisor.
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