What is Public Policy?
Public policy is about developing concrete solutions to practical problems. This is an extremely political process as different actors – including politicians, bureaucrats, business, interest groups, and citizens – have very different ideas about what the problems are and which solutions will best address them. The Specialization in Public Policy gives Political Studies students the opportunity to examine different aspects of this process.
One of the key aims of the Specialization is to offer students experience in the practice of developing public policy. It will be of interest to students considering careers in the public service, think tanks, and non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations.
Requirements
Graduating students who have fulfilled the requirements for a single- or joint-major Honours degree in Political Studies may apply for a Specialization in Public Policy if they have successfully completed the following 4.0 credits:
- 0.5 POST credit consisting of POST 3605H (Policy Analysis: Methods and Applications)
- 3.5 POST credits from Category A and Category B, with at least 1.0 credit from Category A
Category A
- POST-CAST 4055H – Contemporary Canadian Problems
- POST-CAST 4081H (or 4080Y) – Canadian Politics and Public Policy
- POST-CAST 4082H – Federal and Provincial Power in Canada
- POST-IDST-ADMN 4255H – Globalization and the Politics of Work
- POST-CAST-GEOG 4555H – City, Economy, and Society: Urban Restructuring and the Global Economy
Category B
- POST-CAST-SOCI 3000Y – Reading the Social: Space, Difference, and Power in Canada
- POST-CAST-INDG 3015H – Urban Governance in Canada
- POST-CAST 3091H – Law and Constitutional Issues
- POST-CAST 3092H – Law and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- POST-CAST-ERST 3120H – Canadian Environmental Policy
- POST 3200H – Ordering World Politics I: US Foreign Policy in the 20th Century and Beyond
- POST-CAST 3210H – Ordering World Politics II: Canadian Foreign Policy in the 20th Century and Beyond
- POST 3420H – Poverty, Politics, and Protest: A Comparative Perspective
- POST-ERST-IDST-SAFS 3602H – Environment and Development
- POST-CAST-GEOG 3621H/4621 – The Critical Space of Law: The Construction of National Identity and the Production of Subjects in Canada
- POST-CAST-SOCI 3661H – Race, Ethnicities, and Multiculturalism
- POST-CAST-SOCI 3665H – Canada: State, Society, Power
- POST-CAST-WMST 3670Y – Women, Gender, and Politics in Canada
- POST-IDST-WMST 3881H – Gender, Globalization and Resistance
- POST-CAST-IDST 4240Y – Canada, Globalization, and International Development
- POST-IDST 4260H – Global Governance and Social Justice
- POST-CAST-WMST 4430Y/4431H – Growing Gap: Gender (In)Justice in Canada
- POST-ERST-IDST-SAFS 4610H – Global Environmental Policy
- POST-CAST-HIST 4771H – Canadian Social Policy 1830-1950
- POST-CAST-HIST 4772H – Canadian Social Policy 1951-2014
Notes
Departments and Programs may not offer all the courses that qualify as credits in the Specialization in any given year. Students should be aware that planning beyond the current academic year may require corresponding with the Chairs of the Departments and Programs whose courses interest them.
Courses in the Specialization in Public Policy may have prerequisites. In planning their Specialization, students should carefully take this into account.