Public Policy
Source: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs/public-policy-ab Parent: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs
Housed in the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, the concentration in public policy is organized around the interdisciplinary and comparative study of human societies, but with a particular focus on the rules and norms by which we govern ourselves.
Degree Type
A.B.
department
CIP Code
44.0501ℹ
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to categorize educational programs in the U.S. for a variety of reporting purposes. Each program at Brown is assigned a CIP code that best matches its academic curriculum.
Current STEM Eligible CIP Codes
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Public Policy
Housed in the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, the concentration in public policy is organized around the interdisciplinary and comparative study of human societies, but with a particular focus on the rules and norms by which we govern ourselves.
Available only for students through and including the Class of 2023
For students in the class of 2024 and later, please see the International and Public Affairs concentration.
The concentration is grounded in the analysis of pressing social problems and the design, implementation, and evaluation of better policies and practices. This commitment to using knowledge to improve the life chances of people who occupy different positions of wealth and power, and who have competing and contentious ideas of about the common good, makes public policy a value-laden and political enterprise that is as much an art as it is a science. It is also a team sport that requires players with different skills and talents to work together across a wide variety of settings.
Students will learn how social, economic, and political issues become the object of public policy, how policy decisions are crafted, made and implemented, as well as different strategies for evaluating their impact. The concentration draws its instructors from a wide variety of disciplines and offers students opportunities for engaged scholarship at the local, national, and global levels. With the support of the advisory team, students develop their own curriculum of study, integrating core courses with electives, internships, independent research, and a capstone experience.
Student Goals
Students in this concentration will:
- A broad understanding of major policy issues in a number of substantive domains (e.g. Health, Education, Social Welfare, Criminal Justice, and Environmental Protection), as well as deeper knowledge of the most important policy issues in a particular domai
- A basic understanding of how laws, institutions, and budgets shape the policy process, from formation through implementation and evaluation
- The critical skills necessary to examine how the framing and communication of social problems structure the analysis, formation, implementation, and evaluation of public policies
- An appreciation of the ethical foundations of public engagement, from basic conflicts of interest to both the obvious and less visible challenges that competing values – including one’s own - pose for the policy process
- Command of a toolkit of analytical, institutional, and communicative skills, discussed in greater detail on the public policy website
Graduating Class
| Class Year | Total Students | Honors Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | 9 |
| 2022 | 30 | 6 |
| 2023 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 |
Public Policy alumni have pursued careers in health policy, education (including Teach for America), banking, law, and are now employed for the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and State.
What are Public Policy concentrators doing…
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is typically the first point of contact for prospective concentrators. Once students have declared, they may be assigned a specific concentration advisor from within the department or program.