Policy Studies, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. in Policy Studies program enables students to develop in-depth knowledge of the field and to conduct cutting-edge research on public policy and management issues. Students are required to complete at least 24 credits of appropriate coursework, including four required courses. In addition, students must take 12 credits of dissertation research. Students are required to pass qualifying exams to demonstrate their ability to design and execute an empirical research paper grounded in the discipline of public policy and a field examination related to their research area. They then develop and defend a dissertation prospectus followed by the dissertation itself.

The Ph.D. in Policy Studies is directed at students who have a master's degree in public policy/administration or a related field, such as economics, statistics, education, political science, public health or international relations, from a program comparable in quality and content to one of the School's own master's programs. Students may apply while in the final year of such a program. Applications from recent college graduates without a master's degree who have an exemplary academic record with related research training may be considered, but a master's degree is strongly preferred. For foundational training in economics, students will need to either demonstrate to the satisfaction of the faculty that they have the necessary economics training through prior coursework (e.g., a graduate level microeconomics course or suitable substitute) or they will need to take whichever graduate-level economics course they and their faculty advisor determine will be the most useful for their field of policy studies without that course counting toward the 24 course credit requirement.

Most students will be required to maintain full-time status through completion of the course work leading up to their exams and dissertation proposal; this typically requires two to three years. Some students will be admitted on a part-time basis with an agreed schedule to ensure timely completion. A faculty member at the School must agree to serve as the Ph.D. applicant's academic advisor at the time of admission into the program. To facilitate the selection of a advisor, applicants should include, as part of their application, a description of the general areas in which they want to study and write their dissertation.