Undergraduate Major Requirements

**PUBLIC POLICY CURRICULUM CHANGE, EFFECTIVE

SPRING SEMESTER 2010**

Students matriculating in 2009 (this year’s incoming students), will no longer need to take Econ 51. Students will take PUBPOL 128, Economic Analysis of Policy, as the introductory economic policy analysis course. Majors will then be required to take a course in “The Economics of the Public Sector,” a new course which will be offered for the first time in the spring of 2011.

PUBPOL 128 will be required before doing the internship. The new course will not be required before the internship and may be taken before or after it.

Note that taking both Econ 51 and Econ 55 fulfills the requirement for PUBPOL 128. Student who have taken both these courses cannot take PUBPOL 128. Taking Econ 51 and Econ 55 count as the prerequisite for the new course.

Students matriculating in 2008 (this year’s sophomores) may choose to follow the new or the old curricular requirements (Econ 51 followed by PUBPOL 128).

Current juniors and seniors are not affected by the change.

If you have any questions, please contact Ken Rogerson (rogerson@duke.edu) Public Policy Director of Undergraduate Studies

**PUBLIC POLICY CURRICULUM FOR STUDENTS MATRICULATING 2007 AND BEFORE**

Worksheet for Majors (pdf) Pre-requisites courses (1)

Econ 51 - Economic Principles
or
55D - Intermediate Economics I

Required Core Courses (6)

  • Pubpol 55D - Introduction to Policy Analysis
  • Pubpol 114 - Political Analysis for Public Policy*
  • Pubpol 116 - Policy Choice as Value Conflict*
  • Pubpol 128 - Microeconomic Policy Tools or
  • History - Elective, from list designated by the PPS Department
  • Stats 101 - Statistics and Data in Public Policy
    • You can use Statistics 102, 102b, or 103 to substitute for Statistics 101.

*Pubpol 55D is the prerequisite for this course.

Electives (4): 4 electives at the 100 or 200 level

(one of which MUST be a 200-level course)

Internship and Policy Paper

Prior to starting the internship, a student must have completed all of the following courses: Econ 51 or 55, Pubpol 55D, 114, 116, 128/equivalent, and Stat 101.

In 2004, the PPS faculty voted to make the core courses a prerequisite for the internship. The purpose of this was substantive. We believe the core courses teach the skills and critical thinking necessary to gain the most from the internship experience. A student must complete all the core classes (PPS 55, 114, 116, 128 and Stats 101) to receive credit for an internship that counts toward the completion of a major in public policy.

The internship is not meant to simply be something that students check off on their way to graduation, but a culminating synthesis of course work and other PPS-related experiences.

If students are able to do their internship between their sophomore and junior years with all of the prerequisites, that is fine, but most PPS majors will not be able to complete the internship on this schedule.

Please contact the Undergraduate Office with questions.

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