Minor in Public Policy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
Public policy is an academic field that looks at the nature of public problems and how we attempt to address those problems through government action. The interdisciplinary HASS Minor in Public Policy is intended to provide a single framework for students in engineering and sciences who are interested in the role of public policy in the field of their technical expertise.
The six-subject minor is organized in three tiers.
The first tier provides a foundation in the study of the public and private institutions in which public policy decisions are made and implemented. All students are required to take two subjects that introduce them to rationales for government action, justifications that form the fundamental basis for making public policy. The second tier explores methods of analyzing and assessing the impacts of policy change. The aim is to provide a basic level of competence so that students are knowledgeable about the range of approaches that professionals use to analyze public policies. The third tier offers an in-depth program of study in one substantive field of policymaking. All minors select one substantive policy field and take three subjects within that area of specialization. Students may substitute a semester-long internship for one subject in their chosen field, with the approval of their minor advisor. The internship must be at least 9 units and must be for a letter grade.
The Public Policy Minor is administered jointly by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Department of Political Science.
Students interested in this minor should begin by contacting Professor Justin Steil. Majors in Urban Studies are not permitted to minor in Public Policy. Political Science majors can minor in Public Policy, however they can not use any course for the minor that they are using to fulfill their major.