The undergraduate major in Public Policy, jointly offered by the College of Arts and Science and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, prepares students to play roles in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of policies that address the challenges faced by domestic and global publics in the 21st century. Students in the major acquire critical conceptual, analytical, and quantitative skills related to the policy making process and learn how to ethically apply these skills in the assessment of alternative policy responses to a broad range of public issues. Grounded in the principles of social science, the major is particularly appropriate for students who are both passionate about policy problems and dedicated to reaching solutions to these problems through the use of logic and evidence.
The Public Policy major prepares students for careers in government, the nonprofit sector, research, and other fields involved in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of public policies.
Major Declaration
Students must complete the prerequisite ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics with a C grade or higher before declaring. Advanced standing credit (AP, IB, etc.) in Microeconomics is accepted. Liberal Studies Core and Global Liberal Studies students can also satisfy the major prerequisite with ECII-UF 102 Principles of Microeconomics.
Students can declare the Public Policy major by visiting the department's website and filling out the form found at the top of the page. Non-CAS students need approval from their home school before declaring. For questions about the Public Policy major, please contact wagner.undergraduate@nyu.edu.
Honors Program
The Public Policy program offers students the opportunity to achieve honors in the major by (1) maintaining a 3.65 GPA in both the 10 courses required for the major (the prerequisite course is not calculated in this GPA) and overall, and (2) successfully completing (with a B+ or higher) a thesis comprising original research, policy analysis, and policy advocacy.
At the end of their junior year, all prospective honors students must consult with the program’s academic adviser to determine whether they meet the GPA criteria for the honors track. Then, during the fall of their senior year, eligible majors apply for entry into the spring semester thesis writing honors seminar (PUBPL-UA 801 Honor Thesis, 4 credits). The seminar is limited to 15 students and admission depends on the quality of the proposed thesis project. Prospective thesis writers must delineate the policy area and policy problem they wish to focus on, as well as provide a bibliography of relevant sources (primary and secondary) that they have already consulted.
The honors seminar is an additional 11th course that does not count toward the 10 required for the major proper. Although the honors thesis may be related to topics students have examined in other classes—especially in PUBPL-UA 800 Senior Seminar—it must be the intellectual capstone of students’ academic experience at NYU, not a restatement or modification of a policy proposal submitted in a previous class.
Students who earn less than an A- on the thesis will not receive honors in the major, but the 4 credits earned for a passing grade in PUBPL-UA 801 Honor Thesis will still count toward the credits required for graduation.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.
Program Requirements
The major in Public Policy requires ten 4-credit courses (40 credits) as outlined below. Students must demonstrate competency in microeconomics before declaring the major. This may be satisfied by completing ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics, or by presenting qualifying AP/IB scores or approved transfer credit in this subject. The prerequisite credits do not count toward the requirements of the major, but are used as elective credit toward the degree.
Students should discuss Study Away options with the major adviser as early as possible. NYU Washington, DC, is an excellent choice for many Public Policy majors.
Policy, and Health: Exploring Latin American Health Care Systems
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Approved Substitutes for the Quantitative Analysis Requirement
Students who have completed a statistics or quantitative methods course in another department or program may substitute UPADM-GP 111 Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy with an approved equivalent. This option is intended for students who take a quantitative course as part of another major and later pursue the Public Policy major.
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:
Intellectual tools for critical thinking and familiarity with assessing assumptions and detecting biases.
An understanding of how policy is developed and implemented in the context of demographic, historical, cultural, social, economic, political, and regulatory factors and contexts, and the ability to analyze political (and other forms of) power and relationships.
Specialized, up-to‐date knowledge in at least one relevant field (e.g. healthcare, the urban or natural environment, international development, national security policy, law and social policy, etc.) and experience with developing policy proposals.
The ability to conduct and utilize research; to gather, analyze, and apply information; to use multiple sources of information; and to distinguish among information, misinformation, and disinformation.
The skills to apply statistical, economic, and other quantitative and qualitative tools in analysis.
Proficiency in written and oral communication.
Policies
Program Policies
Major Policies
The prerequisite course ECON-UA 2 Introduction to Microeconomics must be completed with a grade of C or better before a student can declare the major. Advanced standing credit (AP, IB, etc.) in Microeconomics is accepted. Liberal Studies Core and Global Liberal Studies students can also satisfy the major prerequisite with ECII-UF 102 Principles of Microeconomics. The prerequisite credits do not count toward the requirements of the major.
Credit toward the major is not given for courses completed with a grade of less than C, or for courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis.
Students in this major may double-count up to two courses towards this major and another major or minor. However, the department of the second major or minor may allow more limited (or no) double-counting; therefore, students must always check with advisers in their second major or minor.
Students may count 4 credits (the equivalent of one course) from Advanced Placement examinations toward the requirements of the major [only in Politics (U.S. Gov't and Politics), Politics (Comp. Gov't and Politics), US History, and World History]. These credits count toward the general policy elective requirement and also count against the major double-counting limit.
CAS students are allowed to take 24 credits in non-liberal arts courses in the other schools of the University; the three required Wagner courses for this major (UPADM-GP 101 The Politics of Public Policy, UPADM-GP 111 Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy, and UPADM-GP 140 The Economics of Public Policy) count as 12 of those 24 credits, and any additional Wagner courses will also count against the 24 credits. Students with a good academic reason for going over the 24-credit limit must consult the College Advising Center (25 West 4th Street, 5th floor; 212-998-8130) for permission.
In addition, no Wagner (-GP) courses can count toward the 64 credits that internal or external transfer students to the College are required to complete in CAS (-UA) courses.
UPADM-GP 111 Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy satisfies the College Core Curriculum Quantitative Reasoning requirement for Public Policy majors only. Other students cannot use the course to satisfy this Core requirement (no exceptions).
Only Liberal Studies students who took GWM-UF 201 Global Works and Society: Modernity as part of their Liberal Studies Core can count the course towards the Ethics and Justice requirement.
Public Policy majors select five elective courses: two must be chosen from a list of pre-approved HIST-UA courses, and at least one of the five must be in the policy analysis field. For full details, consult the Public Policy website.