Policy studiesPolicy studies is a subdiscipline of political science that includes the analysis of the process of policymaking (the policy process) and the contents of policy (policy analysis). Policy analysis includes substantive area research (such as health or education policy), program evaluation and impact studies, and policy design. It "involves systematically studying the nature, causes, and effects of alternative public policies, with particular emphasis on determining the policies that will achieve given goals.
Public policy degreesPublic policy degrees, public administration degrees and public affairs degrees are graduate master's and PhD level professional degrees or undergraduate bachelor's degree level academic majors, concentrations, and academic minors at research-intensive universities, offered by public policy schools. These include but are not limited to: PhD in Public Policy PhD in Policy Studies PhD in Policy Analysis PhD in Public Administration PhD in Political Economy and Government PhD in Social Policy Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) PhD in Political Science.
Policy analysisPolicy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials. People who regularly use policy analysis skills and techniques on the job, particularly those who use it as a major part of their job duties are generally known by the title Policy Analyst.
Terminal degreeA terminal degree is the highest-level college degree that can be achieved and awarded in an academic discipline or professional field. In other cases, it is a degree that is awarded because a doctoral-level degree is not available nor appropriate. An earned academic (or research) doctorate such as a Ph.D., Ed.D. or D.B.A. is considered the terminal degree in most academic fields, as well as the most advanced degree possible, advancing the boundaries of human knowledge through research and dissertation defense, in the United States.
PolicyPolicy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making. Policies used in subjective decision-making usually assist senior management with decisions that must be based on the relative merits of a number of factors, and as a result, are often hard to test objectively, e.
Public administrationPublic Administration or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establishment (nonprofit governance), and also a subfield of political science taught in public policy schools that studies this implementation and prepares people, especially civil servants in administrative positions for working in the public sector, voluntary sector, some industries in the privat
Program evaluationProgram evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. In both the public sector and private sector, as well as the voluntary sector, stakeholders might be required to assess—under law or charter—or want to know whether the programs they are funding, implementing, voting for, receiving or opposing are producing the promised effect.
Public policyPublic policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. The implementation of public policy is known as public administration. Public policy can be considered to be the sum of a government's direct and indirect activities and has been conceptualized in a variety of ways. They are created and/or enacted on behalf of the public typically by a government.
Political sciencePolitical science is the scientific study of politics which is a social science dealing with the analysis and implementation of systems of governance and its impact on societies. Modern political science can generally be divided into the five sub-disciplines of political philosophy, political methodology, comparative politics, international relations, public policy and public administration.
