My previous post listed what courses I’m taking … but I didn’t really provide a description of what each title means … so I pulled the descriptions from the GMU SPP website:
- PUBP 704 Statistical Methods in Policy Analysis (3) Graduate-level introduction to statistical methods and techniques used in policy sciences. Topics include descriptive statistics, sampling and probability theory, graphical data display, estimation and significance testing, contingency tables, bivariate regression and correlation, and multiple regression, with introduction to computer-based statistical analysis.
- PUBP 730 National Policy Systems and Theory (3) Provides inquiry into policy-making environment, organized around U.S. federal system. Examines nation’s policy systems and key components: actors, institutions of governance, outside groups, and other influential interests. Special emphasis on dynamic character of policy making. In addition, different policy theories discussed in context of current political realities.
- PUBP 801 Macro Policy (2-4) Demonstrates how macroeconomic, technological, demographic, and social forces affect supply and demand for governmental services. Counterpart analysis of the impact of shifts in patterns of international trade, demographic composition of population, and trends in social structure. Builds awareness of need to factor alternative assumptions about macro environment into policy planning; shows how macro events can affect social welfare and policy performance indicators; and suggests how national income accounting analysis and simple macroeconomic models can help pinpoint impending trouble spots for public policy.
My PhD Experience 