NOTICE - This edition of the Catalog of Studies is provided as a courtesy to students who may be attending classes under these degree requirements. If you are a prospective student, or are attending class under a different set of degree requirements, please visit

http://catalogofstudies.uark.edu/

to find your class year catalog.

PUBLIC POLICY (PUBP)

Will Miller, Chair of Studies, 438 Old Main, (479) 575-6442

For faculty list, see http://policy.uark.edu/policyphd/

Degree Conferred:

Ph.D. (PUBP)

This interdisciplinary policy program has a strong emphasis on public affairs and will train policy leaders to directly address the policy issues of the people of Arkansas, the region, and the nation. The program provides a vehicle for the consideration of policy issues by students, faculty, and the larger community. Therefore, students and faculty will participate in colloquia, projects, and research that contribute to successful public policy. Leadership and administrative skills are included in the course of study, along with a strong emphasis on policy analysis which recognizes the complex nature of policy problems. Such an analytical approach will prepare students for work with governmental, educational, professional and private sector experts who must cooperate in shaping public policy.

Areas of Concentration: Agricultural Policy, Community Development and Growth Management, Disability Policy, Education Policy, Environment, Family Policy, Health Policy, Public Policy Leadership, Recreation Policy, Transportation Policy. (Other specialization options are possible. Contact us for more information.)

Prerequisites to Degree Program: Applicants must have a master's degree completed prior to beginning the doctoral program. The master's degree should be relevant to the policy area of their specialization. For example, students with a masters in geology might enter the agriculture policy specialization, but not the family policy specialization. If students enroll in classes designated to address deficiencies, they may enter a specialization outside of their masters area. These decisions will be made by the program faculty. An application should include identification of the applicant's objectives and supportive background information including three letters of recommendation evaluating the applicant's ability to successfully pursue a Ph.D. A GPA of at least a 3.00 on a 4-point scale for all graduate course work is required.

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree: In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, the doctoral program consists of a minimum of 63 hours including:

22 Hours of Core requirements:
PLSC 5163, Public Policy
RSOC 5623, Community Development, OR
SOCI 5133, Contemporary Community Systems

Economics and Policy (three hours selected from approved courses)
PUBP 6023, Law and Policy
PUBP 6103, Policy and Leadership Seminar
PUBP 6113, Agenda Setting and Policy Formation
PUBP 6134, Capstone Seminar in Public Policy

11 hours of methods:
SOCI 5213, Social Evaluation
PUBP 6012, Legal Research
EDFD 6533, Qualitative Methods

Advanced Research Methods (selected from approved courses)

12 hours of electives in area of concentration. See program director for concentration requirements.

18 hours of Dissertation Research (PUBP 700V)

The following graduate courses, or their equivalent, in Research Statistics and Research Methods are considered prerequisites:

Social Research Methods (for example: Research Methods in Political Science, Research Methods in Education, Advanced Social Research in Sociology)

Statistics for Research (for example: Applied Data Analysis in Sociology, Inferential Statistics for Psychology, Statistical Methods in Statistics)

After completing approximately two years of graduate study, and at least one year before completing all other requirements, the prospective candidate must take candidacy examinations covering both core and specialization studies. The examinations will be both written and oral. All students must demonstrate a capacity for research by writing an original dissertation on a topic in their area of concentration. The student's final examination will be an oral defense of the dissertation.

COURSES: PUBLIC POLCY (PUBP)

PUBP6012 Legal Research (FA) This course examines primary and secondary level materials and techniques for effective legal research in print and electronic formats.

PUBP6023 Law and Public Policy (SP) This course focuses on the legal aspects of public policy, with emphasis on the regulatory process and its legal constraints. Also considered are the process of administrative decision making, judicial review, legislative oversight, and pubic access to government information.

PUBP6103 Policy Leadership Seminar (FA) This interdisciplinary seminar will explore the relationship between policy, public administration, and organizations in the community. Stakeholder
groups will be considered as part of the newer approaches to practice-driven scholarship. The class will examine innovative approaches to decision making, strategic management and policy leadership in complex interorganizational and inter agency settings.

PUBP6113 Agenda Setting and Policy Formulation (SP) This course is a seminar on agenda and policy formation focusing on the classic theoretical and empirical literature. The course is designed to introduce graduate students to a variety of theories typologies, concepts, and ideas relating to the study of public policy.

PUBP612V Research Problems in Policy (1-6) (FA, SP, SU) May be repeated for 6 hours.

PUBP6134 Capstone Seminar in Public Policy (SP) This course is intended to integrate various policy interested in a specific community based project.

PUBP6301 Policy and Administrative Ethics (SP) This class will introduce the broad subject area of ethics in public administration and public policy.

PUBP700V Doctoral Dissertation (1-9) (IR) May be repeated for 18 hours. Prerequisite: candidacy.