About Public Policy

Public Policy is an interdisciplinary major. It is particularly suitable for students who wish to work in the public sector, or for organisations which seek to influence public policies. The programme has structure and flexibility: a compulsory paper is provided at each level, but students are then free to focus on the particular areas of policy which interest them most. Papers on economic, educational, environmental, ethnic, foreign, populations, and social policy are included.

Public Policy papers analyse and evaluate how national, regional and local institutions of the state initiate, develop and implement policies. They discuss theories of organisation, decision-making and administration, public management, and how public officials work and interact with both the public sector and the political executive. Papers examine policies in the context of political values and culture, economic constraints, political party agendas, and seek how to explain and how and why particular policies are adopted by governments.