Public Policy and Administration - Field Requirements
Introduction | Field Requirements | Faculty
Protocols for the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination
I. For examination purposes, this field shall be divided into the following major "tracks" and subject areas:
A. The Public Policy Core
- Policy Process (required)
- Public Policy Analysis (required)
- Policy Evaluation
- Regulation
- Comparative Policy Analysis
- Policy Change
B. General Administration
- Development Administration
- Administrative Law
- Organizational Theory
- Budgeting and Finance
- Leadership and Ethics
- Bureaucratic Politics
C. Sub-national and State Administration and Politics
- State Administration and Politics
- Urban Administration and Politics
- Community Analysis
- Intergovernmental Relations
D. Substantive Policy
- Environmental Policy
- Agricultural Administrative Development
- Grass Roots Community and Rural Development
- Minority Politics and Civil Rights
- Poverty Policy
- Education Policy
- Other Areas as Approved by the Committee
II. The candidate shall pick one faculty member as the Chair of his/her examination committee. The chair of the examination committee shall then designate two additional members for the committee.
III. It is the candidate's responsibility to assure that courses offered for examination fields are acceptable to the Committee. This includes courses taken outside the department.
IV. For candidates offering Public Policy and Public Administration as a major (dissertation) field:
A. At least four courses in the Public Policy and Public Administration field should be taken in preparation. These courses should be at the 5000 or 6000 level. Two courses must be from track A. These courses must include A.1. and A.2. International Development Students may substitute A.5. for A.2.
B. The candidate in public policy and public administration shall offer four subject areas which shall represent at least three of the different tracks identified in Part I. International development students will offer subject areas only from I. A, B, D.
C. For the substantive policy areas offered within the filed of examination, the 6000-level requirement may be modified at the discretion of the candidate's supervisory committee.
D. The specific subject fields identified under each major track are not necessarily limited to the materials in a specific course related to that subject. It is the candidate's responsibility to consult with the relevant faculty to determine what will be considered appropriate preparation for these subject fields.
E. No course or subject area offered by a candidate to fulfill requirements in another field examination will be accepted for Public Policy and Public Administration exams.
V. For candidates offering Public Policy and Public Administration as a non-dissertation field:
A. The candidate shall offer three subject areas from two different tracks for examination.
B. Candidates should offer a minimum of three courses at the 5000 or 6000 level for examination purposes.
C. Rules IV. C. D.E. shall apply to candidates offering Public Policy and Public Administration as a non-dissertation field.
VI. Procedures for organizing and grading the examination (these supplement the general departmental guidelines):
A. For candidates offering Public Policy and Public Administration as a dissertation field, the student will answer one question in each subject area selected by the student.
B. For candidates offering Public Policy and Public Administration as a non-dissertation field, the exam shall consist of one question from each subject area selected by the student.
C. All faculty involved in preparation of each exam shall grade all questions on the exam.
D. Responsibility for writing questions shall be assigned by the Chair of the examination committee.
E. Questions shall relate to areas of study rather than to specific courses.
F. The written examination will be a take-home open-book examination. Student answers should be approximately 5-6 typewritten pages with double-spaced.
G. The oral examination will follow, within approximately ten days, the written examination. The oral examination will last one hour. The results of the student's written and oral will be announced at the end of the oral examination. The oral examination will begin with a discussion of the student's written examination. The oral may, however, raise other issues.
H. Grades shall be assigned to examinations according to the following procedure:
- A grade of high pass, pass, or fail shall be assigned to each question. The student's performance on each question will be based on his/her performance in both the written and oral components of the examination.
- A candidate must receive a passing grade on each examination question in order to pass an entire examination.
- A candidate must successfully pass a re-examination on any failed question in order to receive a passing grade for an entire field exam.
- A candidate may not repeat an examination on any failed question more than once. Failure of the second exam shall result in termination from the program.
Proposed Rotation of Coursework for Ph.D
Fall - Year 1
- POS 6736, Conduct of Inquiry
- POS 6716, The Scope and Epistemologies of Political Science
- PAD 6108 Public Administration Theory
Spring - Year 1
- POS 6737, Political Data Analysis
- PUP 6007, The Policy Process
- POS
Fall - Year 2
- POT 6502, Politics and Theory
- PUP 6008, Public Policy Analysis
- POS
Spring - Year 2
- POS
- POS
- PAD
