The main student task is to produce a policy analysis of some issue for use by a real client, typically an individual in a public sector organization confronting some policy problem. To convey the nature and range of clients and policy problems, I am appending a partial menu of projects presented to students in the spring 1997 workshop class. What Our Students Can Do About three quarters of our students have had at least two or three years of work experience before entering our program.
Admission is very competitive, so they are all quite bright.
During the fall semester, they will have all had required core courses in microeconomics, statistics, political analysis, and legal analysis. They will also have learned a systematic analytical approach to problem-solving in the public sector. One of the main objectives of the workshop class is to give students the opportunity to apply this approach to a real problem. Students are expected to act professionally, to keep confidences, and to be respectful of people s busy schedules. The workshop class is one of four classes that they take in the spring.