Many programs also train students to develop, implement, and manage programs. Prospective students should spend time investigating the curriculum, mission, and individual traits of schools to determine whether a particular school meets their needs. This Guide focuses on programs that prepare students for postgraduate level careers in public policy. Two programs featured have only undergraduate programs in public policy. They conduct research and analysis on a wide variety of public policy and management issues.
Individual entries indicate the year of the data.
Public Policy as an Academic Field Public policy as an academic field, can be best understood by understanding the history of academic training for public service. The first programs to focus on training persons to undertake public service issues called themselves public administration schools, and were first created in the early 20th century. These programs traditionally focused on training persons to administer and implement programs at various levels of government. The next wave of training for public service called themselves public affairs programs and focused on policy problems and options in addition to administrative issues in public service. By the 1960s a number of economists and others had worked on refining methods for improving the choices made by governments.