The programs differ in course requirements, but all programs, in addition to the above courses, offer courses in specific issue areas such as health, information technology, urban policy, or environmental policy. And almost all programs train students in computer science as it applies to policy analysis. Careers in Public Policy Prospective students in public policy often focus on the types of jobs public policy school graduates hold. Graduates of public policy schools hold a wide variety of careers. Although public policy schools were created with the goal of providing professional training for federal government officials, graduates today hold a wide variety of careers, with students finding employment at all levels of government, and the non-profit and private sectors, both in the United States and in many other countries as well.
Graduates differ in the organization setting in which they work.
Some graduates work for various levels of government, others work in non-profit organizations or in the private sector for consulting firms, for example. Some graduates focus on a specific issue areas, or others are generalists who work on a variety of issues. Some graduates work on issues domestically and others internationally. Some proportion of graduates move back and forth between the public, private and nonprofit sector, or between an international setting and a domestic one. They can do this because the general public policy degree provides one with a set of research and analytical, and management skills that are often transferable across sectors, and often across issue areas.