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Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs has two different Ph.D. programs that address the analysis and administration of public policies: the Ph.D. in Public Affairs and the Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy. Our doctoral programs emphasize research, with in-depth study to assure grounding in the scholarship—past and current—of students’ chosen fields, and careful attention to the research skills needed to make their own contributions. Graduates most commonly pursue academic careers, conducting research and teaching in universities. A smaller number choose careers in public, nonprofit, and private research centers, or in public service.

The Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy is ideal for students with strong public policy interests who also desire to ground their research in Political Science theory. The program is flexible, with relatively few explicit course requirements. Instead, a student works closely with a committee of faculty from both Political Science and SPEA to design his or her program. The main requirements are that students choose one field of study from Indiana University's Political Science Department, another field of study from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and the public policy field with faculty participation from both Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Students in the Public Affairs Ph.D. program obtain strong grounding in both research methods and theory; however, unlike the Joint program, the disciplinary linkage to political science is not a necessity. Students choose two of four fields offered in SPEA—public management, policy analysis, public finance, or environmental policy. In addition, students are required to obtain a minor that broadens their academic training. Minors may be selected from other departments at IUB—Economics, Political Science, or Sociology are common choices—or from such choices as Finance in I.U.'s Kelley School of Business. Or, students may choose from one of four Doctoral Minors in SPEA. Course work in the Public Affairs program is a bit more prescribed than that of the joint degree program, though there is still considerable flexibility.

A majority of students in the two programs are supported by research or teaching assistantships. Students in each program have the opportunity to work with faculty in a variety of research centers associated with either the School of Public and Environmental Affairs or the Political Science Department and on independent faculty research projects. The School's large undergraduate program provides many second-and third-year students the opportunity to teach independent sections of undergraduate courses. This experience is particularly desirable for students planning academic careers since it gives them the chance to have developed one or two courses prior to taking a faculty position. Most students working on their dissertations are funded through outside grants and fellowships.

Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy

1. Overview of Program

The Joint Ph.D. Program in Public Policy is a collaborative endeavor between the Department of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). The focus of the program is broadly on the field of public policy, which includes a concern with the environment of public policy, the processes of policy formation, management, and implementation, and the analysis and evaluation of policy output and results. The institutional setting and design of the program offer a unique educational opportunity. The program combines rigorous social science training, knowledge of government decision-making processes and problem-solving capabilities, and an understanding of the substantive aspects of public problems and their effects on public institutions.

2. Degree Requirement

The Graduate School requires doctoral students to complete 90 hours of graduate credit. Typically, two-thirds of the 90 hours are taken in formal course work and one-third in thesis credit. Students holding a Masters in Public Administration or similar degree may be allowed to transfer some of their graduate course work (30 hours maximum) if approved by their Progress Review Committee.

Core Courses
Public Policy students are required to complete the following courses:

Introduction to the Study of Politics (Y570) or
Research Design and Methods (V680)

Introduction to Public Policy (Y565/V690)
This course is offered alternately by the Department of Political Science (Y565) and SPEA (V690) each fall.

Workshop in Public Policy (V691)
Each student is required to take this one-credit-hour course for six semesters. The workshop features research presentations by faculty, visiting scholars, and advanced students. It prepares students to critique current literature in the field, to prepare manuscripts for presentation and publication, and to defend their ideas and theories. There are two sections offered: one by SPEA and the other by the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

Seminar in Teaching Public and Environmental Affairs (V621) or
Political Science & Professional Development (Y550)
These courses prepare students for college teaching and their professional responsibilities toward current and future students. They are taken in a student’s first year in the program.

Research Tool Skills
Required course work for research skills includes a basic two-semester statistics sequence and two additional elective courses or proficiency in a foreign language.

Basic Tool Skills
The two-semester quantitative analysis sequence requirement is generally fulfilled through one of the course sequences listed below.

Political Data Analysis I and II (Y575 and Y576) (Political Science)

Statistical Techniques in Sociology I and II (S554 and S650) (Sociology)

Statistics for Research in Public Affairs I and II (V606 and V607) (SPEA)

Advanced Tool Skills
In addition, students must demonstrate either (1) advanced proficiency in quantitative analysis or specialized research skills by completing two additional courses approved by the student's Progress Review Committee or (2) proficiency in a language appropriate to his/her field of study and approved by the Progress Review Committee. To qualify as language proficient, a student must take a language proficiency exam from the appropriate language department at Indiana University.

Fields of Concentration
The Department of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs share equally in delivering public policy as the major field of preparation and specialization. Students in the Public Policy program select two concentration areas—one from Political Science and one from SPEA—in addition to the required concentration in public policy. These fields of concentration include the following:

Political Science
American Politics
Comparative Politics
International Relations
Political Philosophy
Political Theory and Methodology

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Environmental Policy
Public Management
Public Finance
Urban Policy

For a listing of faculty in these fields, see the Faculty Research Profiles for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Faculty Listing for the Department of Political Science. There are course offerings in Political Science and SPEA that help the student prepare for examinations in these fields, and students supplement their coursework with directed readings and research. There is no predetermined set of courses required of all students. Course selection is the responsibility of the student working in conjunction with his or her Progress Review Committee.

3. Major Junctures

Progress Review Committee
The Progress Review Committee consists of four to six faculty members. Two Political Science faculty must be selected for the Political Science concentration and two SPEA faculty for the SPEA concentration. For the shared public policy concentration there must be one SPEA and one Political Science faculty member. One faculty member is chosen by the student to act as the chair of the committee. The chairperson serves as the student's mentor and guides him/her through the Progress Review and qualifying examination process.

Prior to the meeting of the Progress Review Committee, the student develops a Progress Review Statement. The statement needs to include background professional and educational information, course work completed and planned in each concentration and for basic and advanced tool skills, tentative dates for taking qualifying exams, and a discussion of a proposed dissertation topic. Once approved by the committee, the statement serves as a contract for the completion of degree requirements.

Qualifying Examinations
After a student has completed the course work for a concentration, s/he is eligible to take the qualifying exam for that concentration. With the exception of the Political Science concentration, each student's exam schedule is negotiated with his/her exam committee. The Political Science Department gives field exams twice a year at times scheduled by the department. For the policy exam and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs' concentration exams, the exams are written by the members of the Progress Review Committee representing those areas.

After receiving a pass or qualified pass on each of the three exams, the student will schedule the oral examination. Upon completion of the oral examination, signatures of the committee member and program director are required on the "Report of Preliminary Examination Committee" form.

Dissertation
After filing for candidacy status, the doctoral candidate forms a Research Committee consisting of at least four faculty members. Two of the members must be School of Public and Environmental Affairs faculty and two must be from Political Science. This committee may, but will not necessarily, be identical to the Progress Review Committee. Instead, the selection of committee members should reflect the dissertation topic and expertise of the faculty chosen.

The candidate prepares a dissertation proposal which s/he then presents and defends in a meeting of the Research Committee. The committee will review the research proposal and require changes as needed.

Once the dissertation research is completed, the candidate defends the thesis in an open oral examination meeting. The Research Committee is ultimately responsible for determining whether the dissertation is acceptable.

4. Placement

The Ph.D. Office, the director of the program, and individual faculty work hard to ensure that graduates of the program are placed in academic or research organizations. Graduates of the Joint Program in Public Policy have been very successful in obtaining such positions. Recent placements include: University of Colorado, University of Missouri, Emory University, Kennesaw State University, Minnesota State University, Ohio State University, University of Arizona, Ulsan University (Korea), University of Massachusetts, U.S. Agency for International Development, and University of Washington.

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