UMass Boston

Public Policy Minor

Become a Catalyst for Positive Change Through Public Policy.

Do you strive to make meaningful change? Are you interested in the dynamics of the public, nonprofit, or private sectors? The Public Policy Minor at UMass Boston empowers you to explore these ideas through a multidisciplinary lens.

This program gives you a strong understanding of the fundamental aspects of the public policy process. It also helps you develop your analytical and decision-making skills which are necessary for anyone involved in public policy. 

The curriculum includes foundational courses in public policy and statistics, along with your choice of elective courses. Choose from areas such as ethics and public policy, environmental policy, social welfare policy, or public administration management.

Expand Your Studies

How to Apply/Declare

Current Undergraduate Students: Declare or change your minor by completing an Undergraduate Program Add/Change form.

Prospective Undergraduate Students: Apply for admission to UMass Boston by completing an application. Start by reviewing the first-year and transfer application pages for important information about requirements, deadlines, and application status checks. Use the links below to apply: 

Apply as a First-Year Student

Apply as a Transfer Student

Curriculum

Foundations Course (3 Credits)

  • POLSCI 203 - Public Policy (A) 3 Credit(s)

Statistics Course (3 Credits)

Take one course from the list below.

  • ECON 205 - Statistical Methods 3 Credit(s)
  • MATH 125 - Introductory Statistics 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 350 - Political Research Methods 3 Credit(s)
  • PSYCH 370 - Statistics 3 Credit(s)
  • SOCIOL 350 - Social Statistics 3 Credit(s)
  • SOCIOL 202 - Methods of Sociological Research 3 Credit(s)

Economics Course (3 Credits)

  • ECON 101 - Introduction to Microeconomics 3 Credit(s)  OR
  • ECON 102 - Introduction to Macroeconomics 3 Credit(s)

Area Electives (9 Credits)

Take three courses from the list below. The courses you take for this requirement must be from at least two of the areas listed below. 

 

Area I: Ethics and Public Policy

  • ANTH 352 - Applied Social Anthropology 3 Credit(s)
  • PHIL 108 - Moral and Social Problems 3 Credit(s)
  • PHIL 215 - Philosophical Foundations of Public Policy 3 Credit(s)
  • PHIL 222 - Moral Issues in Medicine 3 Credit(s)

Area II: Urban and Regional Policy

  • ANTH 353 - Urban Anthropology 3 Credit(s)
  • AFRSTY 320 - Problems in Urban Education 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 318 - The Economics of State and Local Governments 3 Credit(s)
  • ENVSCI 340L - Planning and Land Use Law 3 Credit(s)
  • ENVSCI 375L - Urban Planning 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 340 - Boston: Cooperation and Conflict in the Urban Environment (A) 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 344 - Problems of Urban Politics (A) 3 Credit(s)

Area III: Environmental Policy

  • ECON 345L - Natural Resources & Sustainable Development 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 349L - Economic Approaches to Environmental Problems 3 Credit(s)
  • PHIL 220 - Environmental Ethics 3 Credit(s)

Area IV: Social Welfare Policy

  • ANTH 301L - Childhood in America 3 Credit(s)
  • ANTH 352 - Applied Social Anthropology 3 Credit(s)
  • ANTH 353 - Urban Anthropology 3 Credits
  • ECON 480 - Health Economics 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 395 - The Economics of Social Welfare 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 420 - Gender and Economics 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 335 - Law and Public Policy (A) 3 Credit(s)
  • SOCIOL 160 - Social Problems 3 Credit(s)
  • WGS 260 - Gender, Sexuality, and Health: Feminist Perspectives 3 Credit(s)

Area V: Public Administration Management

  • ANTH 615 (see graduate catalog)
  • ECON 417 - Public Finance 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 324 - The American Presidency (A) 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 325 - Public Administration (A) 3 Credit(s)

Area VI: Comparative and International Public Policy

  • ANTH 295L - Introduction to Human Rights 3 Credit(s)
  • ANTH 346 - Culture, Globalization, and the Environment 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 334 - International Trade 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 335 - International Finance 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 336 - Economic Development 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 337 - Emerging Economies in Asia 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 338 - The Latin American Economy 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 339 - Political Economy of International Migration 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 372 - Comparative Economic Systems 3 Credit(s)
  • ECON 435 - The Multinational Corporation 3 Credit(s)
  • ENVSCI 260 - Global Environmental Change 3 Credit(s)
  • HIST 290G - Globalization in Historical Perspective 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 265L - World War II Internment of Japanese Americans (A) 3 Credit(s)
  • POLSCI 424 - American Foreign Policy (B) 3 Credit(s)
  • SOCIOL 355L - Gender, Development, & Globalization 3 Credit(s)
  • SOCIOL 372 - Globalization and Social Change 3 Credit(s)
  • WGS 295L - Introduction to Human Rights 3 Credit(s)
  • WGS 355L - Gender, Development, & Globalization 3 Credit(s)

 

Internships: Students pursuing an internship with a public policy dimension may receive up to six credits toward the area requirement by enrolling in POLSCI 488, 495, or 499. To do so, students must meet with the department internship coordinator in advance of the semester in which the credit is sought and agree on an assignment plan. Students must also obtain approval from the director of the public policy minor to determine what area the internship falls under.

Completion Requirements

Complete 18 credits from six courses, including one foundations course, one statistics course, one economics course, and three area electives.

GPA: A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for all courses in the minor.
Pass/fail: No more than one course taken pass/fail may be applied toward the minor.
Residency: At least three courses applied toward the minor must be completed at UMass Boston.
Course level: No more than two 100-level courses may be applied toward the minor. At least two courses applied toward the minor must be 300-level or higher.
Course limits: No more than four courses from the same department may be applied toward the minor.

Contact

Political Science Department
Wheatley Hall, 5th Floor, Room 70
617.287.6920
Pol.Sci [@] umb.edu

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Next Steps

Declare or Change Your Minor Request Info About UMass Boston Undergraduate Admissions