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Georgia Institute of Technology Program Link: |
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Professor Susan Cozzens |
The School of Public Policy was founded in 1991, focusing on technology-intensive
public policy fields including science and technology policy, information
and communication policy, environmental policy, and urban and regional
economic development. Current students focus in one or more of these
areas. The mission of the School is to conduct research on policy issues
with significant scientific and technological content and to prepare
students for jobs in government, non-profit organizations, consulting,
and private sector firms concerned with public policy.
The Georgia Tech School of Public Policy offers four graduate degree programs.
The Master of Science in Public Policy (MSPP) prepares students for professional positions in public policy. The MSPP program accepts both full-time and part-time students. Typically, full-time students complete the MSPP degree in two years.
The Dual Masters Program in Public Policy and City Planning (MSPP/MCP) allows students to combine study in public policy with additional study and qualification in city planning.
The Georgia Tech Doctorate in Public Policy (Ph.D.) prepares students for advanced professional work or academic careers. The Ph.D. emphasizes substantive policy areas related to the School's science and technology focus, include science and technology policy, environmental policy and economic development policy. A period of full-time residence is required in the doctoral program.
The Georgia Tech-Georgia State University Joint Doctorate in Public
Policy (Joint Ph.D.) offers more flexibility for part-time study and
provides additional areas of policy specialization.
Applicants must have a bachelor's degree. Since the program is interdisciplinary, no particular undergraduate field is preferred. Applicants must submit GRE information scores, a personal biography form, a statement of interest, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. Information and application materials can be obtained from:
Graduate Coordinator
Georgia Institute of Technology
School of Public Policy
D.M. Smith Building
685 Cherry Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0345
Email address: grad@pubpolicy.gatech.edu
Web Site: http://www.spp.gatech.edu
Application materials can be obtained by mail from the graduate coordinator or electronically downloaded via the School's web site.
Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy emphasizes research and teaching in policy areas that have significant scientific or technological content. The School's programs balance analytical rigor and technical aspects of the curriculum with explicit, systematic treatment of ethical and value dimensions of the consequences of policy choice, and of the methods for analyzing policy alternatives.
The MSPP degree requires 49 semester credit hours of study, including either three hours devoted to producing a professional paper (which can be done on an individual or group basis) or nine hours for a thesis. The core of the MSPP curriculum consists of 9 three-hour courses and a one-hour introductory seminar. The core courses are: Introduction to Public Policy; Ethics, Epistemology, and Public Policy; Fundamentals of Policy Process; Research Design in Policy Science; Applied Policy Methods and Data Analysis; Microeconomics and Policy Analysis; Public Finance and Policy; Public Policy Analysis; and two of the following three courses: Organization Theory; Public Management; and Policy Implementation and Administration. MSPP students also pursue one or more concentrations. A concentration consists of at least three 3-credit courses, of which at least one is the School of Public Policy. Students can pursue concentrations in science and technology policy, environmental policy, information and communications policy, or urban and regional economic development. Or, students can pursue an individualized concentration. A professional internship is normally required.
The Ph.D. in Public Policy prepares students for advanced professional work or for academic careers. The doctorate degree is based on a core curriculum that stresses intellectual and methodological rigor, using the theories and applications of quantitative analysis; political, economic, and organizational analysis; research design and execution. This core is supplemented with in-depth study of particular substantive areas of public policy, usually in one of the School's area of concentration.
The current student body of about 50 is comprised of approximately two-thirds
full-time and one-third part-time students. Most part-time students
are mid-career professionals. The School offers small class sizes and
close interaction with faculty, ensuring that students have flexibility
in their choice of course work and area of policy concentration.
The 24 faculty members hold doctoral degrees in a wide variety of fields including engineering, engineering psychology, planning, political science, economics, philosophy, and earth sciences. The School is a national leader in research on technology policy, particularly technology transfer, R&D evaluation, innovation, and federal laboratory policy. Other fields of study include environmental policy, environment ethics, policy formulation and evaluation, risk assessment, and public organization theory and design.
Approximately 90 percent of recent master's graduates are in full-time positions with a variety of employers including the federal, state or local government, private sector firms, non-for-profit organizations, and research organizations.
Roughly 10 percent of master's graduates have gone on to further academic studies. The unique features of the M.S. in public policy at Tech also makes the degree a natural springboard to doctoral study in interdisciplinary fields such as urban and environmental policy, science and technology policy, telecommunications and information policy, and management of technology, and policy evaluation and management.
During the 1999-2000 academic year, full-time tuition and fees at Georgia Tech is $1,795 (in-state) and $6,139 (non-resident); part-time tuition is $149 (in-state) and $511 (non-resident) per credit hour. Currently, most full-time students receive graduate research assistantships, usually associated with a research project with School faculty. Assistants cover tuition, matriculation fees, and provide a stipend of $3,750 per semester, $4,500 per semester for Ph.D. students.
