Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
http://www.aaas.org//spp/sepp/sepuok.shtml
University of Oklahoma
Science and Public Policy Program
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University of Oklahoma
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Professor Mark Meo
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- Background
- Graduate Degrees Offere
- Admissions Requirements
- Student Informatio
- Faculty Information
- Positions for Graduates
- Financial Information
- Other Informatio
Background
The Science and Public Policy Program was established in 1970 as a center for interdisciplinary, policy-oriented research on issues involving science and technology and their effect on society. The program has dual roles of contributing to the policymaking process and responding to the intellectual challenge of understanding the relationship among science, technology, and society. Since its inception, the Program has focused primarily on policy issues related to energy, the environment, natural resources, and the use of scientific and technical information in the policy process. The interdisciplinary team approach to research used by the Program is designed to take advantage of the individual and collective knowledge of its members. Although the make-up of the team varies from project to project, the Program has a core faculty whose members hold joint appointments as research fellows and professors who teach in a variety of academic departments. Faculty associates and graduate students from across the university are appointed to the Program as needed to foster research and work on specific research projects.
Graduate Degrees Offered
The Science and Public Policy Program is not a degree-granting unit. Students working for the Program are enrolled in masters and doctoral programs in various departments. The Program is primarily research-oriented; students pursuing degrees at the University are supported by the Program as graduate assistants and are able to focus their research on science and policy issues.
Admissions Requirements
Students must meet the requirements of the departments that administer their degree programs.
Student Information
From four to ten graduate research assistants are supported by the Program at any given time. These students are recruited from a wide range of disciplines, including: aerospace and mechanical engineering, anthropology, chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental science, geography, landscape architecture, political science, public administration, and regional and city planning. Students frequently write theses and dissertations based on research that is part of a Program project.
Faculty Information
The Program typically operates with three full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty and as many as four faculty associates who receive support to work on specific research projects. The budget lines for the core faculty reside with the Program, and faculty members have joint appointments with their respective academic departments. Faculty members teach in their departments (one course per semester), serve on and direct student committees, and participate fully in other departmental activities. The specific substantive content of the Program's research is dictated, to a large degree, by current and emerging science, technology, and policy issues. Recent research has focused on policy issues related to public perceptions of environmental and health risks, corporate environmental management and green technological innovation, strategic policy innovation and social learning, life-cycle assessment of energy systems, alternative transportation fuels, solid waste management, and the use of scientific and technical information for environmental management. Current and recent faculty associated with the Program have represented aerospace and mechanical engineering, business strategy, chemical engineering, civil engineering and environmental science, geography, meteorology, political science, and anthropology.
Positions for Graduates
Students have found positions in academia, in industry, as private consultants, and in federal and state government.
Financial Information
Graduate tuition for the 1999-2000 academic year is $86.00 per credit hour for residents and $274.50 for non-residents. Graduate research assistants working with the Program are paid a stipend at least equivalent to the rate paid by their academic department. Tuition assistance or fee waivers may be available through the Program or through the students' academic departments.
Other Information
The Science and Public Policy Program has developed a substantial library of materials related to science, technology, and public policy, with an emphasis on energy and environmental topics. The Program's library contains approximately 11,500 books and technical reports, and subscribes to 120 journals and newsletters. In addition, the Library has a large collection of journal articles, pamphlets, news clippings and maps. The materials in the Library supplement the holdings of the various other libraries at the University of Oklahoma.
