Rochester Institute of Technology

• Background
• Graduate Degrees Offered
• Admissions Requirements
• Degree Requirements
• Faculty Information
• Positions for Graduates

Background

The Public Policy Program at RIT accepted its first students in the fall of 2001. This new, innovative program reflects the highly interdisciplinary nature of policy studies and draws upon the disciplinary strengths of RIT, especially in applied science and technology. The program can be designed to meet the student’s interests and career goals, with opportunities to concentrate in areas such as environmental policy, information and communications policy, and science and technology policy, for example. Importantly, master’s students have an opportunity to work with faculty from several disciplines in the College of Liberal Arts, College of Science, College of Engineering, and College of Information Systems.

Unlike traditional public administration or political science programs, the Public Policy Program at RIT is focused on policy analysis and modeling. In addition to educating students about the policy making process, we also teach students how to: (1) evaluate the technical, economic, and political feasibility of alternative policies, (2) develop strategies for policy implementation, and (3) analyze the consequences of policy adoption. We also have a strong “systems thinking” component to the curriculum and students engage in many systems dynamics learning activities. The skills you will learn will prepare you for careers in government, industry, and the non-profit sectors.

The public policy program at RIT explores the intersection of public policy, technology and our natural world. The program provides students with an opportunity to integrate their interests in science, technology, government, economics and other social science fields.

Graduates are trained in the vernacular, methodologies and problem-solving approaches of the sciences and technologies relevant to their chosen policy study track, and they possess a well-grounded familiarity in that area. Policy tracks include environmental policy, information and communications policy, energy policy, biotechnology policy and others designed to meet the student’s interests. Students also have an option of tailoring a track to their interests.

Graduate Degrees Offered

MS in Science, Technology, & Public Policy

Admissions Requirements

• Typical students include those with science or engineering backgrounds looking to broaden their career opportunities in government or business settings, as well as those with liberal arts undergraduate degrees (e.g., economics) interested in science, technology and policy issues.
• Two options are available to students interested in the MS degree in science, technology and public policy.
• Students may enter the program from the public policy or mechanical engineering BS programs and earn a combined BS/MS in five years. To be admitted into the graduate portion of the BS/MS track, a student must receive permission of the department and meet the following criteria:
  
  • Completion of all requirements of the BS curriculum
  • A GPA of at least 3.0

  Students seeking admission to the MS program from other RIT programs, or from outside the university, should meet the following requirements:

  • Successful completion of the baccalaureate degree at an accredited college or university
  • Minimum 3.0 overall GPA
  • Two writing samples, one of which should be a statement of interest
  • Graduate Record Examination scores
  • Calculus and statistics courses (students may be required to take a data analysis or statistics course and an introductory calculus course, if not taken previously)
  • Two formal letters of reference
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language with a minimum score of 570 (paper-based) or 230 (computer-based) for students whose primary language is not English
  • Fulfillment of general criteria for graduate admission as listed in the department bulletin

Degree Requirements

The program is located in the College of Liberal Arts but draws significantly from disciplines and courses of study located in the other colleges, especially the E. Philip Saunders College of Business, the College of Science, the Kate Gleason College of Engineering and the College of Applied Science and Technology.

All students take a set of policy core courses that emphasize analysis, problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches. Students work with an adviser to choose electives that focus their policy studies in a particular area, such as environmental policy, telecommunications policy or energy policy.

Full-time students can typically finish the program in one to two years. The program prides itself on working one-on-one with students to ensure that their educational needs and academic goals are attained.
A minimum of 48 quarter credit hours is required for completion of the MS in science, technology and public policy.

The BS/MS student may obtain 12 quarter credit hours of graduate work in the fourth year of the BS curriculum. Thus, a BS/MS student would need to take only 36 hours in the fifth year.

Students transferring into the MS program from other BS degree programs at RIT or from outside the university may be required to complete an additional three-course policy analysis sequence (Graduate Policy Analysis I, II and III) or demonstrate that they have equivalent skills for completion of the degree.

The graduate curriculum has a required five-course core: Readings in Public Policy (0521-700), Advanced Theory and Methods in Policy Analysis (0521-701), Evaluation Research (0521-702), Public Administration and Management (0521-709) and Science, Technology and Policy (0508-740).

In addition, students will choose five courses within their area of specialization.
Students also are required to successfully complete a master’s thesis. The thesis allows students to work with a faculty adviser on an independent research project in their area of interest.

Faculty Information

The Department of Science, Technology and Society has a distinguished and highly trained faculty and support staff, who aim to impart their knowledge and skills to produce students who will become leaders in the fields of science, technology and public policy. In recent years this faculty has produced five books, published numerous peer reviewed journal articles and are widely sought to offer well-informed positions on key policy issues in the local and national print and electronic media. This faculty has generated over $ 2 million dollars in externally funded research projects, won two Miller fellowships, and several FEAD, PLIG and faculty research grants.

Deborah Blizzard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-4697
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: dlbgsh@rit.edu
B.A. Government, Smith College
M.S. Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Ph.D. Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Thomas Cornell, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Department of History
Phone: 585-475-6029
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: tdcgsh@rit.edu
B.A. Physics, Rhodes College
M.S. Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ph.D. History of Science, Johns Hopkins University

Paul Ferber, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Department of Political Science
Chair, Department of Political Science

Paul Ferber, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Department of Political Science
Chair, Department of Political Science
1334 Eastman
Phone: 585-475-2938
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: phfgss@rit.edu
B.A. Political Science, American University
M.Ph. Political Science, George Washington University
Ph.D. Political Science, George Washington University

Franz Foltz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-5368
Fax 585-475-2510
E-mail: franz.foltz@rit.edu
BS, Physics, Pennsylvania State University
MS, Governmental Science Policy, Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D, Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Ron Hira, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor
Department of Science, Technology, and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-7052
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: rhira@mail.rit.edu
BS Electrical Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University
MS Electrical Engineering, George Mason University

Ph.D. Public Policy, George Mason University
M. Ann Howard, J.D.
Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Environmental Science Program
Phone: 585-475-5104
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: mahgsh@rit.edu
B.S. Human Ecology, Cornell University
J.D. Rutgers University School of Law

William A. Johnson, Jr.
Distinguished Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Department of Urban and Community Studies
Phone: 585-475-4407
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: wajgpt@rit.edu
Biographic Information
B.A., Political Science, Howard University
M.A., Political Science, Howard University

Christine Keiner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-4698
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: cmkgsh@rit.edu
B.A. Biology, McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College)
Ph.D. History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, Johns Hopkins University

Robert Paradowski, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-6950
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: rxpgsh@rit.edu
B.S. Chemistry, Spring Hill College
M.A. Physical Chemistry; Brandeis University
Ph.D. History of Science; University of Wisconsin

Richard Shearman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Environmental Science Program
Phone: 585-475-6604
Fax: 585-475-251
E-mail: rlsgsh@rit.edu
B.A. Biology, Western State College of Colorado
M.S. Biology, Eastern New Mexico University
Ph.D. Environmental Science, State University of New York at Syracuse

Michael Waschak, MPA, MCRP
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Science, Technology, and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-6827
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: mrwgpt@rit.edu
B.S. Psychology, Kennesaw State University
M.P.A. Kennesaw State University
M.C.R.P. Georgia Insitute of Technology
Ph.D.(ABD) Public Policy; Georgia Institute of Technology

James J. Winebrake, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy
Phone: 585-475-4648
Fax: 585-475-2510
E-mail: james.winebrake@rit.edu
Website: http://people.rit.edu/jjwgpt
BS Physics, Lafayette College
MS Technology and Policy, MIT
Ph.D. Energy Management and Policy, University of Pennsylvania

Positions for Graduates

The Public Policy Program prepares students for employment in the public and private sectors as policy analysts, researchers, or planners. Students will also be well-prepared to continue their education at the Ph.D. level.