Our course requirements
The Joint PhD Program in Public Policy is a collaborative effort between the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the University of Michigan's departments of Economics, Political Science, and Sociology. Students become full members of both their disciplinary departments and the Ford School as active participants in an interdisciplinary public policy community.
Students in the joint doctoral program complete a set of required courses in theory, empirical methods and specific policy areas. In addition to these courses, first and second year students attend a biweekly seminar series that is intended to introduce students to applied policy research early in their doctoral career. In this seminar, students will read applied policy research papers by faculty in all three disciplines. When possible, the faculty member who wrote the paper will join the seminar to participate in the discussion. In their third year, students work on an original research paper under the supervision of two faculty supervisors (one in the Ford School and one in their disciplinary department). More information about the specific requirements are outlined in the heading links below.
Public Policy & Economics
For more information about graduate offerings in Economics, see: http://lsa.umich.edu/econ/doctoral-program/courses.html
Public Policy & Political Science
For more information about graduate offerings in Political Science, see: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/polisci/graduate/programoverview
Public Policy & Sociology
For more information about graduate offerings in Sociology, see: http://lsa.umich.edu/soc/graduates/degree-requirements.html