Frequently Asked Questions for BA Students

You can do almost anything you could do with a liberal arts degree in the social sciences. Students contemplating pursuit of a graduate professional degree (in public policy, law, business, public health, etc.) should find the BA in public policy a particularly useful foundation for their future academic work. The Career Center makes available a career guide for students considering a degree in public policy.

Enrolling in the Ford School means transferring from the school or college in which you are currently enrolled into the Ford School. You fill out a transfer application (available on the Undergraduate Admissions website) to apply to the Ford School. The application requires students to submit two short essays and a resume.

We receive 100–150 applications each year. We want to end up with 50–60 students entering the program each Fall.

No, the BA program is designed for Junior and Senior level students, who apply during their sophomore year.

At this time, we accept applications only from students who already enrolled at UM-Ann Arbor.

You will need to have junior standing to enter the program, which means 55 credit hours by the beginning of the Fall Term when you enter the program.

The required classes must be taken by the time you enter the program. It is fine to be taking the pre-requisites during the winter term of your sophomore year.

Applications for the BA program are due by February 1^st each year. We must receive all application materials by this deadline. We do not do rolling admissions. We aim to make admissions decision by early March.

Yes, but for each prerequisite fulfilled by AP credit, we expect applicants to take an additional social science course at Michigan during their first two years.

Any course with a social science designation in LS&A that is an entry point into that unit's curriculum will be considered. We expect many applicants to have more than one such course (in addition to Econ 101 and 102).

While there is no rule against taking pre-requisite courses on a pass-fail basis, we recommend that you take these courses for a grade. It will provide the Admissions Committee with more evidence about your academic preparation for the program.

No. Admissions decisions are made on the basis of an applicant’s transcript, the two required essays and a resume that summarizes the applicant’s engagement with the world outside of class.

We seek students with strong transcripts (grades and course selection) who are also engaged in serious ways with campus organizations, community service, political activity, who have international experience, and who have demonstrated leadership in activities since high school. We seek to recruit a group of students who are diverse on many dimensions and who will be successful members of a learning community.

The average cumulative GPA of entering students for the first two years of the program was between 3.5 and 3.6. It is important to remember that this is an average, and that there is no minimum GPA requirement.

We prefer that applicants find ways to communicate information they believe the Admissions Committee should know through their essays and resume.

Most financial aid administered by the Office of Financial Aid is contingent on your enrollment as a full-time student at the University of Michigan so will be available to you as a Ford School student assuming you meet all appropriate deadlines and criteria. Review your award notice or contact the Office of Financial Aid with any financial aid questions. Scholarships from other Schools/Colleges are typically effective only during your enrollment in that School/College and most likely will not transfer. More information can be obtained from your current School/College and your award offer letter. Students receiving private scholarships should check with the funding source with questions about criteria and eligibility. Any student concerned about funding implications due to a cross-campus transfer to the Ford School is welcome to see an advisor in Student and Academic Services.

The policy seminars (PUBPOL 495) are restricted to Ford School BA students and have 20–30 students. Most other classes will have up to 70 students; they will also usually have a GSI assigned in addition to the Faculty member teaching the class.

We encourage students to think about study abroad (or a term in the Michigan in Washington program or in the Detroit Semester). We will work with students to fit this into their academic programs. Approximately 30% of the students who entered the program in Fall 2007 spent at least one term in an off-campus program. We expect students to be enrolled in Ann Arbor their first and last terms in the program, which means that students should plan their off-campus study for the winter term of the junior year, the fall term of their senior year or the summer between their junior and senior years.

Yes. Courses that fulfill an LSA minor can be included in the focus area requirement for the public policy degree.

We actively discourage dual degrees. Since public policy is a separate degree program, gaining both degrees would require at least 150 credit hours, necessitating an extra year of undergraduate study, a year which might be better spent earning a masters degree or obtaining job experience.

No. We expect students to be enrolled in the program for at least three terms so that they can take a policy seminar in each of two years.

No

The Public Service Internship Program administered by the UM Career Center is one prominent option. The Ford School will not be actively involved in arranging undergraduate internships, but information about a variety of internships is available on the CTools site for Ford School undergraduates.

We do not give academic credit for internships unless they are part of a formal academic program (e.g., Michigan in Washington).

No. The projects students will pursue in the policy seminars (one each year) will provide an alternative to the traditional honors thesis.

Same as LS&A—fourth term proficiency.

Yes. There is an elected Undergraduate Council that organizes activities for students in the BA program. There are also a large number of other student organizations at the Ford School.

Except under exceptional circumstances, no.

No, although special circumstances will be taken into account.

We do not offer online courses. Courses are offered in the evening only if that is the only time a faculty member is available to teach the course.

Yes, transfer credit, including study abroad credit, may be used to fulfill program requirements. First, you must check if the course is transferable to UM, and information can be obtained at the Undergraduate Admissions Office (1220 SAB). There is a helpful transfer credit website. Please also be aware that a maximum of 60 transfer credits are allowed to count toward your degree, and that once you reach junior status at UM (55 or more credits), you may not transfer credit from a community or junior college.

No. All courses counted toward your major should be taken on a graded basis. The only exception to this rule is for independent study courses offered through other departments, which may be offered only on a credit/no credit or a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis, and may be counted toward the major if faculty approval is received in advance.

We typically hold an information session each Fall for interested students. If you’d like to be notified when we will be holding the next session, please complete our Information Request Form. Attending this session will allow you to meet program faculty, staff, and students, hear a presentation about the program and the admissions process, and participate in a question and answer session.

We also hold walk-in advising hours for prospective students on Fridays from 2–4 in our Student and Academic Services office, 2245 Weill Hall. Advising hours are also available on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the LS&A Academic Advising Center. You can register to attend one of these advising sessions using the LS&A advising registration system.

Yes, we welcome students from across campus to take our classes. With the exception of the policy seminars (PUBPOL 495) and an occasional special case, Ford School undergraduate classes are open to all undergraduate students at UM.

Once a year, in Fall term.