This is a core course restricted to Ford School students only. Registration is by permission only.
This section of 510 aims to help students better understand policy analysis and the political environment within a context of American domestic politics at the national level. By the end of the course, students will understand the political environment in which policy specialists operate: the participants who shape policy within particular domains; the ways in which they perceive problems and solutions; the information, interests, and ideologies likely to govern their actions; the strategies they use; and the institutional arrangements and processes that shape their behavior and constrain their decisions. A final but important purpose of the course is to build written and oral communication skills.