“Utopia” in Greek means both “good place” and “no place”—a paradise existing only in our imaginations. But no matter how theoretical or fanciful utopias may be, people still try to implement them, often with tragic...
This course is designed to immerse students in a major research project of their own design. By the end of the two-semester course, students will be required to produce a polished paper, which can later be incorporated into their...
This course is designed to introduce the students to what public managers do and to help provide the students with perspectives and opportunities for practice that will help them become effective public...
As Chief of the New York City Police Department, William Bratton was fond of saying that the crime rate has the same meaning for a police department as profits have for a business--that the crime rate is the bottom line of...
Although the American research university serves as a key source of basic research, advanced education, and infrastructure critical to the nation’s welfare, it faces many challenges such as shifting public policies, changing demographics,...
This course developed from an initiative of the International Policy Students Association (IPSA) at the Ford School of Public Policy. It will be in two...
This course will deal primarily with the Legislative Branch of Government at both the State and Federal levels. Legislative strategies and the possible outcomes of those strategies will be...
This course fulfills the Public Management core requirement for M.P.P. students who are interested in nonprofit organizations in the context of public...
This course seeks to make students sensitive to and articulate about the ways in which moral and political values come into play in the American policy process, particularly as they affect non-elected public officials who work in a world shaped...
The Applied Policy Seminar (APS) (now called Strategic Public Policy Consulting or SPPC) is an opportunity for students to conduct a faculty-supervised consulting project for a public, private, or non-profit sector policy organization at the...
The Senior Colloquium will follow the debate that ensues from the release of the Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform on December...
This seminar examines environmental and energy policies. We discuss the sources of environmental problems and what regulations are available to remedy these...
This course examines the extent, causes, and consequences of poverty in the U.S. and current and proposed strategies to address non-elderly poverty. We review the evolution of social welfare policy in the...
What goes on in city government is in many ways more important to our lives than what happens in Washington. This course goes beyond the structure and theory of municipal government to look at how things really happen at the local...
Democracy and Education --- When Americans write about democracy and education, they typically write about the constructive effects that education can have for democracy by improving future citizens' knowledge, political judgment, capacity for...
This course explores various approaches to civil rights policy, including efforts to prevent discrimination, to "level the playing field," to create equality, and to provide...
Although the American research university serves as a key source of basic research, advanced education, and infrastructure critical to the nation’s welfare, it faces many challenges such as shifting public policies, changing demographics,...
Students will explore the global issues of illegal drugs and drug trafficking, international crime and terrorism. Course content emphasizes the study of organizations and networks, policy formulation and implementation, national and...
The Washington Post examines both the devastation caused by AR-15 assault rifles as well as its allure for segments of American society, in a 14-part series. January, 2024.
The 2023 Mayors Forum will focus on topics particular to Big Ten college cities including development of infrastructure that promotes social cohesion, challenges and opportunities of creating an infrastructure for urban technology, and campus and
Abdul El-Sayed and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang reflect on their work to address environmental injustice in Michigan and beyond, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. March, 2023.
Wallace House Presents journalist and educatorJelani Cobb looks at the historic challenges to democracy that centered around race, the impact of the media, and how this frames and informs the current moment.
