The main idea that we want to get across is implicit in the title: Systematic thinking - largely from the social sciences, but with the application of scientific methods and knowledge more generally - can make a significant difference in the way...
As it exposes students to the landscape of science and technology policymaking in the US and abroad, this course introduces theories and methodologies for science and technology policy analysis, with literature drawn from a range of disciplines,...
“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...
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 introduction to program evaluation and multiple regression analysis trains students to critically consume empirical studies and conduct their own empirical...
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 how and why socioeconomic policies (e.g., education, income/welfare, civil rights, macroeconomics/employment, housing/urban policies) may be as or more consequential for population health as “health” policies (i.e., health...
Policy seminars are open only to undergraduates enrolled in the Ford School. These small, interdisciplinary courses will focus on particular public policy issues as reflected in the title of the...
This course examines a number of popular approaches to education reform, using an economic lens to understand the theoretical rationale and potential impact of...
The goal of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to get their hands dirty with actual policy work, both as a way to utilize some of the skills they have learned in their other courses as well as to help them learn about many of...
This course examines a number of popular approaches to education reform, using an economic lens to understand the theoretical rationale and potential impact of...
During the twentieth century, the U.S. both saw the development of a social welfare system to serve nonelderly families and a subsequent dramatic overhaul of the cash welfare part of that...
Because of their unique characteristics of large size, unusual disciplinary breadth, world-class quality, and strong public agenda, the nation’s public research universities represent the backbone of higher education in...
As it exposes students to the landscape of science and technology policymaking in the US and abroad, this course introduces theories and methodologies for science and technology policy analysis, with literature drawn from a range of disciplines,...
