Certificate in Public Policy

This program provides students with a foundation in public policy analysis. It is designed to provide expertise in public policy to individuals who do not want to pursue the Master of Public Policy degree. Potential students include graduate students who are pursing another degree and want to complement that work with a specialization in public policy, and qualified students holding a bachelor’s degree who have not matriculated at USC, but want to acquire these skills. The certificate develops policy analytic skills, and exposure to a policy issue area of interest to the student. These skills allow the student to integrate the analytic methods with the institutional context of a specific policy arena.

Courses
The program consists of 16 units of graduate course work.

Core Courses (8 units)

• PPD 500 – Intersectoral Leadership
• PPD 554 – Introduction to Policy Analysis
• PPD 555 – Public Policy Formulation and Implementation

Choose 4 units from:

• PPD 501ab – Economics for Policy, Planning and Development
• PPD 557 – Modeling and Operations Research
• PPD 558 – Statistical Analysis
• PPD 560 – Methods for Policy Analysis

Choose 1 course from a policy issue area (4 units).

There are many policy issues courses from which to choose (e.g., Nonprofits, Health, Transportation, Environment, Housing).

Admission Requirements and Application Procedures
Applicants for the Certificate in Public Policy who are currently enrolled in a graduate program at USC and are in good standing with a 3.0 GPA only need to submit the appropriate paperwork for adding the certificate program, which may be obtained from the program administrator.

Applicants for the Certificate in Public Policy who have not matriculated at USC must make a formal application for admission to the certificate program, provide transcripts of all college work, a resume and one letter of recommendation.

Please contact the USC Price Office of Admissions at uscprice@usc.edu for more information.