Georgia Institute of TechnologyIvan Allen CollegeSchool of Public Policy
Former graduates working in governmentDoctor of Philosophy in Public Policy






Current PhD Curriculum

he School's faculty and the graduate committee oversee the course work for the Ph.D. in Public Policy. The program assumes that students will be studying full time.

All students must satisfy the core courses for the Master of Science in Public Policy by either completing these classes or their equivalents. See the PhD plan of study form for specific areas to be covered. The ethics area may be covered by completing a readings module and passing an examination on the topic. Required course work at the Ph.D. level includes the following:

Ph.D. Core Curriculum: 18 credit hours
Areas of Concentration (Major and Minor): 21 credit hours
TOTAL Course Requirements: 39 credit hours

The normal course load for a Ph.D. student in any semester is 9 hours of coursework and 3 hours of research or teaching assistantship. Other requirements for the Ph.D. include completion of the one-year residency requirement; admission to candidacy for the degree through completion of a qualification process (3 credit hours of Ph.D. qualifiers and 3 credit hours of dissertation colloquium); and completion and successful defense of a doctoral dissertation. Collectively the research assistantship, the Ph.D. qualifiers, the dissertation colloquium, and the dissertation account for an additional 36 credit hours of work.

See the Ph.D. plan of study form and the suggested schedule for details.