Georgia Institute of Technology | Ivan Allen CollegeSchool of Public Policy
Georgia Tech is located in the heart of AtlantaUndergraduate Studies in Public Policy






LawCurriculum

The Bachelor of Science in Public Policy is designed to provide an education that combines strong analytical skills with a solid understanding of the political, social, and economic forces that shape public policies.

Public Policy Core
The core curriculum for the major consists of:

POL 1101 Government of the U.S.
PUBP 2012 Foundations of Public Policy
PST 2050 Philosophy and Political Theory
PST 2068 Science and Values in the Policy Process
PUBP 3010 Organizations and Policy Implementation
PUBP 3110 Research Methods and Problem Solving
PUBP 3201 Introduction to Social Policy
PUBP 3600 Sustainability, Technology, and Policy
PUBP 4113 Statistical Analysis for Public Policy
PUBP 4600 Senior Seminar/Thesis


BSPP majors must obtain a grade of "C" or better in all Public Policy core courses. These courses can not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

Public Policy Electives
Students must take an additional fifteen hours of courses in public policy as electives, usually focusing on a concentration in a substantive area of public policy or in policy analytic methods.These courses should be selected in consultation with the academic advisor and your faculty mentor.

Courses Related to Major
Students must take twelve hours of courses from other schools related to the study of public policy.

Senior Seminar/Thesis
A capstone course usually taken in the student’s last year before graduation, the Senior Seminar and Thesis, involves writing an original policy analysis relevant to a public or non-profit agency. A few examples of recent thesis titles

Mathematics
Previous coursework in calculus is assumed in the core statistics course for majors as well as in economics courses in public policy. To prepare, students take two semesters of mathematics: either MATH 1501/1502, MATH 1711/1712, or MATH 1711/1501.

Science and Engineering
Public policy majors must take eight hours of laboratory science courses as part of the Georgia Tech core curriculum. BSPP majors must take an additional six hours of science, computing, or engineering courses, selected in consultation with advisor.

Social Sciences
The Institute’s twelve-hour social sciences requirement may be satisfied by courses in history, economics, international affairs, political science, public policy, sociology, and selected courses in psychology. BSPP majors are strongly encouraged to take POL 1101 to satisfy the state requirements for instruction in the history and constitution of the US and Georgia.

Humanities and Fine Arts
Students are required to complete two semesters of English and an additional six hours of humanities and fine arts courses.

Computing Requirement
Students must complete a computer programming course satisfying the general education requirements in computer literacy.

Wellness Requirement
Georgia Tech requires students to complete a wellness class to earn an undergraduate degree.

Free Electives
To graduate, students must take 122 semester hours of courses. Typically this allows 17 hours of unrestricted electives.