The School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Approximately one quarter of the US economy is located in the public sector. Highly skilled analysts, managers, and political leaders are employed not only by federal, state, and local governments but also by private consulting firms, regulated industries, and non-profit organizations. These people conceive of public policies, oversee their implementation, and administer them on an on-going basis. Examples of public policy-related jobs include: government relations expert for a business corporation, legislative lobbyist at a state capitol, grant writer for a grassroots advocacy organization, and staff assistant to an elected official.

The bachelors degree program in public policy provides professional training for such jobs, teaching students about public administration (the counterpart to business administration,) program evaluation, stakeholder dynamics, ethics, and a host of other topics. Graduates have solid skills in writing, communication, statistical analysis, organizational behavior, and political institutions.

At the personal and intellectual level, a BS degree in public policy teaches students to recognize the ethical dimension of decision-making, to conceptualize complex issues, and to exercise leadership in group settings.

Although we are a relatively young program with too few graduates to produce reliable statistics, we do know that our graduates have gone on to pursue range of interesting options. Our graduates work in government agencies at the local, state and Federal level, including the US State Department and the Navy. They work as staff on political campaigns and for elected law makers. Others go on to study law locally or at top law Schools nationally such as Vanderbilt, Stanford and Northwestern. Others pursue graduate study locally or at top graduate programs including Duke, University of North Carolina, and Harvard.