Concentration in Social Policy in our Master’s Degree Program

The predesigned concentration in Social Policy in our master’s degree program examines the forces causing inequality and oppression in our society, and it assesses the impact of policies that have the potential to promote a more equal society. Social policy often entails the most divisive public policy issues of our time, such as income inequality, racial disparities and immigration. A concentration in Social Policy in our master’s degree program at the Humphrey School invites students to interrogate their basic assumptions about what is to be done and how we understand social problems at the same time that it provides sophisticated social science and management tools to determine how best to tackle them. We combine the specialized tools of economics and policy analysis with in-depth, focused, and specialized analyses of specific substantive areas of social policy. Moreover, both the dispassionate technocrat and the committed activist in our classes are served by learning to think politically about their issues—not just normatively what we value and should advocate for—but how the political system creates obstacles and possibilities for the realization of our goals.

The Social Policy Concentration in our Master’s Degree Program takes an Intersectional Approach

Governments respond in many different ways to social needs. The resulting public policies, whether by directly tackling a problem or deliberately declaring it to be private, significantly shape education, health, housing, employment, and poverty. The Humphrey School’s Social Policy certificate differs from traditional academic approaches to social policy in the modern welfare state by putting issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, age, employment, and immigrant status at the center of its inquiry. Our intersectional approach to social policy leads us beyond the conventional public policy school analysis of economic inequalities. 

Whether the question is how to end homelessness, provide health care for all children, end racial disparities in education, end sexual violence, or serve the long-term unemployed, social policy inevitably invites us to question the proper role and capacity of government and private sector actors, such as non-profit organizations (NGOs). The Humphrey School’s strength in non-profit management across the curriculum expands our analysis of social policies beyond the traditional purview of government to explore the role of NGOs such as unions in bringing equity, voice, and efficiency to the workplace or in creating a new global movement such as women’s human rights.

Suggested Core Courses for MPP students (doesn’t count toward the 9 credit minimum):

PA 5032 — Intermediate Regression Analysis

AND

PA 5033 — Multivariate Techniques

OR

PA 5035 — Survey Research and Data Collection

Select elective courses from below (9 credits or more)*

PA 5261 — Housing Policy (3)

PA 5301 — Population Methods and Issues (3)

PA 5401 — Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy (3)

PA 5405 — Public Policy Implementation (3)

PA 5414 — Child Labor (not offered in 2012/3) (3)

PA 5421 — Racial Inequality and Public Policy (3)

PA 5422 — Diversity and Public Policy (3)

PA 5431 — Public Policies on Work and Pay (3)

PA 5451 — Immigrant Health Issues (3 or 4)

PA 5452 — Immigration and Public Policy  (not offered in 2012/3) (3)

PA 5490 — Contemporary Social Theory and Public Policy (3)

PA 5490 — Identity and Public Policy (3)

PA 5490 — Early Childhood and Public Policy (3)

PA 5490 — Economics of Early Childhood Education

PA 5501 — Theories and Policies of Development (3)

PA 5522 — International Development Policy, Families and Health (3)

PA 5561 — Gender and International Development (3)

PA 5690 — Perspectives on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (3)

PA 8312 — Analysis of Discrimination (not offered in 2012/3) (3)

PA 8390 — Research Methods in Public Policy (2)

APEC 5511 — Labor Economics

ECON 5890 — Economics of the Health Care System (3)

OLPD 5044 — Introduction to the Economics of Education (3)

OLPD 5521 — Cost and Economic Analysis in Educational Evaluation (3)

OLPD 5356 — Disability Policy and Services (3)

GERO 5105 — Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Aging (3)

GERO 5111 — Studying Aging and Chronic Illness (3)

HRIR 5054 — Public Policy and Employee Benefits: Social Safety Nets (2)

HRIR 5062 — Personnel Economics

HRIR 8071 — Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining (4)

LAW 6203 — Labor Law

LAW 6220 — Poverty Law

LAW 6625 — Disability Law (3)

LAW 6632 — Employment Law (3)

PUBH 6055 — Social Inequalities in Health (2)

PUBH 6555 — Topics in Health Economics (3)

PUBH 6556 — Health and Health Systems (3)

PUBH 6564 — Private Purchasers of Health Care: role of Employers and Health Plans (3)

PUBH 6724 — The Health Care System and Public Health (3)

PUBH 6811 — Health Disparities Research (3)

PUBH 6832 — Economics of the Health Care System (3)

PUBH 6862 — Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health Care (3)

PUBH 8820 — Health Economics I (3)

PUBH 8821 — Health Economics II (3)

SOC 5455 — Sociology of Education (3)

SOC 8011 — Sociology of Higher Education: Theory and Practice (3)

SOC 8190 — Topics in Law Crime and Deviancy (3)

SOC 8290 — Topics in Social Stratification (3)

SOC 8412 — Social Network Analysis: Theory and Methods (3)

SW 5801 — Policies and Programs in American Social Welfare (3)

SW 8804 — Child Welfare Policy (3)

SW 8805 — Aging and Disability Policy (3)

SW 8806 — Health and Mental Health Policy (3)

SW 8807 — International and Comparative Social Welfare Policy (3)

* Not all courses on this list are offered every year. Some courses may have prerequisites. Students may select other courses for this concentration in consultation with their faculty and professional advisor.

 

Related Courses that Are Useful to Policy Students:

For those of you who are interested in enhancing your quantitative skills, you may want to consider the following courses. These courses do not have specific social policy content, but are highly useful for some social policy jobs.  If you have already taken enough courses to waive PA5031 or PA5032, you may consider taking one of these courses instead.

APEC 5031 — Methods of Economic Data Analysis (3)

APEC 5032 — Economic Data Analysis for Managerial and Policy Decisions (3)

OLPD 5501 — Principles and Methods of Evaluation (3)

PA 5041 — Qualitative Methods for Policy Evaluation (3)

PA 5311 — Program Evaluation (3)

Affiliated Faculty

Katherine Fennelly
Greta Friedemann-Sánchez
Stephen Hoenack
Maria Hanratty
Morris Kleiner
Deborah Levison
Samuel L. Myers, Jr
Jodi R. Sandfort
Joe Soss
Judy Temple

 

Maria Hanratty, Concentration Head
Humphrey Center Room 251
Hanra003@umn.edu
(612) 625-6500