Public Policy Minor

Undergraduates who minor in public policy (PBPL) often describe it as the perfect way to better understand how policy affects all aspects of society in which they might be interested — from law, health care, and education, to international development and technological change, to domestic politics.

The Public Policy Minor is open to Dartmouth undergraduates from all majors who seek a coherent program of study in the broadly defined field of public policy. This program prepares students for careers in a variety of policy-related fields, including jobs in policy analysis, research and not-for-profit organizations, and as consultants for business and government entities.

Since 2015, The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center has graduated hundreds of Public Policy Minors from across a wide variety of academic disciplines. In this period, students from 22 different majors completed the public policy minor. While Government, Economics, and History majors are represented in each of the classes since 2015, the public policy minor has attracted students from: Chemistry, Computer Science, German, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Native American Studies, Theater, Art History, Math, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Psychology, Biology, Engineering, English Creative Writing, Geography, Quantitative Social Sciences, Anthropology, Sociology, Environmental Studies, History, Economics, and Government. In each of the years since 2015, an average of eight different majors were represented in each graduating cohort. Students included in this analysis completed the six-course sequence that constitutes our Public Policy Minor.

Intentionally flexible and broad in scope, the program draws faculty from across the social sciences and interdisciplinary programs. Prominent policy makers and scholars who visit the campus offer an even closer look at policy making not only through lectures and seminars but also during informal dinner discussions with students that provide a chance to examine issues one-to-one.

For more information about Public Policy Minor administration, requirements, and logistics, please contact:

- Tesha Davis, Center Administrator, Tesha.M.Davis@dartmouth.edu.

For more information about Public Policy Minor academics, courses, tracks, and engaging in Public Policy at Rockefeller and Dartmouth, please contact:

- Professor Herschel Nachlis, Associate Director and Senior Policy Fellow of the Rockefeller Center, Herschel.S.Nachlis@dartmouth.edu.

The public policy minor requirements include six courses, and a standard research methods prerequisite.

Courses draw from across the social sciences and interdisciplinary programs.

Your track can concentrate on subjects such as economics, education, the environment, health, law, leadership, or urban studies.

Step 1.  Submit your a) PBPL Minor Course Selections (see an overview here) and your b) PBPL Minor Course Proposal (a 250-500 word proposal outlining the courses you have selected and how they form a coherent program of study), via the Public Policy (PBPL) Minor Declaration Form.

Step 2.  Submit your minor proposal and formally declare your minor on DegreeWorks through Banner student.

Note: You must fully complete all steps above in order to formally declare a PBPL Minor.