Share

Minor Requirements and Declaring Your Minor

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

Students are required to complete an introduction to policymaking course, two courses in public policy methods, two courses in a policy track of a student's design, and one public policy seminar relating to the student's policy track.

Students who wish to pursue the minor should officially sign up for it no later than the third term prior to graduation and are encouraged to enroll during their sophomore or junior year. The six courses required for the minor may not count toward a student's major or another minor.

Requirements for the Minor

  • Six total courses:

    • One policymaking process course (Public Policy 5/Introduction to Public Policy)

    • Two public policy methods courses (Policy methods courses include, but may not be limited to, Public Policy 40, Public Policy 40.01, Public Policy 40.03, Public Policy 41, Public Policy 42, Public Policy 43, Public Policy 44, Public Policy 45, Public Policy 46, Public Policy 47, Public Policy 48, Public Policy 49, Public Policy 82.08, Economics 20, Engineering 18. If you have questions about what might count, please reach out.)

    • Two courses in a policy track (Courses may be in Public Policy, or any other Department/Program, and must be midlevel or higher, public policy-focused, and aligned with the chosen policy track -- which can be an existing track, or a newly-proposed one. PBPL 20-level and PBPL 50-level courses all apply to this group, as may others. If you have questions about what might count, please reach out.)

    • One seminar-level course (Courses may be in Public Policy, or any other Department/Program, and must be seminar level, public policy-focused, and aligned with the chosen policy track -- which can be an existing track, or a newly-proposed one. Courses like Policy Research Shop (PRS) for Independent Study (PBPL91), and other similar courses, may count. If you have questions about what might count, please reach out.)

  • One prerequisite:

    • One standard prerequisite research methods course conveying quantitative or qualitative research methods. Options include, but may not be limited to, Public Policy 10, Government 10, Sociology 10, Quantitative Social Science 15, Economics 10, Mathematics 10, Psychology 10, Geography 9.01, Geography 11, Sociology 11, etc.  (Note that this is merely a prerequisite, and can therefore count toward another Major and/or Minor).

  • Note: Except for the Prerequisite, courses taken for the Public Policy Minor (PBPL) may not count toward a student's Major or another Minor.

Declaring Your PBPL Minor: Course Selections, Minor Proposal, and Submission

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.

More information

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.