Program Requirements
The Max Bell School of Public Policy's teaching program is a one-year Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis, with a small student cohort to optimize learning and exchange. Combining courses in the theory of public policy with those covering the complexities of the real-world policy process, the program approaches today's most important policy issues in Canada and around the world from varied perspectives to prepare the next generation of policy leaders. The MPP program aims to place more emphasis than is usual in such programs on developing practical skills crucial to future policy leaders, including conflict resolution, persuasive writing, effective presentations and the briefing of officials.
The Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis, is directed at early career professionals, normally with two to five years' professional experience, who are interested in developing expertise in the field of public policy. Recent graduates with an exceptional academic record will also be considered. A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent as recognized by McGill University) is required. The ideal applicant will have completed undergraduate courses in Political Science, Economics, Quantitative Methods, and/or Statistics.
Required Courses (21 credits)
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PPOL 602 Microeconomics for Public Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Examines the essential microeconomic principles for analyzing market behaviour and the consequences of government policies. Emphasis is placed on contrasting competitive markets with oligopolistic and monopolistic ones. Examines the case for relatively free markets and the many situations that suggest a case for government intervention.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
Students must be registered in the MPP program or have the permission of the program director and course instructor. Since incoming students are required to have a macroeconomics course, this course concentrates on microeconomic methods.
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PPOL 604 Law and Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Introduction to the role of law in public policy, asa policy driver, a policy outcome, and a tool ofstatecraft.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 606 Experts, Science and Evidence (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : The role of experts, science and evidence, and their utility for public policy. A survey of how policy leaders explore the theory of science, scientific evidence in practice, evidence in the marketplace of ideas, and human fallibility.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 609 Reasoning About Public Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : The investigation of what is involved in reasoning well about public policy, including some of the heuristic tools that have been developed; cost-benefit analysis, harm reduction, the precautionary principle, compromise, "ideal observer". Determining the appropriate sphere of application and how it can be brought together into an overall, coherent conception of practical rationality in the policy context.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non- Thesis program.
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PPOL 620D1 Client-Focused Policy Laboratory
(4.5 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Students will work in teams with real clients to analyze and address an actual policy problem, delivering a full policy briefing to their client. Clients will include government departments, private businesses, international institutions, and non-profit organizations.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Duchesnay, Nathalie Marie (Winter)
Students must register for both PPOL 620D1 and PPOL 620D2
No credit will be given for this course unless both PPOL 620D1 and PPOL 620D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 620D2 Client-Focused Policy Laboratory (4.5 credits)
Overview
PPOL : See PPOL 620D1 for description.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisite: PPOL 620D1
No credit will be given for this course unless both PPOL 620D1 and PPOL 620D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
Complementary Courses (21 credits)
3 credits selected from the following courses:
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PPOL 611 Canadian Political and Policy Landscape (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : The complexities of the Canadian political and policy landscape including Westminster parliamentary system, multiple major political parties spanning the political spectrum, the relationship to the Crown and the historical treaties with the indigenous peoples of Canada, and Quebec’s Francophone culture and status as a nation within Canada.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 613 Global Political and Policy Landscape (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Introduction to global institutions and agencies, and to the body of applied research on how policy is formulated in the global policy landscape.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
3 credits selected from the following courses:
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PPOL 605 Analytical Methods for Policy Evaluation
(3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Concepts and analytical techniques necessary for the evaluation of specific public policies, including both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Specific topics include sampling theory, applied statistical inference, applied regression analysis, the use of surveys and interviews, and randomized controlled trials.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
Students must be registered in the MPP program or have the permission of the program director and course instructor. Since this is the state-of-the-art in policy evaluation, students in a public policy program should be at a minimum trained to read and understand the results of studies.
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PPOL 608 Theory and Practice of Program Evaluation (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Exploration of the need for and the practice of rigorous program evaluation for the improvement of public policies. Specific analytical tools will be examined, including logic models, stakeholder engagement and reporting, data collection, performance indicators, and cost-benefit analysis.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non- Thesis program
6 credits from the following:
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PPOL 601 Global Macroeconomic Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Development of the key elements of a macro model used by mainstream policymakers in central banks and finance ministries. Examination of important and contentious policy issues, such as the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus, the consequences of high government debt, the case for low inflation, the challenges of inflation targeting, and the policy approaches to enhancing long-run economic growth.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 603 Comparative Government Structures (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Comparison of the structures of government and policy processes in a number of developed democracies including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Examination of the relationship between the political and bureaucratic structures, the civil service, the role of citizens, stakeholders, lobbyists, policy institutes and legislators, and the policy development process.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 607 Information and Media Literacy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Examines the development, role and impact of mass media on the policy process, including an exploration of the nature of the role of the media in shaping public opinion, policy agendas, and political debate; the use of information in new communications technology; and the relationship between news media and social media in the digital information age.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 610 Science and Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Exploration of the tensions at the science-policy interface, both domestically and internationally.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Priority will be given to students registered in the MPP program; however, students in other programs may take the course with permission of the program director and course instructor.
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PPOL 612 U.S. Political and Policy Landscape (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Examination of the complexities of policymaking and policy implementation arising from the dynamism of the U.S. political landscape, including the interaction of the Presidency, the Congress, and the Courts, and how this interaction has shifted over time.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 614 Canada-U.S Policy Relationship (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Brief historical review of the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship, and an examination of several important current policy issues.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Priority will be given to students registered in the MPP program; however, students in other programs may take the course with permission of the program director and course instructor.
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PPOL 615 Climate Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Review of the basic science of climate change, including the wide range of policies.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Students must be registered in the MPP program.
Intensive course taught over 4 weeks during the month of May. Students must be registered in the MPP program.
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PPOL 616 Human Rights and Policymaking (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Critical analysis of the roles that human rights play informing public policy and responding to the central challenges of the 21st century.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Students must be registered in the MPP program.
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PPOL 617 Indigenous Public Policy (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Examination of the nature of the relationship between Canadian governments and Indigenous communities through an approach that deals with history and contemporary issues. Examination of policies that can improve the living standards of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples and the challenges inherent in adopting them.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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PPOL 618 Special Topics in Pub Policy 1 (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Selected special topics in public policy.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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PPOL 619 Special Topics in Pub Policy 2 (3 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Selected special topics in public Policy.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
4 credits from the following courses:
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PPOL 631 Policy Case Study 1 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 632 Policy Case Study 2 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 633 Policy Case Study 3 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 634 Policy Case Study 4 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 635 Policy Case Study 5
(1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 636 Policy Case Study 6 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 637 Policy Case Study 7 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 638 Policy Case Study 8 (1 credit)
Overview
PPOL : Selected case studies in public policy based on the experience of a policy practitioner. This course will develop the complete narrative arc of a specific policy and provide its multi-dimensional complexity in an interactive environment between the practitioner and students.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restrictions: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
8 credits from the following courses:
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PPOL 640 Policymaking in a World of Business
(2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Influence of business on public policy. Policy examples to examine the complexity of the policymaking process in contexts where decision-makers and leaders from the private sector play a key role.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 641 Rhetoric and Communication of Public Policy (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : The art of persuasive speaking and writing and its impact on the policymaking process.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 642 Policy and Globalization (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Exploration of how international rules, norms, markets, funding, and knowledge may influence the development and implementation of policies at the domestic level.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 643 Ethical Dimensions of Policymaking
(2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Extralegal ethical issues inherent to setting and administering policy: the types of conflicts of interest that policymakers encounter, moral principles policymakers adopt to govern their own behaviour, the importance of the power of administrative discretion and its impact on the implementation of policy, how power should be exercised, and what constitutes an abuse of this power.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 644 Stakeholder Management (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Managing stakeholders in the policy development process, including the management process from the perspectives of government and lobbyists.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 645 Partisan Politics and Policy
Process
(2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : The role of partisan politics in the policy process and examination of how partisanship can be navigated or harnessed in the development and implementation of policy.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 646 Budgeting and Fiscal Policy (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Exploration of key variables in a budget, budget rules, the internal and external dynamics of budgeting, and the impact of debt burdens on countries.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 647 Achieving Policy Transparency
(2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : A survey of an array of transparency challenges related to public finance, central banks, trade, income inequality, climate change and access to information laws.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the third lecture day.
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PPOL 648 Race, Inequality, and Public Policy (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : This seminar examines the dynamics and persistence of racial inequality in Canada and other advanced industrialized societies. Students will explore the ways that public policy has worked to aggravate and/or ameliorate these circumstances and analyze the impactof racial inequality on democratic norms and institutions.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restrictions: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 649 Regulatory Systems (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Survey of the history of regulation in several areas, key institutions, and the major challenges in developing effective regulatory frameworks.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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PPOL 650 Special Topics in Policy Complexity 1 (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : A selected topic of public policy complexity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Topic varies from term to term.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 651 Special Topics in Policy Complexity 2 (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : A selected topic of public policy complexity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction: Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
Topic varies from term to term.
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PPOL 652 Special Topics in Policy Complexity 3 (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : A selected topic of public policy complexity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction(s): Only open to students in the Master of Public Policy; Non-Thesis program.
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PPOL 653 Digital Governance (2 credits)
Overview
PPOL : Examination of the growing role of digital technologies in governments’ access to information, use of information, and the design and implementation of public policies. Draws on examples from many different policy areas.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
