Public Policy - Hamilton College Clinton

Public Policy from Hamilton College Clinton is a Campus Bachelor Public Administration degree that prepares you for a Human Services career. WHILE MAJORS IN GOVERNMENT AT HAMILTON focus on the process of decision-making, public policy majors focus on the outcomes, from massive programs such as Medicare and Social Security to the details of social services and education policy. Public policy at Hamilton is an interdisciplinary concentration. It draws on the tools and insights of political science, economics and philosophy to evaluate governmental decisions and design more effective programs. This practical approach to real-world problems makes the study of public policy a hands-on major where students can make a real difference in the lives of people and communities. Why draw on three disciplines? Because in the real world, policy decisions have three distinct dimensions. Students evaluate those decisions by asking these fundamental questions: s this policy economically feasible, and what are its costs and benefits to society? s this policy morally defensible? s this policy politically viable? Taken together, these perspectives give students the sophisticated tools needed to analyze governmental decisions, to research issues and practices, and to write and speak with force and clarity about public policy . One fascinating aspect of the public policy concentration is the opportunity it offers students to get involved in practical work before graduation. As part of the Senior Program, students may choose from projects submitted by a wide variety of state and local government agencies. Public policy majors at Hamilton graduate prepared to examine, shape, and participate in civic life in all its dimensions. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES The Hamilton Term in Washington Program offers a combination of rigorous academic study and real-world experience in national government to the 16 juniors and seniors who participate each fall. Students do research and attend seminars led by a resident member of Hamilton's Government Department while working full time in a Washington, D.C., office. In recent years, students have worked in the White House Communications Office, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the State Department and the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The College's Program in New York City gives students an understanding of global politics, economics and culture while living in Manhattan and studying under a Hamilton faculty member. An internship is a key part of the program, and many students turn their internships into extended research projects. Some are selected to present the results of their research as Hamilton's designated Levitt Fellows. THE SENIOR PROGRAM Public policy majors have three options for the senior project. They may take a one-semester seminar in the Government Department; they may research and write a thesis on a public policy topic, using traditional sources; or they may write a "public contract" thesis, in which they evaluate a policy or issue chosen by a state or local government in the Hamilton area. In recent years, students' public contract projects have helped shape policy for New York State's Division of Youth, Department of Education, Office for the Aging, Division of Management and Budget, and Department of Transportation. More locally, students have worked with Oneida County's Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health and EDGE program, as well as the towns of New Hartford and Paris and the village of Clinton's Chamber of Commerce. RESOURCES Hamilton's Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center is one of the College's most active and important resources. Students engage in the civic life of the region through the center's Community Outreach Office, service learning projects, and numerous field trips and conferences. Students and faculty members collaborate on community-based research directed by the Levitt Center, while the Levitt Scholars Program sends Hamilton students to high schools to speak on a variety of civic topics. And the center's Think Tank, a student-led discussion group, provides an informal forum for students and faculty members to discuss current issues. The Government Department's Linowitz Professorship in International Affairs ? named for the late Sol Linowitz, a Hamilton alumnus, presidential advisor and ambassador ? brings a series of eminent diplomats to Hamilton as visiting professors. Recent Linowitz Professors include Edward S. "Ned" Walker Jr., former ambassador to Israel, former assistant secretary of state and a Hamilton alumnus; Brandon H. Grove, former ambassador to Zaire and 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service; and Bernard Kalb, former assistant secretary of state and a veteran diplomatic journalist for The New York Times, CNN, NBC and CBS. The Levitt Center Lecture Series also brings well-known civic servants and public-affairs scholars to Hamilton each semester. Recent visitors include Alice Rivlin, founding director of the Congressional Budget Office and former vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board; Nobel Prize recipient in economics Joseph E. Stiglitz; Lawrence J. Korb, former assistant secretary of defense; Catholic and feminist scholar Elizabeth Fox-Genovese; former Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt; and former presidential advisor, author and conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza. View more details on Hamilton College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Public Administration courses.