PhD in Public Administration and Policy

نظرة عامة على البرنامج

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Program Overview

The PhD in Public Administration and Policy program at Rockefeller College prepares students for a successful research career, primarily in academia, by providing advanced education and mentoring in theory-driven interdisciplinary social science research.

Program of Study

The core PhD curriculum covers the theoretical foundations of public administration and public policy, advanced research design, and professional development. Students take additional coursework in public management, public policy, or public financial management, and receive rigorous training in specialized methods tools such as econometrics, qualitative methods, spatial analysis, and network analysis.

Core Courses

• Field Seminar in Public Policy
• Scholarly Foundations of Politics and Administration
• Research Design
• Advanced Quantitative Analysis
• Scholarly Foundations of Public Administration

Fields of Concentration

Students focus their studies by taking two advanced research tools appropriate to their planned research approach, and five or more courses in one of three fields of study:

Public Policy

Study public policy problems from an interdisciplinary perspective to support decision making on important applied public policy issues. Develop an expertise in a policy area, and be trained to design and manage policy research projects in diverse academic, private, or government settings.

Public Financial Management

Study how public and nonprofit managers plan for, acquire, and manage financial resources. Conduct research on a variety of topics such as state and local government budgeting and financial management, education finance, healthcare finance, and nonprofit financial management.

Public Management

Examine management challenges within public and nonprofit organizations, and the challenges and opportunities presented by politics, inter- and intra-governmental interactions, and multi-sector policy and program implementation. Conduct theory-informed empirical research to build on interdisciplinary foundations from the fields of political science, sociology, psychology, economics, organization behavior and theory, and information sciences.

Professional Development

• Seminars in Doctoral Research and Professional Development
• Rockefeller Brown Bag Research Seminar
• Specialized doctoral readings groups
• Opportunities to work with faculty, research centers, and government practitioners on research projects

Candidacy Requirements

• Completion of courses in the core curriculum, and personalized courses in research tools and concentration electives
• Empirical research paper
• Literature review
• Outline of the dissertation proposal

Dissertation

After passing candidacy requirements, students work closely with a faculty committee to craft a dissertation proposal, collect and analyze data, and write their dissertation. Students may take a diversity of approaches tailored to their interests and career goals.

Career Paths

Graduates of the public administration and policy PhD program pursue academic careers, or research-intensive positions in the government and nonprofit sectors.

Graduate Student Funding

The department offers fellowships with multiple years of funding that includes a full tuition waiver and stipend. Students also receive financial support to attend academic conferences.

Admissions Requirements

Deadlines

• Fall (For funding consideration): January 1
• Fall: July 1*
• Spring: Not Available
• Summer: Not Available

*Students not applying for departmental assistance will be reviewed on a space available basis only. Review is not guaranteed and the department can close admissions when there is no longer space in the program.

Required Application Materials

• Transcripts from all schools attended
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official GRE or GMAT scores
• Resume
• Statement of Background and Goals

Student Learning Objectives

PhD

• Demonstrates substantive mastery of the academic literature in public administration and policy
• Demonstrates substantive mastery of the academic literature in a specialized area of research within public administration and policy that draws upon the broader social science literature
• Shows a foundational understanding and ability to evaluate diverse quantitative and qualitative methods in public administration and policy research
• Makes an original contribution to the field
• Competently and rigorously applies at least one quantitative or qualitative method in public administration and policy research
• Articulates a coherent argument in an article-length paper that links research question(s), theory, results and implications for theory and practice
• Articulates the relevance of the research
• Demonstrates an emerging scholarly identity
• Effectively communicates research results to scholarly, practitioner and student audiences orally and in writing
• Involved in the broader public administration and policy scholarly community

مخطط البرنامج

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Degree Overview:

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Overview:

The PhD in Public Administration and Policy program at the University at Albany's Rockefeller College prepares students for research careers, primarily in academia. The program focuses on multi-dimensional public policy and public management problems, training students in social science methodologies to analyze and address these issues.

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Objectives:

• Train students to produce original research on systemic public problems and public service professionals to address practical challenges.
• Equip students with the ability to create and implement rigorous research designs, use quantitative and qualitative methods, inform theory development, contribute to improving practice, maintain high ethical standards in research, and consider competing public values in policy and administrative decisions.

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Description:

• The core curriculum covers theoretical foundations of public administration and public policy, advanced research design, and professional development.
• Students can focus their studies through two advanced research tools and five or more courses in one of three fields: Public Policy, Public Financial Management, or Public Management.
• The program emphasizes causal inference methods and theories of the policy process while providing opportunities to work with faculty, research centers, and government practitioners.

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Outline:

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Core Courses:

• Field Seminar in Public Policy
• Scholarly Foundations of Politics and Administration
• Research Design
• Advanced Quantitative Analysis
• Scholarly Foundations of Public Administration
• Develop expertise in a policy area and receive training in designing and managing policy research projects.
• Conduct research on topics like state and local government budgeting, financial management, education finance, healthcare finance, and nonprofit financial management.
• Draw on theories and concepts from economics, finance, accounting, and political science.

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Public Management:

• Examine management challenges within public and nonprofit organizations, focusing on politics, inter- and intra-governmental interactions, and policy implementation.
• Conduct theory-informed empirical research based on interdisciplinary foundations from political science, sociology, psychology, economics, organization behavior and theory, and information sciences.

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Professional Development:

• Seminars in Doctoral Research and Professional Development
• Rockefeller Brown Bag Research Seminar
• Specialized doctoral readings groups
• Opportunities to work with faculty, research centers, and government practitioners on research projects

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Assessment:

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Candidacy Requirements:

• Completion of core curriculum courses
• Personalized courses in research tools and concentration electives
• Empirical research paper
• Literature review
• Dissertation proposal outline

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Dissertation:

• Work closely with a faculty committee to craft a proposal, collect and analyze data, and write the dissertation.
• Tailor the approach to interests and career goals, including quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods research tools; drawing on theories from various disciplines; selecting topics in domestic or international contexts; and utilizing a three-paper or book format dissertation.

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Teaching:

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Teaching Methods:

• Seminars
• Research projects
• Readings groups
• Collaboration with faculty, research centers, and government practitioners

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Faculty:

• Committed to training students in theory-driven interdisciplinary social science research.
• Expertise in various areas, including public policy, public finance, and public management.

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Unique Approaches:

• Interdisciplinary focus on public administration and policy.
• Emphasis on causal inference methods and theories of the policy process.
• Opportunities for hands-on experience through research projects with faculty, research centers, and government practitioners.

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Careers:

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Career Paths:

• Academic careers in research or teaching positions
• Research-intensive positions in government and nonprofit sectors

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Career Services and Support:

• Departmental fellowships with funding and research/teaching assistantships.
• Financial support for attending academic conferences.
• Assistance with locating additional employment opportunities.

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Other: