Public Policy


Faculty List

  • A. Allahwala, B.A., M.A. (Freie Universität Berlin), Ph.D. (York), Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
  • C. Cochrane, B.A. (St. Thomas), M.A. (McGill), Ph.D. (Toronto), Associate Professor
  • M. Hoffmann, B.S. (Michigan Technological University), Ph.D. (George Washington University), Professor
  • R. Levine, B.A. (Rochester), Ph.D. (Duke), Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
  • S. Renckens, B.A., M.A., M.Sc. (Leuven), Ph.D. (Yale), Associate Professor
  • R. Schertzer, B.A. (Carleton), M.Sc., Ph.D. (London School of Economics), Associate Professor
  • G. Skogstad, B.A., M.A. (Alberta), Ph.D. (British Columbia), Professor
  • P. Triadafilopoulos, B.A. (Toronto), M.A., (Brock), Ph.D. (New School NY), Associate Professor


Chair: Christopher Cochrane 
Program Advisor Email: pol-advisor@utsc.utoronto.ca

For more information, visit the Department of Political Science website.

Experiential Learning and Outreach

For a community-based experiential learning opportunity in your academic field of interest, consider the course CTLB03H3, which can be found in the Teaching and Learning section of the Calendar.

public policy Programs

MAJOR PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY (ARTS)

The Major Program in Public Policy equips students with the analytical and methodological skills they will need to secure employment as policy analysts in government, business, and non-governmental sectors, or to continue to graduate training in public policy.

The Program is cross-disciplinary. Public policy analysis is the exercise of applying the theoretical frameworks and positivist and interpretive methodologies of the social sciences and humanities to understand the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policy. It requires the ability to think clearly and critically, to design and execute research projects, to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and to write clearly. It also requires an understanding of the context, institutions, and processes of policy-making and implementation, as well as concepts and criteria for policy evaluation.

Program Requirements
Students must complete a total of 8.0 credits as follows:

1. 1.0 credit at the A- or B-level in Anthropology, City Studies, Geography, International Development Studies, Political Science, or Sociology
Note: at least 0.5 credit at the A-level in Political Science is recommended. We also recommend interested students take introductory courses in disciplines like City Studies, Economics for Management Studies, Environmental Science, Health Studies, International Development Studies, and Sociology that may reflect their particular substantive interests.

2. Economics for Public Policy (1.0 credit):
[MGEA01H3 and MGEA05H3] or [MGEA02H3 and MGEA06H3]

3. Canadian Politics (1.0 credit)
POLB56H3 Critical Issues in Canadian Politics
POLB57H3 The Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights

4. Fundamentals of Public Policy (1.0 credit)
PPGB66H3/​(PPGC66H3) Public Policy Making
PPGC67H3 Public Policy in Canada

5. Statistics 0.5 credit from:
MGEB11H3 Quantitative Methods in Economics I
PPGB11H3 Policy Communications with Data
STAB22H3 Statistics I
STAB23H3 Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences
STAB57H3 An Introduction to Statistics

6. Methods 0.5 credits from:
GGRA30H3 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Empirical Reasoning
POLC11H3 Applied Statistics for Politics and Public Policy
POLC78H3 Political Analysis I

7. Applications of Public Policy (3.0 credits in Public Policy courses,* from the following list or other courses with the approval of the supervisor of studies; of these, 2.0 credits must be at the C- or D-level and an additional 0.5 credits at the D-level).

Urban Public Policy
CITB04H3 City Politics
CITC04H3 Current Municipal and Planning Policy and Practice in Toronto
CITC07H3 Urban Social Policy
CITC12H3 City Structures and City Choices: Local Government, Management, and Policymaking
CITC15H3 Money Matters: How Municipal Finance Shapes the City
CITC16H3 Planning and Governing the Metropolis
CITC18H3 Urban Transportation Policy Analysis

Health Policy
HLTB40H3 Health Policy and Health Systems
HLTC42H3 Emerging Health Issues and Policy Needs
HLTC43H3 Politics of Canadian Health Policy
HLTC44H3 Comparative Health Policy Systems
IDSB04H3 Introduction to International/Global Health
MGEC34H3 Economics of Health Care

Environmental Policy
EESC13H3 Environmental Impact and Assessment Auditing
EESC34H3 Sustainability in Practice
EESD13H3 Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics
ESTB04H3 Addressing the Climate Crisis
ESTC36H3 Knowledge, Ethics and Environmental Decision-Making
ESTD19H3 Risk
POLC53H3 Canadian Environmental Policy
POLD89H3 Global Environmental Politics

Public Administration
MGEB31H3 Public Decision Making
MGEB32H3 Economic Aspects of Public Policy
MGEC31H3 Economics of the Public Sector: Taxation
MGEC32H3 Economics of the Public Sector: Expenditures
MGEC37H3 Law and Economics
MGEC38H3 The Economics of Canadian Public Policy
MGEC54H3 Economics of Training and Education
MGEC91H3 Economics and Government
MGSC03H3 Public Management
MGSC05H3 The Changing World of Business-Government Relations

Politics and Public Policy
POLC12H3 Global Public Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
POLC13H3 Program Evaluation
POLC36H3 Law and Public Policy
POLC54H3 Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
POLC57H3 Intergovernmental Relations and Public Policy
POLC65H3 Political Strategy
POLC69H3 Political Economy: International and Comparative Perspectives
POLC83H3 Applications of American Foreign Policy
POLC87H3 International Cooperation and Institutions
POLC93H3 Public Policies in the United States
POLC98H3 International Political Economy of Finance
POLD50H3 Political Interests, Political Identity, and Public Policy
POLD52H3 Immigration and Canadian Political Development
POLD67H3 The Limits of Rationality
POLD87H3 Rational Choice and International Cooperation
POLD90H3/​IDSD90H3 Public Policy and Human Development in the Global South
PPGD64H3 Comparative Public Policy
PPGD68H3 Capstone: The Policy Process in Theory and Practice
* Many of these courses have prerequisites that are not requirements in the Major Program in Public Policy, please plan accordingly. In addition, we recommend taking methods courses from within your disciplinary Major program.

MAJOR (CO-OPERATIVE) PROGRAM IN PUBLIC POLICY (ARTS)

For more information, please contact:
Academic Program Advisor: dhsadvisor.utsc@utoronto.ca 
Co-op Program Coordinator: coopsuccess.utsc@utoronto.ca 

The Major (Co-op) Program in Public Policy is a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program that combines academic studies with paid work terms in the public, private, and/or non-profit sectors.
The program equips students with the analytical and methodological skills to secure employment as policy analysts in government, business, and the non-governmental sectors, or to continue on to graduate training in public policy. The Program is cross-disciplinary; public policy analysis is the exercise of applying the theoretical frameworks and the positivist and interpretive methodologies of the social sciences and humanities to understand the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policy. It requires the ability to think clearly and critically, to design and execute research projects, to analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and to write clearly. It also requires an understanding of the context, institutions, and processes of policy-making and implementation, as well as concepts and criteria for policy evaluation.
In addition to their academic course requirements, students must successfully complete the additive Arts & Science Co-op Work Term Preparation courses and a minimum of two Co-op work terms. An optional third work term may be complete with the permission of the Co-op Coordinator.

Enrolment Requirements
The minimum qualifications for entry are 4.0 credits, plus a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.

Current Co-op Students:
Students admitted to a Co-op Degree POSt in their first year of study must request a Co-op Subject POSt on ACORN upon completion of 4.0 credits and must meet the minimum qualifications for entry as noted above.

Prospective Co-op Students:
Prospective Co-op students (i.e., those not yet admitted to a Co-op Degree POSt) must submit a program request on ACORN, and meet the minimum qualifications noted above. Deadlines follow the Limited Enrolment Program Application Deadlines set by the Office of the Registrar each year. Failure to submit the program request on ACORN will result in that student's application not being considered.

Program Requirements
Students must complete the program requirements as described in the Major Program in Public Policy.

Co-op Work Term Requirements
Students must satisfactorily complete two Co-op work terms, each of four-months duration.

To be eligible for their first work term, students must be enrolled in the Major (Co-op) Program in Public Policy and have completed at least 10.0 credits, including POLB56H3 and POLB57H3, and 0.5 credit of Statistics (requirement 5) or Methods (requirement 6).

In addition to their academic program requirements, Co-op students complete up to four Co-op specific courses. These courses are designed to prepare students for their job search and work term experience, and to maximize the benefits of their Co-op work terms. They cover a variety of topics intended to assist students in developing the skills and tools required to secure work terms that are appropriate to their program of study, and to perform professionally in the workplace. These courses must be completed in sequence, and are taken in addition to a full course load. They are recorded on transcripts as credit/no credit (CR/NCR) and are considered to be additive credit to the 20.0 required degree credits. No additional course fee is assessed as registration is included in the Co-op Program fee.

Co-op Preparation Course Requirements:

1. COPB50H3/​(COPD01H3) – Foundations for Success in Arts & Science Co-op
- Students entering Co-op from outside of UTSC (high school or other postsecondary) will complete this course in Fall, Winter, or Summer of their first year at UTSC. 
- Current UTSC students entering Co-op in April/May will complete this course in the Summer semester.
- Current UTSC students entering Co-op in July/August will complete this course in the Winter semester.

2. COPB51H3/​(COPD03H3) – Preparing to Compete for your Co-op Work Term
- This course will be completed eight months in advance of the first scheduled work term.

3. COPB52H3/​(COPD11H3) – Managing your Work Term Search & Transition to Work
- This course will be completed four months in advance of the first work scheduled work term.

4. COPC98H3/​(COPD12H3) – Integrating Your Work Term Experience Part I
- This course will be completed four months in advance of the second scheduled work term.

5. COPC99H3/​(COPD13H3) – Integrating Your Work Term Experience Part II
- This course will be completed four months in advance of the third scheduled work term (for programs that require the completion of 3 work terms and/or four months in advance of any additional work terms that have been approved by the Arts and Science Co-op Office.

Students must be available for work terms in each of the Fall, Winter and Summer semesters and must complete at least one of their required work terms in either a Fall or Winter semester. This, in turn, requires that students take courses during at least one Summer semester.

For information on fees, status in Co-op programs, and certification of completion of Co-op programs, see the 6B.5 Co-operative Programs section or the Arts and Science Co-op section in the UTSC Calendar.

MINOR PROGRAM IN URBAN PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE (ARTS)

The cross-disciplinary Minor program in Urban Public Policy and Governance equips students with the conceptual tools and methodological skills they will need to understand and analyze processes of city-regional and municipal governance and policy-making in Canadian and comparative perspective. The main emphasis is placed on the policy and governance dilemmas of contemporary local governments and how these are distinct from those experienced at other levels: structural revenue constraints, infrastructure deficits, socio-spatial polarization, competition for investment, inadequate accountability and ethics regimes for politicians and public servants, and the distinctive ways in which local policymaking takes place through public deliberation.

Students completing the Minor program in Urban Public Policy and Governance combined with a Major program in City Studies, Public Policy, Human Geography, Political Science, Economics for Management Studies, History, Critical Development Studies or other relevant programs will be well prepared for graduate studies in public policy and governance, urban planning, and public administration, and for public sector careers at the municipal and provincial levels, or in the non-profit and advocacy sectors.

Program Requirements
This program requires the completion of 4.0 credits as follows:

1. Foundations - 1.0 credit as follows:
[CITB01H3 Canadian Cities and Planning and CITB04H3 City Politics]
or
[GGRA03 Cities and Environments and GGRB05 Urban Geography]
or
[POLB56H3 Critical Issues in Canadian Politics and POLB57H3 The Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights]

2. Core courses - 1.0 credit as follows:
CITC12H3 City Structures and City Choices: Local Government, Management, and Policymaking
CITC15H3 Money Matters: How Municipal Finance Shapes the City

3. Applications of Urban Public Policy and Governance - 2.0 credits from the following:
CITC03H3 Housing Policy and Planning
CITC04H3 Current Municipal and Planning Policy and Practice in Toronto
CITC07H3 Urban Social Policy
CITC16H3 Planning and Governing the Metropolis
CITC17H3 Civic Engagement in Urban Politics
CITC18H3 Urban Transportation Policy Analysis
CITD01H3 City Issues and Strategies
CITD10H3 Seminar in Selected Issues in City Studies
GGRB18H3 Whose Land? Indigenous-Canada-Land Relations
GGRC12H3 Transportation Geography
GGRC13H3 Urban Political Geography
GGRC33H3 The Toronto Region
PPGB66H3/​(PPGC66H3/​(POLC66H3) Public Policy Making
PPGC67H3/​(POLC67H3) Public Policy in Canada

Public Policy Courses

PPGB11H3 - Policy Communications with Data

Policy analysts frequently communicate quantitative findings to decision-makers and the public in the form of graphs and tables. Students will gain experience finding data, creating effective graphs and tables, and integrating those data displays in presentations and policy briefing notes. Students will complete assignments using Excel and/or statistical programs like Tableau, STATA, SPSS and/or R.

Recommended Preparation: STAB23H3 or equivalent
Breadth Requirements: Quantitative Reasoning

PPGB66H3 - Public Policy Making

This course provides an introduction to the study of public policy. The course will address theories of how policy is made and the influence of key actors and institutions. Topics include the policy cycle (agenda setting, policy information, decision making, implementation, and evaluation), policy durability and change, and globalization and policy making.
Areas of Focus: Public Policy, Comparative Politics, Canadian Government and Politics

Prerequisite: Any 4.0 credits
Exclusion: (POLC66H3), (PPGC66H3)
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

PPGC67H3 - Public Policy in Canada

This course is a survey of contemporary patterns of public policy in Canada. Selected policy studies including managing the economy from post-war stabilization policies to the rise of global capitalism, developments in the Canadian welfare state and approaches to external relations and national security in the new international order.

Areas of Focus: Canadian Government and Politics; Public Policy

Prerequisite: [(POLB50Y3) or [POLB56H3 and POLB57H3]] or 1.5 credits at the B-level in CIT courses
Exclusion: (POLC67H3)
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

PPGD64H3 - Comparative Public Policy

This seminar course explores some of the major theoretical approaches to the comparative analysis of public policies across countries. The course explores factors that influence a country’s policy-making process and why countries’ policies diverge or converge. Empirically, the course examines several contemporary issue areas, such as economic, social or environmental policies.
Areas of Focus: Comparative Politics; Public Policy

Prerequisite: PPGB66H3/(PPGC66H3) and [[(POLB50Y3) or [POLB56H3 and POLB57H3]] or [(POLB92H3) and (POLB93H3)]] and [1.5 credits at the C-level in POL or PPG courses]
Exclusion: (POLD64H3)
Recommended Preparation: PPGC67H3
Enrolment Limits: 25
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

PPGD68H3 - Capstone: The Policy Process in Theory and Practice

A review and application of theories of public policy. A case-based approach is used to illuminate the interplay of evidence (scientific data, etc.) and political considerations in the policy process, through stages of agenda-setting, formulation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation. Cases will be drawn from Canada, the United States and other industrialized democracies, and include contemporary and historical policies.

Prerequisite: PPGB66H3 and [(POLB50Y3) or [POLB56H3 and POLB57H3]] and [1.5 credits at the C-level in POL courses]
Enrolment Limits: 25
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

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