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.
