Political and Social Science

The focus of the course is on the role of managers and executives in systematically seeking, organizing and analyzing information to address policy problems. It will especially concentrate on the roles of incentives and tradeoffs as they affect both the creation and implementation of public policy. Leaders at all levels will be better prepared to make good decisions by a deeper understanding of incentives, perverse incentives, unintended consequences, and other factors.

This course explores the American political order and the policy context it gives rise to.

This course will survey the rise of contracts and grants as increasingly important modes of public policy and inculcate a better understanding of how to let (or write) and oversee them well.

Religious Liberty has some of the strongest legal protections and cultural support in American history and society. It is also true that religious institutions and faith-based organizations constitute much of American social fabric. The actions of those organizations in the "public square" and their interactions with public policy are complex and significant. This course will examine the American understanding of religious liberty as it sets the bounds within which faith-based organizations and government interact. The course will explore such areas as conscience protections, navigating first-amendment implications in policy work, and the role played in American life by religious institutions and faith-based organizations.

The Catholic Church has a long tradition of thought on social and political questions. This course will explore that tradition in light of contemporary social and policy problems.

This course focuses the practice of emergency preparedness and management, with particular attention to the roles of local governments and nonprofit agencies. The course examines the major policy issues, state and local capacity building, and the design and implementation of hazard mitigation policies and programs.

An examination of how bureaucracy has become the central form of organization in terms of how governments administer public policy in a mass society and what makes for effective leadership in such settings. Particular emphasis will be placed on working with and on teams as an essential feature of organizations that influence, craft, and execute public policy (whether governmental or non-profit).

This course helps students to integrate and apply the knowledge acquired in the program in the form of a project in their area of interest/focus and related to public policy and/or administration.