Public Policy Concentration

Public policy refers to all of the laws, regulations and other programs that governments develop to address some of today’s most urgent national and global issues, such as: crime, health care, agriculture, climate change, drug regulation, environment care, fiscal responsibility, gun control, nuclear energy, immigration, space exploration, telecommunications, international trade and more.

Public Policy Is Ideal For Those Who

• Enjoy solving problems.
• Study proposed solutions to public problems.
• Have strong reading, analyzing, writing and public speaking skills.
• Are more interested in solutions than statistics.
• Are politically driven.
• Formulate and express their ideas well.
• Aren’t afraid ask questions.
• Are energetic, driven and quick thinkers.
• Care about the world and making it a better place.
• Manage their time well and stay on track with assignments.

Curriculum Highlights

The public policy major is an interdisciplinary major, connecting the major themes of politics, history, business and economics.

• Through reading, discussion, analysis and writing, Olivet’s faculty help students understand how the governments and systems of our world work.
• Then we go one step further by addressing ways to deal with world problems.
  • Learn that your first instinct may not always be right.
  • Consider the nuances of compromise and the tough decisions to be made.
  • Stretch and challenge students to consider both the time-tested and the cutting-edge paradigms influencing domestic and international policy.

Concentrations

Domestic Policy

Domestic policy addresses issues related to United States public policy, such as federal programs, the national budget, and a range of issues from social to economic.

Foreign Policy

Foreign policy (international relations) addresses not only the pressing issues of the day, but also the underlying systems and structures that contribute to life in a globalized world.

History and Political Science Department