Public Policy Minor

The core curriculum in public policy includes courses on policy innovation and analysis, politics of public policy, applied philosophy, applied economics, research design and statistics. Our experiential education (EE) courses develop students’ teamwork, leadership, and communication skills as they produce actionable, client-centered  research. UNC Public Policy offers multiple courses on both global and domestic policy issues including courses on education, immigration, the environment, health and human rights, and history and public policy. 

The undergraduate minor in public policy consists of five courses. Students gain knowledge, skills, and experience to improve the lives of others.

Knowledge

Students think and learn across academic disciplines with a diverse faculty with degrees in business, economics, history, law, philosophy, political science, public policy, sociology, and sociomedical sciences.

Skills

Students gain an ability to think critically and independently; to write, reason, and communicate clearly; and to develop research methods and quantitative analysis skills.

Experience

Students apply knowledge and skills in real world environments beyond the classroom. Students in our clinic, intersector, and internship courses address contemporary policy challenges by providing innovative analysis to clients in the nonprofit and public sector.

Requirements 

In addition to the program requirements listed below, students must:

  • take at least nine hours of their minor "core" requirements at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the minor core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for minor or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

First-year and sophomore students considering a minor in public policy are encouraged to complete PLCY 101 or PLCY 110.

Requirements
Students must complete at least four of the following core courses:12
Policy Innovation and Analysis H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Politics of Public Policy H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Justice in Public Policy H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Research Design for Public Policy H
Microeconomic Foundations of Public Policy 1
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Intermediate Microeconomics
One elective course selected from the following options:3
Any PLCY course at the 100 level or above (not including PLCY 130, PLCY 291, or PLCY 293)
A course from the approved list in the major (see below)
Total Hours15
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

1

ECON 101 is a prerequisite for PLCY 310 and ECON 410.

Public policy (PLCY) course descriptions.

The regulations governing a minor, as set forth in this catalog, apply to the minor in public policy.

Public Policy Elective Course List

The following courses satisfy the electives requirement and optional policy field concentration. Please note that some of these courses may have enrollment restrictions, including being restricted to students enrolled in certain majors or minors.  Please check for enrollment restrictions before trying to enroll:

Any PLCY course at the 100 level or above, except PLCY 130, PLCY 291, PLCY 293, PLCY 393, or PLCY 394
AAAD 30721st-Century Scramble for Africa3
AAAD/POLI 333IDEAs in Action General Education logo Race and Public Policy in the United States3
AAAD 488IDEAs in Action General Education logo Human Rights and Democracy in African Diaspora Communities3
AAAD 485IDEAs in Action General Education logo Transnational Black Feminist Thought and Practice3
AMST 390Seminar in American Studies3
AMST 486IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Jewish South: Race, Region, and Religion 3
ANTH 312From the Equator to the Poles: Case Studies in Global Environmental Change3
ANTH 318IDEAs in Action General Education logo Human Growth and Development3
ANTH 319IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global Health3
ANTH 350Anthropology of the State, Civil Society, and Politics3
ANTH 355IDEAs in Action General Education logo Life, Society and Work in the Globalized City3
ANTH 360Latin American Economy and Society3
ANTH 377European Societies3
ANTH 380Anthropological Perspectives on Cultural Diversity3
ANTH 422Anthropology and Human Rights3
ANTH 429IDEAs in Action General Education logo Culture and Power in Southeast Asia3
ANTH 439IDEAs in Action General Education logo Political Ecology3
ANTH 441The Anthropology of Gender, Health, and Illness3
ANTH 460Historical Ecology3
ANTH 470Medicine and Anthropology3
ANTH 502Globalization and Transnationalism3
ANTH 537Gender and Performance: Constituting Identity3
ANTH 585Anthropology of Science3
BUSI 404Business Ethics1.5
BUSI 405IDEAs in Action General Education logo Leading and Managing: An Introduction to Organizational Behavior3
BUSI 500Entrepreneurship and Business Planning H3
BUSI 503Family Business I: Introduction to Family Enterprise1.5
BUSI 504Launching the Venture1.5
BUSI 506Entrepreneurial Strategy: How to Think Like a Venture Capitalist3
BUSI 512Family Business II: Governance and Ownership1.5
BUSI 610Global Environment of Business3
BUSI 611International Development: Focus on Indigenous Issues3
COMM 312Persuasion3
COMM 325IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Organizational Communication H3
COMM 372The Rhetoric of Social Movements3
COMM 375Environmental Advocacy3
COMM 3763
COMM 470Political Communication and the Public Sphere3
COMM 521Communication and Social Memory3
COMM 524IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gender, Communication, and Culture3
COMM 525Organizational Communication3
COMM 571Rhetorical Theory and Practice3
COMM 572Public Policy Argument H3
COMM 574War and Culture3
COMM 575Presidential Rhetoric3
COMM 576Making and Manipulating "Race" in the United States3
COMM 624IDEAs in Action General Education logo Hate Speech3
COMM 625IDEAs in Action General Education logo Communication and Nonprofits in the Global Context3
COMM 652Media and Difference3
ECON 320Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy3
ECON 325Entrepreneurship: Principles, Concepts, Frameworks, and Fluency H3
ECON 345IDEAs in Action General Education logo Public Policy Toward Business3
ECON 3633
ECON 380The Economics of Labor Relations3
ECON 423Financial Markets and Economic Fluctuations H3
ECON 4303
ECON 440Analysis of Public Finance3
ECON 445Industrial Organization3
ECON 450Health Economics: Problems and Policy3
ECON 4543
ECON 455Environmental Economic Theory3
ECON 460IDEAs in Action General Education logo International Economics3
ECON 465IDEAs in Action General Education logo Economic Development3
ECON 480Labor Economics3
ECON 511Advanced Game Theory in Economics H3
ECON 586Economics and Life: Applying Economics to Life's Big Questions3
EDUC 401IDEAs in Action General Education logo Childhood Development: Prenatal Birth to Age 123
EDUC 441Education in American Society3
EDUC 506IDEAs in Action General Education logo Politics, Policymaking, and America's Schools3
EDUC 521Schools, Cultures, and Communities I: Youth3
EDUC 533IDEAs in Action General Education logo Social Justice in Education3
EDUC 535Teachers and Schools3
ENGL 164IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Latina/o Studies H3
ENGL 279Migration and Globalization3
ENEC 463IDEAs in Action General Education logo Corporate Environmental Stewardship3
ENEC 307Energy and Material Flows in the Environment and Society3
ENEC 308Environmental History3
ENEC 309Environmental Values and Valuation3
ENEC 330Principles of Sustainability3
ENEC 350IDEAs in Action General Education logo Environmental Law and Policy3
ENEC 351Coastal Law and Policy3
ENEC 352Marine Fisheries Ecology3
ENEC 370Agriculture and the Environment H3
ENEC 462Ecosystem Management3
ENEC 474Sustainable Coastal Management3
ENEC 586Water Quality Policies and Planning3
ENEC 685Environmental and Resource Economics3
ENEC 698Capstone: Analysis and Solution of Environmental Problems3
ENEC/ENVR 470Environmental Risk Assessment3
ENEC/ENVR 5853
ENEC/ENVR/PLAN/PLCY 6863
ENEC/PHIL 368IDEAs in Action General Education logo Living Things, Wilderness, and Ecosystems: An Introduction to Environmental Ethics3
ENVR 600Environmental Health3
GEOG 281Ethnographies of Globalization: From 'Culture' to Decolonization3
GEOG 370IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Geographic Information3
GEOG 391Quantitative Methods in Geography3
GEOG 414IDEAs in Action General Education logo Climate Change3
GEOG 416IDEAs in Action General Education logo Applied Climatology: The Impacts of Climate and Weather on Environmental and Social Systems3
GEOG 423Social Geography3
GEOG 428IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global Cities: Space, Power, and Identity in the Built Environment3
GEOG 430Global Migrations, Local Impacts: Urbanization and Migration in the United States3
GEOG 435IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global Environmental Justice3
GEOG 446Geography of Health Care Delivery3
GEOG 447Gender, Space, and Place in the Middle East3
GEOG 448Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies3
GEOG/ENEC 451IDEAs in Action General Education logo Population, Development, and the Environment3
GEOG 457IDEAs in Action General Education logo Rural Latin America: Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources H3
GEOG 458Urban Latin America: Politics, Economy, and Society3
GEOG 460IDEAs in Action General Education logo Geographies of Economic Change3
GEOG 470IDEAs in Action General Education logo Political Ecology: Geographical Perspectives3
GEOG 480Liberation Geographies3
GEOG 491Introduction to GIS3
GEOG 541GIS in Public Health3
GEOG 542Neighborhoods and Health3
GLBL 382Latin American Migrant Perspectives: Ethnography and Action3
GLBL 390Current Topics in Global Studies3
HIST 238IDEAs in Action General Education logo The American Revolution, 1763-18153
HIST 365The Worker and American Life3
HIST 385IDEAs in Action General Education logo African American Women's History3
HIST 510Human Rights in the Modern World H3
HIST 566The History of Sexuality in America3
HIST 568Women in the South3
HIST 577United States Foreign Relations in the 20th Century3
HIST 584The Promise of Urbanization: American Cities in the 19th and 20th Centuries3
HIST 589Race, Racism, and America: (United States) Law in Historical Perspective3
HPM 310Introduction to Health Law and Ethics3
HPM 330Introduction to Health Organization Leadership, Management, and Behavior3
HPM 340Foundations of Health Care Financial Management3
HPM 350Introduction to the U.S. Health System I3
HPM 351Politics, Public Health, and Health Policy3
HPM 352Introduction to the U.S. Health System II3
HPM 4353
INLS 382Information Systems Analysis and Design3
INLS 515Consumer Health Information3
MASC 3103
MASC 3143
MEJO 340Introduction to Media Law: Journalism Focus3
MEJO 441Diversity and Communication3
MEJO 442Gender, Class, Race, and Mass Media3
MEJO 443Latino Media Studies3
MEJO 445Media Effects on Audiences3
MEJO 446IDEAs in Action General Education logo Global Communication and Comparative Journalism3
MEJO 458Southern Politics: Critical Thinking and Writing3
MEJO 541Economics Reporting3
MEJO 560Environmental and Science Journalism H3
MEJO 652Digital Media Economics and Behavior H3
MNGT 345IDEAs in Action General Education logo Public Policy Toward Business3
MNGT 365The Worker and American Life3
MNGT 380The Economics of Labor Relations3
MNGT 410IDEAs in Action General Education logo Formal Organizations and Bureaucracy3
MNGT 412Social Stratification3
MNGT 415Economy and Society3
MNGT 427IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Labor Force3
PHIL 364IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ethics and Economics3
PHIL 370IDEAs in Action General Education logo Authority, Freedom, and Rights: Advanced Political Philosophy3
PHIL 384IDEAs in Action General Education logo Gateway to Philosophy, Politics, and Economics H3
PHIL 473American Political Philosophy3
PHIL 480Philosophy of Law3
PHIL 698IDEAs in Action General Education logo Philosophy, Politics, and Economics: Capstone Course3
PLAN 330Principles of Sustainability3
PLAN 574Political Economy of Poverty and Inequality3
PLAN 5853
PLAN 636Urban Transportation Planning3
PLAN 637Public Transportation3
PLAN 641Watershed Planning3
PLAN 651Urban Form and the Design of Cities3
PLAN 685Water and Sanitation Planning and Policy in Less Developed Countries3
POLI 400Executive Politics3
POLI 401Political Economy I: The Domestic System3
POLI 406State Governments: Laboratories of Democracy3
POLI 410The Constitution of the United States3
POLI 411Civil Liberties under the Constitution H3
POLI 412United States National Elections H3
POLI 416Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process3
POLI 418Mass Media and American Politics3
POLI 419HRace and Politics in the Contemporary United States3
POLI 420Legislative Politics H3
POLI 431African Politics and Societies3
POLI 433Politics of the European Union H3
POLI 434Politics of Mexico3
POLI 438IDEAs in Action General Education logo Democracy and International Institutions in an Undivided Europe3
POLI 442IDEAs in Action General Education logo International Political Economy3
POLI 443American Foreign Policy: Formulation and Conduct3
POLI 444IDEAs in Action General Education logo Terrorism and International Peace3
POLI 457International Conflict Processes3
POLI 470Social and Political Philosophy H3
POLI 472Problems of Modern Democratic Theory H3
PSYC 4653
PSYC 467The Development of Black Children3
PSYC 469Evolution and Development of Biobehavioral Systems3
PSYC 471The Study of Adolescent Issues and Development3
PSYC 500Developmental Psychopathology3
PSYC 502Psychology of Adulthood and Aging3
PSYC 504Health Psychology3
PSYC 5123
PSYC 514Mania and Depression3
PSYC 530Design and Interpretation of Psychological Research3
PSYC 531Tests and Measurement3
PSYC 532Quantitative Psychology H3
PSYC 5613
PSYC 565Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination3
PSYC 601Psychology and Law3
PWAD 250IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Peace and Security Studies3
PWAD 368War and American Society to 19033
PWAD 416Constitutional Policies and the Judicial Process3
PWAD 443American Foreign Policy: Formulation and Conduct3
PWAD 444IDEAs in Action General Education logo Terrorism and International Peace3
PWAD 453IDEAs in Action General Education logo Political Geography3
PWAD 460IDEAs in Action General Education logo International Economics3
PWAD 469Conflict and Intervention in the Former Yugoslavia H3
PWAD 574War and Culture3
PWAD 575Presidential Rhetoric3
PWAD 577United States Foreign Relations in the 20th Century3
RELI 423Ethnicity, Race, and Religion in America3
RELI 443Evangelicalism in Contemporary America H3
STOR 305IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Decision Analytics3
STOR 358Sample Survey Methodology4
STOR 415Introduction to Optimization3
STOR 455Methods of Data Analysis3
SOCI 410IDEAs in Action General Education logo Formal Organizations and Bureaucracy3
SOCI 412Social Stratification3
SOCI 415Economy and Society3
SOCI 418Contemporary Chinese Society3
SOCI 420Political Sociology3
SOCI 422IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sociology of Mental Health and Illness3
SOCI 423IDEAs in Action General Education logo Sociology of Education, Experiential Education3
SOCI 424Law and Society3
SOCI 425Family and Society, Junior/Senior Section3
SOCI 426Sociology of Education3
SOCI 427IDEAs in Action General Education logo The Labor Force3
SOCI 431Aging3
SOCI 444Race, Class, and Gender3
SOCI 468United States Poverty and Public Policy3
SOCI 469Health and Society3
SPHG 350HIntroduction to Public Health3
WGST 368Women of Color in Contemporary United States Social Movements3
WGST 388IDEAs in Action General Education logo The International Politics of Sexual and Reproductive Health3
WGST 410IDEAs in Action General Education logo Comparative Queer Politics3
WGST 610IDEAs in Action General Education logo Feminism, Sexuality, and Human Rights3
WGST 662Gender Issues in Planning and Development3
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

See the program page here for special opportunities.

Department Programs

Major

Minor

Professional

Graduate Programs

Department of Public Policy

Visit Program Website

114 Abernethy Hall, CB# 3435

(919) 962-1600

Chair

Douglas MacKay

dmackay@email.unc.edu

Student Services Officer

Meredith Albright

merealb@unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies

William Goldsmith

william.goldsmith@unc.edu