Public Policy and Political Science
The Joint Doctoral Program in Public Policy and Political Science is a Ph.D. program for students who want to pursue research careers in a traditional social science discipline and see themselves as deeply committed to studying public policy. Our goal is for joint Ph.D. students to bring the most rigorous tools of social science to bear on fundamental public policy questions.
The Joint Ph.D. Program follows a discipline plus structure. The "discipline" means that all students complete a Ph.D. in Political Science, and the "plus" means that they apply political science theory and knowledge to public policy problems. Joint Ph.D. students will be awarded doctoral Political Science and Public Policy degrees. This title reflects a fundamental characteristic of the program: students are simultaneously full members of the Political Science department and participants in an interdisciplinary Public Policy community.
Within the Joint Program in Public Policy and Political Science, students may major in any subfield of Political Science, including American Government and Politics, Comparative Government and Politics, World Politics and International Relations, Methods of Political Analysis, or Political Theory.
The Joint Program is individualized, and students take varied paths in completing their requirements. Each joint student will work with Public Policy and Political Science advisors to determine their academic trajectory. Students complete coursework in both departments, a research internship, teaching experience, and a dissertation combining the two areas.
Joint Ph.D. Program in Public Policy and Social Science
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
University of Michigan
735 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Phone: 734-764-0453
Email: fspp-admissions@umich.edu
www.fordschool.umich.edu
Student Initiated Doctoral Program Policy (SIDP)
SIDP applicants are students from a Ph.D. program outside of LSA Political Science interested in combining their original program with a Political Science Ph.D., independent of situations where no formal dual degree program is established (e.g., Business Economics, Public Policy). Students may design their doctoral program, blending aspects of two PhD degree-granting programs. Students are admitted to one program first and, after completing at least one term of coursework, can request a modification of their original degree plan.
