Program Requirements

2020-2021 Academic Year

CoordinatorJames Sawler, Bcomm, MA, PhD (Dalhousie), Associate Professor

Admission Requirements

Review sections 2.1.4 Admission Requirements and 2.1.6 Additional Admission Requirements.

Major
Minor

This Bachelor of Arts program is primarily intended to prepare students as administrators with governments and non-governmental organizations in Canada. It orients students toward the public policy profession by combining core coursework in political studies and economics, with electives in a diverse array of disciplines. Political Studies courses provide knowledge about the unique environment within which government personnel work, both within Canada itself, and outside in terms of the changing international context. Economics courses provide background in the fundamentals of economic processes and the constraints within which policy decision-making operates. The liberal arts electives encourage students to experiment with the public policy knowledge they acquire from a variety of academic fields and perspectives. Internship placements with government and/or not for profit organizations provides the student with the practical experience necessary to perform well in future occupational settings. The specific goals of the program are as follows:

1. To provide sufficient coursework to ensure that students develop capacities in such skill areas as critical thinking, policy analysis, and communication.
2. To allow students an opportunity to pursue related courses in other programs and to develop areas of substantive expertise.
3. To help prepare students for potential careers in public service and to be effective participants in democratic society.

Major ProgramStudents intending to complete the major degree must declare their intention to do so before registering for their sixth unit of coursework. Students who do not make this declaration within this time frame will not be permitted to register for further coursework.

Students must successfully complete 21.0 units with the following requirements:
❏	1.0 unit internship (POLS 3399)
❏	obtain a GPA of 2.0 in the courses required for the specialization
❏	at least 9.0 units must be at the 2000 level or above
❏	Note: No more than 4.0 units from professional areas may be counted toward the degree. Courses included in the Applied Human Nutrition science minor will not be counted as professional electives
Required Courses (3.5 units)
❏	ECON 1101	0.5 unit
❏	ECON 1102	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 2203	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 2214/PHIL 2214	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 3304	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 4406	0.5 unit
❏	ENGL 2220/WRIT 2220 or WRIT 1120 (ENGL 2220/WRIT 2220 is recommended)	0.5 unit

Primary and Secondary Specializations
There are two fields of specializations in the program. Students must choose one of those fields as their primary specialization, and complete 5.0 units from their primary area of specialization. In addition, students must complete at least 2.0 units from the other area of specialization. Each of the two fields has designated required courses and lists of electives from which students may choose to complete their program.

Primary Specialization in Canadian Public Policy Required Courses
❏	1.5 units selected from the following:			1.5 units
	❏	ECON 2204	0.5 unit
	❏	ECON 2206	0.5 unit
	❏	ECON 2208	0.5 unit
	❏	ECON 3308	0.5 unit
	❏	ECON 3325	0.5 unit
	❏	ECON 3335	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 2201/CANA 2201			0.5 unit
❏	POLS 2202/CANA 2202			0.5 unit
❏	POLS 3306/BUSI 3306			0.5 unit
❏	2.0 units of electives from the Public Policy and Political Processes category			2.0 units
❏	2.0 units of electives from the Global Issues category			2.0 units

Primary Specialization in Global Issues Required Courses
❏	ECON 2311	0.5 unit
❏	ECON 2312	0.5 unit
❏	ECON 3308	0.5 unit
❏	ECON 3330	0.5 unit
❏	ECON 3335	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 1001/CANA 1001	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 1002/CANA 1002	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 2244	0.5 unit
❏	POLS 3334 or POLS 3344	0.5 unit
❏	1.5 units of electives from the Global Issues category	1.5 units
❏	2.0 units of electives from the Public Policy and Political Processes category	2.0 units

Minor

To obtain a minor in Public Policy Studies, students must fulfill the following requirements:
❏	ECON 1101 and 1102
❏	POLS 2203 and 3304
❏	1.0 unit selected from one of the areas of specialization

Public Policy and Political Processes

Global Issues

BUSI 3306/POLS 3306 CANA 2201/POLS 2201 CANA 2202/POLS 2202 CANA 3301/POLS 3301 CANA 4007/POLS 4007 ECON 2204 ECON 2206 ECON 2207 ECON 2208 ECON 3308 ECON 3325 ECON 3335 ECON 3550 FSGN 3450 HIST 3330 POLS 2201/CANA 2201 POLS 2202/CANA 2202 POLS 2205 POLS 2216/HIST 2216 POLS 2223/WOMS 2223 POLS 2227 POLS 3301/CANA 3301 POLS 3304 POLS 3306/BUSI 3306 POLS 3309 POLS 3361/WOMS 3361 POLS 3531/SOAN 3531 POLS 4006 POLS 4007/CANA 4007 SOAN 2250 SOAN 3531/POLS 3531 WOMS 2223/POLS 2223 WOMS 3361/POLS 3361

CANA 1001/POLS 1001 CANA 1002/POLS 1002 CANA 4007/POLS 4007 ECON 2311 ECON 2312 ECON 3308 ECON 3330 ECON 4444/POLS 4444 HIST 2219/POLS 2219 PHIL 3312/POLS 3312 POLS 1001/CANA 1001 POLS 1002/CANA 1002 POLS 2219/HIST 2219 POLS 2224 POLS 2244 POLS 3308 POLS 3310 POLS 3312/PHIL 3312 POLS 3324 POLS 3334 POLS 3344 POLS 3391/WOMS 3391 POLS 4006 POLS 4007/CANA 4007 POLS 4444/ECON 4444 SOAN 3533 WOMS 3391/POLS 3391