Public Policy and Public Affairs

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Faculty

Michael Ahn, PhD, Syracuse University

Public Management
Public Organizational Theory
E-Government/E-Democracy
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
International Comparative Public Administration
Information Technology in the Public Sector

Randy Albelda (Department of Economics), PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Political Economy
Women’s Economic Status
Family Policies
Poverty

Ann Bookman, PhD, Harvard University

Women’s Issues
Work-Family Balance
Community Engagement

Christine Thurlow Brenner, PhD, University of Texas at Arlington

Immigrant Integration Policy
Immigration Policy
Urban Affairs

David Cash, PhD, Harvard University

Science and Policy
Energy and Environmental Policy

Connie S. Chan, PhD, Boston University

Mental Health Policy
Ethics
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Susan R. Crandall, PhD, University of Washington

Workforce development
Low-wage Work
Labor Workforce Intermediaries
Talent Management Practices
Evaluation

Michael Johnson, PhD, Northwestern University

Management Science
Urban Affairs
Information Technology
Service Delivery
Housing Policy

David Levy (Department of Management), DBA, Harvard University

Organizational Theory
International Business
International Political Economy

Catherine Lynde (Department of Economics), PhD, University of California, Davis

Macroeconomic Policy
Productivity Growth
Quantitative Methods
Health Economics

Heather MacIndoe, PhD, University of Chicago

Nonprofit Organizations
Philanthropy
Organizational Theory

Aroon P. Manoharan, PhD, Rutgers University - Newark

E-Government
Performance Measurement
Strategic Planning
Public Management
Comparative Public Administration

Francine Menashy (Department of Leadership in Education), PhD, University of Toronto

International Aid to Education
Private Sector Engagement in Education
Policymaking Processes
Ideological and Conceptual Foundations of Education Policy

Edward Miller (Department of Gerontology), PhD, University of Michigan

State Politics and Policy
Intergovernmental Relations
Organizational Theory
Program Evaluation and Implementation
Aging and Long-Term Care
Telemedicine and E-Health

Erin O’Brien (Department of Political Science), PhD, American University

Public Policy
Politics of Poverty and U.S. Social Welfare Policy
Stratification, Politics, and Policy
Political Behavior
Urban Politics
Research Methods and Epistemology
American Politics

Amit Patel, PhD, George Mason University

Urban Poverty
Health Disparities
Statistical and Simulation Methods
Geographic Information Systems

Frank Porell, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University

Health Policy
Long-Term Care Issues
Health Service Utilization

Amy E. Smith, PhD, State University of New York at Albany

Public Administration and Policy
Social Networks in Organizational Settings
Quantitative Methods
Scholarship and Inventive Activity

Peter Taylor (Critical and Creative Thinking Program), PhD, Harvard University

Science, Technology, and Society
Social Analysis of Environmental and Health Research
Reflective Practice

Mark R. Warren, PhD, Harvard University

Community Organizing
Education Reform
Race and Racial Justice
Faith-based Initiatives
Community-Engaged Research
Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation

Eben Weitzman (Dispute Resolution Program), PhD, Columbia University

Conflict Resolution in the Labor Movement
Computer-Aided Data Analysis in Qualitative Research

Christian Weller, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Private Pensions
Social Security
Retirement Income Security
Macroeconomics
Financial Markets and International Finance

Mengzhong Zhang, PhD, Rutgers University - Newark

Comparative Administration Reforms
Performance Measurement
Public Budgeting and Finance

Christopher Zurn (Philosophy Department), PhD, Northwestern University

Social and Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Law
Contemporary European Philosophy

Lecturers

Carolyn Arcand

Women’s Issues
Health Care Policy
Environmental Policy
Economic Development

Michael Berardino, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston

Civic engagement
Education policy and standardized testing
School violence
Nonprofit organizations

Arthur Bowes, CAGS, Northeastern University

Human Resource Management
Labor Relations
Health Care Management

Kathy Fallon, MSPA, University of Massachusetts Boston

Public Budgeting

Frank F. Herron, MA, Syracuse University

Political Science
Communication Studies
Susan Jeghelian, JD, Boston College
Institutional planning
Policy and budget development
Fundraising
Outreach
Programs and initiatives serving public agencies, legislators, courts, and communities

Cathy Judd-Stein, JD, Harvard University Law School

Government
Government ethics
Child welfare

John McGah, MSPA

Homelessness

Madhawa Palihapitiya, MA, Brandeis University

Violence prevention
Program design and evaluation

Elena Stone, PhD

Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy

Michael Ward, MPP, Harvard University

Regionalization and service-sharing work
Performance management

Affiliated Faculty

Randy Albelda, (Department of Economics), PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Political Economy
Women’s Economic Status
Family Policies
Poverty

Edward Miller, (Department of Gerontology), PhD

State Politics and Policy
Intergovernmental Relations
Organizational Theory
Program Evaluation and Implementation
Aging and Long-Term Care
Telemedicine and E-Health

Erin O’Brien, (Department of Political Science), PhD, American University

Public Policy
Politics of Poverty and U.S. Social Welfare Policy
Stratification, Politics, and Policy
Political Behavior
Urban Politics
Research Methods and Epistemology
American Politics

Frank Porell, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University

Health Policy
Long-Term Care Issues
Health Service Utilization

Peter Taylor, (Critical and Creative Thinking Program), PhD, Harvard University

Science, Technology, and Society
Social Analysis of Environmental and Health Research
Reflective Practice

David Terkla, (Department of Economics; Dean, College of Liberal Arts), PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Environmental and Marine Resource Economics
Regional Economic Development
Public Finance

Christopher F. Zurn, (Philosophy Department), PhD, Northwestern University

Social and Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Law
Contemporary European Philosophy

The Program

The PhD program in public policy, located within the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, is designed to educate students in methods and approaches to public policy analysis in a variety of policy areas. The program provides interdisciplinary study at both the theoretical and applied levels, drawing on a broad variety of academic disciplines. The program’s curriculum offers students a solid grounding in a wide range of political, sociological, and economic philosophies and theories of public policy and emphasizes a commitment to urban issues and multicultural perspectives, with a focus on state and local policy. In addition, students acquire intensive experience in a range of research methods and in techniques of both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

UMass Boston’s public policy graduates will play important roles in 21st century public policy making in the following research areas:

Community and Regional Economic Development
Disability Rights and Policy
Dispute Resolution
Education Policy
Environmental Policy
Financial Markets
Gender Issues
Health Care Policy
Homelessness and Housing
Immigration Policies
Labor Policy
Law and Public Policy
Mental Health Policy
Nonprofit Management
Nonprofit Organizations
Pensions and Income Security
Poverty Reduction
Public Management
Race and Ethnic Studies
Welfare Reform

Full-time study is normally required during the first two years of enrollment, and full-time students are generally expected to complete the degree in five years.

Financial support, including tuition waivers and graduate assistantships, is typically available for full-time students for the first two years of study; partial support may be available in years three and four.

Students may petition for award of an en route master of science degree in public policy upon successful completion of the core courses and a two-part comprehensive exam.

Facilities and Professional Collaborations

The PhD program in public policy resides in the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. The program has its own classrooms, computer laboratory, and student lounge and works closely with the university’s most prominent research centers and public policy institutes: the Center for Social Development and Education, the Center for Social Policy, the Center for Survey Research, the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, the Gerontology Institute, the Institute for Asian American Studies, the Institute for Community Inclusion, the Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, the New England Resource Center for Higher Education, the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture, the Institute for New England Native American Studies, and the Urban Harbors Institute. These nationally and internationally known research centers provide students with opportunities for jobs, internships, and other types of assistance.

Programs

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