Public Policy Analysis Major

Public Policy Analysis melds traditional academic fields like economics or biology with hands-on policy study for future leaders.

Public Policy Analysis is a unique major for undergraduate study. We seek to provide a distinctive liberal education for leaders in our global society, who will face complex and challenging issues and decisions.

Our program is hands-on and problem-focused. We offer an array of analytical techniques, a wide perspective on social issues, and practical experience.

You’ll choose from 11 formal concentrations: anthropology, biology, chemistry, economics, environmental analysis, geology, physics, politics, psychology, science-technology-and-society, sociology or design your own.

Our seniors complete a 180-hour policy-related internship and a thesis. 

Professor David Menifee-Libey and a student on the Carnegie Hall steps
Professor David Menifee-Libey and a student on the Carnegie Hall steps

What You’ll Study

    • Four courses of public policy
    • Statistical or quantitative methods
    • A public policy elective like Education Politics and Policy
    • Courses in your concentration
    • Senior thesis and internship
180
Each PPA major spends 180 hours in a semester-long internship.

Learning at Pomona

Lauren Rodriguez ’22

The Virus That Never Sleeps: How New York University Implemented Comprehensive COVID-19 Testing

Lauren Rodriguez ’22 wrote a case study of one university's work to contain the spread of COVID-19 on campus, researching the extent to which NYU had successfully implemented New York State's guidelines for reopening campuses safely, focusing in particular on the infrastructure they had developed for testing.

Image
Yena Jang ’24
Yena Jang ’24

My aspiration is to become a dentist who understands how policy can be used as a tool to improve public health outcomes and can advocate for the needs of the community. The PPA major has given me the flexibility to explore courses in biology, politics, economics, and other fields in an interdisciplinary manner, molding me into a well-rounded student and future healthcare provider.

Faculty & Teaching

Our multidisciplinary program includes faculty liaisons in 10 different departments. The professors advise students interested in their departments’ PPA concentrations about elective courses, internships and senior theses.

Professor Richard Worthington

The major combines a broad liberal arts curriculum and the focus of an academic concentration with the hands-on, problem-focused approach of policy studies. We work to help students apply the rigor of natural sciences, social sciences and policy analysis tools to field research and practical experience so they can analyze and affect an important policy issue.