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SGIA40Q15: Advanced Topics in Public Policy

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Tied
Level 4
Credits 15
Availability Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap None.
Location Durham
Department Government and International Affairs

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • To familiarize students with advanced literature in public policy, at the current limits of knowledge, and as novel public policy issue areas emerge;
  • To furnish students with the skills to apply insights from this literature to answer questions in public policy;
  • To furnish students with the skills to apply insights from this literature to inform their understanding of public policy making;
  • To furnish students with the skills to communicate results from an analysis to a policy audience.

Content

  • Indicative content will vary from year to year, as literature in Public Policy and novel public policy issue areas develop, and may include:
  • Public Policy of global public health
  • Public Policy of the environment
  • Comparative Public Policy
  • Political Economy of public policy making
  • Advanced theoretical models of public policy making

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • Advanced knowledge of how literature in Public Policy, at the current limits of knowledge, can inform (our understanding of) policy making.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • The ability to apply insights from literature in Public Policy at the current limits of knowledge to answer a question in public policy, including in current or novel public policy issue areas;
  • The ability to effectively communicate results from an analysis to a policy audience.

Key Skills:

  • The ability to do independent research, including the ability to design research, execute research, and critically evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.
  • Communication skills: the ability to convey information or arguments effectively to others.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Teaching and learning are through a series of 1-hour lectures and seminars.
  • Lectures will familiarize students with latest literature in public policy and furnish students with examples of how this can be applied to answer questions in public policy.
  • Seminars will allow students to practice applying insights from literature to a variety of public policy issue areas and contexts.
  • Summative assessment is a 2500-word policy analysis (accounting for 100% of the final grade).
  • Formative assessment is a 750-word outline of the summative policy analysis, allowing students to receive feedback on their plans for their policy analysis.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures10Distributed appropriately across the term. 1 hour10 
Seminars10Distributed appropriately across the term. 1 hour10Yes
Preparation and Reading 130 
Total150 

Summative Assessment

Component: Written AssessmentComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Policy analysis 2500 words100Yes

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is a 750-word outline of the summative policy analysis.

More information

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Current Students: Please contact your department.