Concentrations

The Energy Policy concentration includes courses that address policy and politics, institutions, markets, economics, technologies, and human impacts.

This concentration provides students with a broad knowledge of US energy policy and institutions, how these impact the development of energy markets, and the major and emerging technologies and resources currently in use and under development.

Energy Policy Faculty available for Student Committees.

OSU Energy Initiatives:

• OSU Sun Grant Program in Biomass Energy
• Pacific Marine Energy Center
• Energy Policy Graduate Certificate

Courses:

• ECON 566 - Economics of Traditional and Renewable Energy [4 credits]
• PPOL 541 - Energy, Climate and Society [4 credits]
• PPOL 544 - Collaborative Governance [4 credits]
• PPOL 547 - Integrated Approaches to Food-Water-Energy-Climate [4 credits]
• PS 573 - U.S. Energy Policy [4 credits]
• PS 574 - International Energy Policy [4 credits]
• PS 578 - Renewable Energy Policy [4 credits]
• PS 555 - The Politics of Climate Change [4 credits]
• PS 575 - Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• PS 577 - International Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]

Working closely with world-class programs and faculty in the Colleges of Forestry, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Science, and Agricultural Sciences, the Environmental Policy concentration prepares students for careers in government and non-profit positions in natural resource and environmental organizations. There are many opportunities for students to engage in research and internships with the Institute for Natural Resources (located at OSU), OSU Sun Grant, OSU Sea Grant, and the Oregon Climate Change Research Center. 

Environmental Policy Faculty

 OSU Based Research Centers and Programs:

• Marine Studies Initiative
• Institute for Natural Resources
• OSU Sea Grant
• OSU Sun Grant
• Oregon Climate Change Research Institute
• Institute for Water and Watersheds
• Hatfield Marine Science Center

Example Courses:

• ANTH 577 - Ecological Anthropology
• ANTH 581 - Natural Resources and Community Values [4 credits]
• AEC 534 - Environmental and Resource Economics [3 credits]
• AEC 550 - Environmental and Natural Resource Economics [3 credits]
• AEC 551 - Applications of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics [3 credits]
• ECON 566 - Economics of Traditional and Renewable Energy [4 credits]
• FOR 562 - Natural Resource Policy and Law [3 credits]
• FOR 563 - Environmental Policy and Law Interactions [3 credits]
• PPOL 544 - Collaborative Governance [4 credits] 
• PPOL 547 - Integrated Policy: Food, Energy, Water, Climate [4 credits]
• PPOL 541 - Energy, Climate and Society [4 credits]
• PS 555 - The Politics of Climate Change [4 credits]
• PS 570 - Global Food Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• PS 573 - U.S. Energy Policy [4 credits]
• PS 575 - Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• PS 576 - Science and Politics [4 credits]
• PS 577 - International Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• PS 578 - Renewable Energy Policy [4 credits]
• SOC 575 - Rural Sociology [4 credits]
• SOC 580 - Environmental Sociology [4 credits]
• SOC 581 - Society and Natural Resources [4 credits]
• SOC 582 - Energy, Climate and Society [4 credits]

Marine Policy

• FW 515 - Fisheries and Wildlife Law and Policy [3]
• FW 522 - Introduction to Ocean Law [3]
• MRM 530 - Principles and Practices of Marine Resource Management [3 credits]
• MRM 535 - Rights-Based Fishery Management [4 credits]
• PPOL 544 - Collaborative Governance [4 credits] 
• PPOL 546 - The Policy and Law of United States Coastal Governance [4 credits] 
• PPOL 548 - Marine Policy in the United States [4 credits] 
• PS 555 - The Politics of Climate Change [4 credits]
• PS 577 - International Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]

In recent decades there has been substantial change in both the prevalence of crime in the United States and the dominant policy approaches designed to control it.  Increasing attention has been directed to the need for science-based policy to manage both crime and the response to it in the most effective and fiscally sustainable manner possible.  The MPP concentration in Law, Crime and Policy trains new professionals to integrate the latest scientific information from the fields of law, criminology and justice to affect public discussion and policy related to crime and its control.

This new concentration includes internships, coursework and research in applied settings in law and crime policy, including an opportunity to participate in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

Law, Crime and Policy Faculty

A new course entitled “Law, Crime and Policy” (SOC 549; 4 credits) serves as the linchpin of the concentration.  This course provides an introduction to the substantive and theoretical issues housed under the rubrics of law and crime policy.  This course is required for all MPP students in the concentration.

Choose from the following list of courses:

• Econ 535: Public Economics [4 credits]
• Econ 561 - Law, Economics, and Regulation [4 credits]
• PS 562 - Theories of Law [4 credits]
• SOC 540 - Juvenile Delinquency [4 credits]
• SOC 541 - Criminology and Penology [4 credits]
• SOC 542 - Sociology of Drug Use and Abuse [4 credits]
• SOC 544 - Inside-Out: Prisons, Communities, and Prevention [4 credits]
• SOC 548 - Law and Society [4 credits]

The International Policy concentration is designed to prepare new professionals for international opportunities in an accelerating world economy.Working closely with interdisciplinary faculty from Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Agricultural and Resource Economics, and other departments and colleges, this concentration prepares students for positions in international settings through a range of policy analysis tools and cross-cultural competencies. Working closely with OSU International Programs, and the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Consortium, the International Policy concentration helps students planning to study, conduct research, or arrange internships in other countries.

International Policy Faculty

• OSU Office of Global Affairs
• International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Consortium

Courses:

• ANTH 571 - Cash, Class and Culture [4 credits]
• ANTH 582 - Anthropology of International Development [4 credits]
• AREC 533 - International Agricultural Development [3 credits]
• AREC 543 - Markets and Trade [3 credits]
• COMM 526-International Communication [3 credits]
• COMM 546-Communication in International Conflict and Disputes [3 credits]
• ECON 540 - International Trade and Policy [4 credits]
• ECON 541 - International Finance Theory and Policy [4 credits]
• ECON 555 - Economic Development [4 credits]
• PS 527 - Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control [4 credits]
• PS 528 - Terrorism and Global Security [4 credits]
• PS 546 - East Asian Political Economy [4 credits]
• PS 549 - Topics in Comparative Politics [4 credits]
• PS 554 - International Law and Organizations [4 credits]
• PS 555 - The Politics of Climate Change [4 credits]
• PS 556 - International Politics of East Asia [4 credits]
• PS 557 - U.S.-China Relations [4 credits]
• PS 558 - International Political Economy [4 credits]
• PS 559 - Topics in International Relations [4 credits]
• PS 570 - Global Food Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• PS 577 - International Environmental Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• SOC 521 - Social Change and Modernization [4 credits]
• SOC 560 - Globalization [4 credits]

Rural communities face an extraordinarily complex set of challenges due to sparse settlements and geographic isolation, exacerbated by globalization and technological change in an interdependent urban-rural system. Addressing these challenges requires both the theoretical insights of multiple disciplines and the practical wisdom that derives from engagement in solving actual problems in rural places. The primary goal of the Rural Policy concentration is to develop a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers that engage rural communities in place-based multi-method research that not only develops our knowledge of rural communities and their environments, but also effects positive change in those communities. Working closely with OSU's Rural Studies Program, the International Consortium for Rural Policy Studies, and the Canadian based Rural Policy Learning Commons, students have the opportunity to engage in rural policy research and internships both in the United States and the World.

• Rural Policy Faculty
• Rural Policy Graduate Certificate
• International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Consortium
• Rural Policy Learning Commons Consortium

Example Courses:

• AEC 521 - Economics of Rural Poverty and the U.S. Social Safety Net [3 credits]
• AEC 554 - Rural Development Economics and Policy [3 credits]
• ANTH 566 - Rural Anthropology [4 credits]
• ANTH 567 - Agri-Food Movements [4 credits]
• ANTH 572 - Contemporary Indian Issues [4 credits]
• ANTH 578 - Anthropology of Tourism [4 credits]
• ANTH 581 - Natural Resources and Community Values [4 credits]
• ANTH 586 - Anthropology of Food [4 credits]
• HDFS 547 - Families and Poverty [3 credits]
• PPOL 544 - Collaborative Governance [4 credits]
• PPOL 547 - Integrated Approaches to Food-Water-Energy-Climate [4 credits]
• PPOL 552 - International Comparative Rural Policy [4 credits]
• PPOL 555 - Housing Policy [4 credits]
• PS 570 - Global Food Politics and Policy [4 credits]
• SOC 539 - Welfare and Social Services [4 credits]
• SOC 554 - Leisure and Culture [4 credits]
• SOC 560 - Globalization [4 credits]
• SOC 566 - International Development-Gender Issues [4 credits]
• SOC 575 - Rural Sociology [4 credits]
• SOC 581 - Society and Natural Resources [4 credits]
• FES 585 - Consensus and Natural Resources [4 credits]

The U.S. faces many social problems—such as poverty, inequality, hunger, homelessness, access to education, childcare, senior, youth and migrant services—that challenge existing knowledge, policies and institutions.  Addressing these challenges requires both the theoretical insights of multiple disciplines and the practical wisdom that derives from engagement in solving actual problems. The primary goal of the Social Policy concentration is to develop a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers that engage in place-based multi-method research that contributes to our understanding and resolution to these problems. 

Through internships, coursework and research, students in this concentration have designed Latino outreach programs, homeless youth programs, community diversity policies, home weatherization programs for the poor, and numerous other community programs and policies that are making a difference in people's lives.   

Social Policy Faculty

Courses:

General Social Policy:

• ANTH 566 - Rural Anthropology [4 credits]
• ANTH 567 - Agri-Food Movements [4 credits]
• ANTH 571 - Cash, Class and Culture : HUNTER-GATHERERS TO CAPITALISM [4 credits]
• ANTH 572 - Contemporary Native Issues [4 credits]
• ANTH 586 - Anthropology of Food [4 credits]
• ECON 514 - Behavioral Economics [4 credits]
• ECON 535 - Public Economics [4 credits]
• ECON 555 - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [4 credits]
• ECON 566 -  ECONOMICS OF TRADITIONAL AND RENEWABLE ENERGY [ 4 Credits]
• ECON 560 - Industrial Organization Theory and Policy [4 credits]
• ECON 561 - Law, Economics, and Regulation [4 credits]
• PPOL 544 - Collaborative Governance [4 credits]
• PPOL 555 - Housing Policy [4 credits]
• SOC 512 - Sociology of Work and Family [4 credits]
• SOC 526 - Social Inequality [4 credits]
• SOC 532 - Sociology of Aging [4 credits]
• SOC 537 - Race and Ethnic Relations [4 credits]
• SOC 538 - U.S. Immigration Issues in the 21st Century [4 credits]
• SOC 539 - Welfare and Social Services [4 credits]
• SOC 540 - Juvenile Delinquency [4 credits]
• SOC 541 - Criminology and Penology [4 credits]
• SOC 542 - Sociology of Drug Use and Abuse [4 credits]
• SOC 548 - Law and Society [4 credits]
• SOC 550 - Sociology of Education [4 credits]
• SOC 552 - Sociology of Religion [4 credits]
• SOC 570 - Collective Behavior [4 credits]
• SOC 571 - Social Movements [4 credits]
• SOC 575 - Rural Sociology [4 credits]

Education Policy:

• ECON 535 - Public Economics [4 credits]
• ECON 564 - Economics of Higher Education [4 credits]
• ECON 580 - Labor Economics and Social Policy [4 credits]
• ED 590 - Social Justice in Education [4 credits]
• ED 650 - Equity and Education Policy [3 credits]
• PPOL 551 - Higher Education Policy [4 credits]
• SOC 526 - Social Inequality [4 credits]
• SOC 550 - Sociology of Education [4 credits]

Economic analysis can serve as a foundational tool for professionals in public service. Economists study how individuals and institutions allocate resources (e.g., money, materials, and time), the resulting patterns of resource distribution, and the rationale and consequences of government intervention. These tools can guide public servants to determine where best to focus their limited financial or political resources, the nonprofit manager determining which stakeholders would benefit most from their organization's services, or the analyst seeking to understand and predict the consequences of policy choices.

Example Courses:

ECON 514 – Political and Behavioral Economics [4 credits]

ECON 520 – Game Theory [4 credits]

ECON 535 – The Public Economy  [4 credits]

ECON 540 – International Trade and Policy [4 credits]

ECON 541 – International Finance Theory and Policy [4 credits]

ECON 591 – Economics of Inequality [4 credits]

ECON 555 – Economic Development [4 credits]

ECON 560 – Industrial Organization Theory and Policy [4 credits]

ECON 561 – Law, Economics, and Regulation [4 credits]

ECON 562 – Managerial Economics [4 credits]

ECON 566 – Energy Economics [4 credits]

ECON 580 – Labor Economics and Social Policy [4 credits]

ECON 599 (CIM proposal submitted for ECON 564) – ST/Economics of Education [4 credits]

PS/PPOL 553 – International Development Policy [4 credits]

PS 558 – International Political Economy [4 credits]

SOC 539 – Welfare and Social Services [4 credits]