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SGIA40Q15: Advanced Topics in Public Policy

Type Tied
Level 4
Credits 15
Availability Available in 2025/2026
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 Reading130 
Total150 

Summative Assessment

Component: Written AssessmentComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Policy analysis2500 words100

Formative Assessment

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

More information

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