The Committee on Instruction will review a proposal to create a new minor in public policy today, said Director of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences Linda Fowler. Fowler said she expects the proposal to be approved.
Fowler, who chairs the committee that created the proposal, described the minor as "an important piece of a broader effort to integrate the [Rockefeller] Center with the academic life of the community."
Government Professor Oran Young, a member of the committee, said the new minor "will give a lot of students ... an opportunity to look at the policy in current issues in what they're studying in their major."
Students will take four core courses and choose three other courses that suit their individual interests. These three courses may come from the departments of anthropology, environmental studies, economics, geography, government, history, philosophy, psychology and sociology, according to the steering committee's proposal
"The minor is a much broader opportunity," Young said. "It is not limited in appeal to government majors. My hope is it will attract the interest of students in all other fields."
Students will have great freedom in choosing areas of concentration. For instance, Fowler said, "A pre-med student may be interested in studying how public policy affects the health profession."
Young said a biology major studying endangered species might apply for the new minor to gain background on the politics surrounding the topic.
The class of 1998 is the first class eligible for the minor. Fowler said those interested in minoring in public policy must explain how their chosen set of courses are related and how these courses will supplement their major or benefit their career.
The Rockefeller Center will be the minor's administrative and advising base, Fowler said.
When the College created the option to minor in a subject two years ago, then-director of the Rockefeller Center George Demko "saw an opportunity to meet a need for concentrated work on policy," she said.
According to the proposal, required courses include Government 36, a math or statistics course, a public policy seminar and one of 21 courses in various departments.
The policy seminar will be the only course created specifically for the minor and will be offered in the summer and either winter or spring.
