Areas of Focus

The Harris School encourages students to tailor their studies to their interests and career goals, and offers optional concentrations in three broad areas of study to help with this process:

Social and Economic Policy

Social and Economic Policy includes education policy, environmental policy, family and child policy, health policy, poverty and inequality, and public finance.

International Policy

International Policy includes national security policy, international political economy, and international development.

Politics and Institutions

Politics and Institutions includes the political economy of state, local and national governance, and the management of governmental and non-profit organizations.

The concentration areas offered by the Harris School reflect the main areas in which faculty members do research; most, but not all, faculty interests and courses fall within these areas. Concentrations provide students with a way to choose a set of courses that provide depth in a broad substantive area. Students who do not follow a concentration area are expected to select courses that make academic sense.

In addition, the School has a cluster of diverse courses in advanced public policy methods. Courses in this cluster include cost-benefit analysis, program evaluation, and survey and experimental design, as well as advanced courses in economics and statistics. Many students identify with both a substantive concentration and specialization in advanced methods.