Political Science Overview
Phone: (209) 946-2524
Location: 212 Wendell Phillips Center
Minor in Public Affairs
The field of public affairs studies how and why governments make choices about different kinds of public policies, for example environmental or health policy. It also studies how governments implement (put into practice) their policy choices. As a field, public affairs is inherently interdisciplinary, bringing together theories, concepts from Economics, Political Science, and Sociology (among other disciplines).
The Public Affairs Minor introduces students to foundational concepts in each of these primary academic disciplines, introduces a framework for thinking about how governments make and/or implement policy choices, and then invites students to explore a specific policy area of their choosing in greater detail.
Students must complete a minimum of 20 units and 6 courses with a Pacific minor grade point average of 2.0 in order to earn the minor in public affairs.
Minor Requirements:
| One of the Following Economics: | ||
| Introductory Microeconomics | ||
| Introductory Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy | ||
| One of the following Political Science courses: | ||
| Introduction to Comparative Politics | ||
| U.S. Government and Politics | ||
| One of the following Sociology courses: | ||
| Social Problems | ||
| Introduction to Sociology | ||
| Select one of the following Public Policy/Administration courses: | ||
| Government in Action: Public Policy Analysis | ||
| Introduction to Public Administration | ||
| One (1) of the following Research Methods courses: | 4 | |
| Communication Research Methods | ||
| Empirical Methods | ||
| Political Science Research | ||
| Social Research Methods | ||
| One of the following Policy Topics courses: | 4 | |
| Public Advocacy | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Public Finance | ||
| Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | ||
| Labor Economics | ||
| Health Economics | ||
| American Immigration | ||
| Women in United States History | ||
| American Environmental History | ||
| Introduction to Health Policy | ||
| Immigration and Justice | ||
| U.S. Foreign Policy | ||
| Global Environmental Policy | ||
| Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice | ||
| Environmental Justice | ||
| Sociology of Health and Illness | ||
| Urban Society | ||
Note: 1) Four courses must be completed at Pacific. 2) At least three courses for the minor must be outside a student's first major.
