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About Us

The Public Policy Studies major is an interdisciplinary course of study that is designed to give students the tools and background needed to understand the role of public policy in society and how public policy is made and implemented. Students who major in Public Policy have broad interests in social science and want to participate in the development and implementation of effective and socially beneficial public policy. The major has four goals: to introduce students to interdisciplinary perspectives on the multiple domains of knowledge that inform public policy; to develop students’ abilities to utilize concepts and apply methods from multiple disciplines in pursuit of new knowledge in the area of public policy; to prepare students for admission to graduate or professional programs or employment in the areas of law, government, public service, or business; and to cultivate global citizens, prepared to engage with the competing interests and divergent priorities that are prevalent in contemporary social issues and global conflicts.

Program Director

Katherine Blue Carroll
Assistant Professor
Director of Public Policy Studies
The Commons Center Office 360
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37235
office: 615-322-6232
katherine.carroll@vanderbilt.edu

Advisory Board

Kathryn Anderson
Professor of Economics

Gary F. Jensen
Professor of Sociology

David F. Lewis
Professor of Political Science

Michael K. McLendon
Associate Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education