All about
The UCD Thematic Doctoral Programme in Public Policy offers a unique interdisciplinary graduate learning and research environment. Drawing on the expertise of academics in a range of Schools within the UCD College of Human Sciences and College of Business and Law, the programme offers an unrivalled range of specialisms, providing doctoral training with flexibility and breadth of interest.
The capacity to develop policy choices, to analyse them critically and to provide guidance in their implementation is one for which there is a growing demand. Within this context, there is an increasing recognition that to appreciate the multi-faceted nature of public policy-making and analysis requires a multi-disciplinary approach, with people highly skilled in areas of expertise, but with the ability to communicate effectively with other disciplines. Indeed, the challenges facing public policy formulation and governance in contemporary society do not fall neatly into traditional academic subject areas or disciplines.
Therefore, an innovative feature of the doctoral programme in Public Policy is its emphasis on a multi-disciplinary learning environment. This will provide a challenging and rewarding environment for students, who will develop not only specialist skills and knowledge, but also the increasingly important skill of adapting to working in multi-disciplinary teams.
Pooling the resources of the UCD Colleges of Human Sciences and Business and Law, the programme involves a unique combination of the following disciplines: business; economics; environmental economics and policy; European studies; geography; industrial relations; law; politics, psychology; regional and urban planning, rural development, social policy, and sociology.
The PhD curriculum is comprised of four central components:
Foundation modules in Public Policy
This includes four modules in the following areas:
- Governance, Citizenship and the Public Sphere
- Public Policy Analysis
- Economics and Public Finance
- Theory and Methods in Rules and Rule Making
Research Methods Training
Students are required to undertake two courses in research methods from a range of elective options. This will be linked to the UCD Colleges of Human Sciences and Business and Law Graduate Schools’ Research Methods Training Programme, which provides key building block modules including: Approaches to Research Project Design; Philosophy of the Social Sciences; Introduction to Qualitative Research and Methods; Advanced Qualitative Approaches; Introduction to Quantitative Research and Methods; Advanced Quantitative Approaches. Specialised training (as elective modules) will also be available, for example, in Documentary Analysis, Geographic Information Systems, and STATA Statistical Package.
Core modules in Continuing Professional Development Skills
These modules will be designed to develop students’ generic and transferable skills related to their professional development as a researcher. Modules will include: Presentation and Communication Skills; How to get Published; Project and Information Management; Working with (and without) your Supervisor; Career Development; Interview skills and techniques; and Teaching skills (through the UCD Centre for Teaching and Learning).
Elective modules in specialised ‘fields of concentration’
Drawing on the expertise of academics in various Schools, the programme offers modules in substantive streams in specialised areas of concentration. These include the following areas of UCD expertise:
These specialised modules build on the foundation modules in Public Policy and encourage students to apply their new skills in their chosen areas of specialist interest. This overall structure is designed to give students a high level of flexibility in choosing specialisms or a combination of two or more areas of concentration.
Deadline for Application is the 30th of April 2009.