Coordinator: Craig Shinn , Ph.D.

Contact Information: 503-725-8220 shinnc@pdx.edu

The Ph.D. in public administration and policy is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare individuals to pursue research, teaching, and/or consulting in a variety of settings ranging from private universities to policy research organizations, public agencies, and private consulting firms. The degree may be pursued on a full- or part-time basis.

The degree program is administered through the Hatfield School of Government, but draws on faculty from the entire College of Urban and Public Affairs. Faculty members are drawn from public administration, political science, administration of justice, community health, policy sciences, and urban studies.

The curriculum focus is governance, the integrated study of administrative and policy processes in the public sector. This curriculum is taught against the backdrop of globalizing economies and political systems seeking to recognize governance in a modern world characterized by both cooperation and conflict among the public, private, and non-profit organizations.

Finally, the doctoral program in public administration and policy is designed to enable students to approach governance as an applied area of knowledge in which theory informs and is informed by real world practice.