Georgia Tech’s Ph.D. in Public Policy requires 54 credit hours and is generally completed in four to six years.
The curriculum includes:
- Core Courses — 18 Credit Hours
- Major Area Concentration — 12 Credit Hours
- Minor Area Concentration — 9 Credit Hours
- Comprehensive Examinations — 3 Credit Hours
- Dissertation Proposal — 3 Credit Hours
- Dissertation — 9 Credit Hours
Core Courses
Workshop on Policy Research I and II. Overview of research and professional socialization, satisfying the Georgia Tech’s Responsible Conduct of Research policy for in-person training. Students will brainstorm dissertation topics.
Advanced Policy Research Methods. Advanced policy analysis and modeling methods, including regression models, and other topics as time permits.
Advanced Research Methods II. Building on Advanced Research Methods I, the course covers advanced policy analysis and modeling methods, for example, panel data and nonparametric regression. Other policy research methods may be explored as time permits.
Microeconomic Theory and Applications. Covers extensions of microeconomic theory-consumer theory, firm theory, and markets-to situations involving many periods and uncertainty. Introduces general equilibrium, externality, and welfare economics.
Research Seminar in Public Policy. Exploration of the purpose of and approaches used in public policy research. Requires development of original empirical research.
Logic of Policy Inquiry. Conceptual foundations of models of policy inquiry. Topics include the scientific, rational-actor, and ethical models. The ethical values underlying cost-benefit analysis, Pareto optimal models, and market models are also examined.
Scope and Theory of Public Policy. Overview of core literature of public policy, including theories of public policy, the history of public policy studies, the institutional structure of policy analysis, the profession of policy research, and the intellectual bases of public policy studies.
Major and Minor Concentrations
The Ph.D. in Public Policy offers four major area concentrations in:
- Science and technology policy
- Environmental and energy policy
- Urban and economic development policy
- Information and communication technology policy
Students may also develop an individualized program of study. Explore graduate courses in the Georgia Tech course catalog to see some example course options in each area.
Georgia Tech also requires all doctoral students to pursue a three-course minor in a field outside of their own. This allows you to explore additional areas of interest and bring a wider range of skills and creativity to your work.
Research and Dissertation
Read past Ph.D. dissertations and profiles of our current Ph.D. students to see the types of policy topics we explore.
The Carter School is home to several research centers, including the Center for Urban Research, which works closely on initiatives with the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, the Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory, which helps lead the Drawdown Georgia project to reduce carbon emissions in the state, and the Ethics, Technology, and Human Interaction Center, which supports the Georgia Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Technology Corridor by helping identify and address the ethical and societal impacts of AI-enabled manufacturing systems.
Ph.D. students are paired with a faculty mentor upon admission, but are free to switch advisors should their interests change. Visit our faculty page and filter by professors to explore potential advisors. Some advising faculty and their corresponding research areas include:
In urban and economic development policy, Lindsay Rose Bullinger examines how public policies affect child and family health and well-being, especially among low-income families. She is the associate director of the Health Economics and Policy Innovation Collaborative at Georgia Tech.
In environmental and energy policy, Tony Harding uses economic theory and applied econometrics to analyze the extent of socioeconomic risks from climate change, how policies and technologies can moderate these risks, and the impacts, intended or otherwise, that policies may have.
In science and technology policy, Omar Isaac Asensio focuses on climate and electrification strategies at the intersection of technology, AI, and sustainability.
His work uses statistical and computational tools to advance our understanding of how large-scale data and field experiments can be used to increase civic participation, while addressing pressing resource conservation and environmental sustainability challenges.
In information and communication technology policy, Milton L. Mueller specializes in the political economy of information and communication.
The author of widely cited books and journal articles on AI governance, Internet governance, cybersecurity, and communications policy, his work informs not only public policy but also the history of technology studies, law, economics, communications, and international studies.