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PhD in Public Policy

Program of Study

In December, 2002 the Faculty of the Muskie School approved changes in the doctoral program affecting both the program of study and admissions policies. The information contained herein reflects those changes.

Students pursue their PhD studies in four stages:

• Core courses in the field of public policy (18 Credit Hours). Knowledge and competencies are assessed in the Preliminary Examination.
• Core courses in research methods (15 Credit Hours). Knowledge and competencies are assessed in the Research Methods Examination.
• Specialized study (12 Credit Hours). Courses preparing the student to conduct doctoral research directed toward context, practice and performance in support of public policy. Knowledge and competencies assessed by successful defense of the Dissertation Proposal. At this point students are admitted to doctoral candidacy.
• Doctoral Research (12 Credit Hours minimum). Knowledge and competencies assessed by successful defense of the completed research dissertation.

The Policy Core: 18 Credits

At the conclusion of this stage of doctoral study, students should demonstrate in the Preliminary Examination their:

• Understanding of the basic intellectual frameworks and perspectives that are used to analyze and influence policy development and implementation (economics, political science, organizational behavior, sociology, etc.)
• Ability to cross disciplinary boundaries.
• Ability to accurately and appropriately critically evaluate and to apply the theories, perspectives and overall contributions of key thinkers and analysts in the field of public policy.
• Understanding of the tensions between values and knowledge/information utilization in policy development and implementation.
• Ability to analyze complex public policy issues.
• Ability to frame a policy issue and relevant research questions.

Courses in the Policy Core expose students to an overview of the major questions that scholars have asked about public policy and public organizations as well as the substance and process of theory building in the field. Emphasis is on such questions as what is public policy, who makes it, and how is it made, the role of organizations in the shaping of how policy is made and its consequences, and formal exploration of key economic concepts that tend to drive the study of public policy. Heavy emphasis in these courses should be on frequent student "production" in discussions or written assignments.

The six courses in the Policy Core will be offered two each in the fall, spring, and fall semesters of the two-year cycle. All students admitted to the program will be required to take at minimum these Policy Core courses. They will then be expected to take the Preliminary Examination after the third (fall) semester in their second year. Full-time students may take courses in the Research Core during these first three semesters.

The Policy Core Courses are:

• PPM 701 Intellectual Foundations of Public Policy
• PPM 702 Seminar in Public Policy
• PPM 703 Economic Foundations for Public Policy Research [Prerequisite: PPM 611 or equivalent]
• PPM 704 Seminar in Public Organizations and Management
• PPM 705 Seminar in Policy Analysis
• PPM 706 Seminar in Policy Research

At the conclusion of the policy core, students sit for the preliminary examination (see below).

The Research Core: 15 Credits

Courses in the Research Core are designed to provide doctoral students with the study design and the quantitative and qualitative methods used in the policy sciences. Students also will have the opportunity to begin to develop specific skills in those methods they expect to use in their own doctoral research. The goals of the research courses are to provide:

• Fundamental understanding of basic research methods and designs and the appropriate application of these to policy research—quantitative, qualitative, and mixed.
• Ability to apply research methods appropriately and interpret their results.
• Awareness of both the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and strategies for making appropriate design choices for different policy settings and research purposes.
• Ability to communicate clearly about complex questions of research methodology and complex issues of public policy.

There are five research core courses:

• PPM 710 Conduct of Inquiry
• PPM 711 Seminar in Quantitative Methods [Prerequisite: PPM 601, HPM 545 or equivalent]
• PPM 712 Advanced Quantitative Methods (Multivariate Methods) [Prerequisite: PPM 711]
• PPM 713 Qualitative Design and Methods for Policy Research, and
• Research Methods Defined by the Student's Committee. This course (or courses if one-credit modules) will provide the student with advanced training in research techniques specific to the student's planned area of dissertation research.

With the approval of their Advising Committee, a student may request a course substitution for PPM 712, Advanced Quantitative Methods. A course substitution may be made only for graduate courses in research methodology that are appropriate to the student's proposed research area. The student must specify the content of the course to be substituted, the faculty who will teach the course, and provide a statement of the competencies in the research methodology that they expect to obtain. The faculty member who teaches the course that will be substituted must also agree to participate in the research examination for the student through preparation of questions and grading of the examination. Requests for a substitution must be made in accordance with the schedule for course waivers.

The Research Methods Examination provides the opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate attainment of the knowledge and competencies covered in the Research Core. This examination must be taken within one semester of completion of the 15 credits in this core.

Specialized Study: 12 Credits

At the conclusion of this stage of doctoral study, students should demonstrate in their dissertation proposal their:

• Ability to formulate researchable questions and develop research strategies to address the planned study topic.
• Fundamental understanding of the policy context in which their study is relevant.
• Familiarity with the literature in their chosen substantive area, including an ability within this literature to critically assess ideas in the literature.
• Appropriate grounding in the specific body of knowledge relevant to their planned study including extending their familiarity with theory building and content from the core to a specific area of study.
• Ability to apply research skills appropriate to the chosen area of research including familiarity with the major research methodologies of relevance to their field.

In this stage, each student's study focus becomes individualized. The student defines the precise means of achieving these objectives in consultation with their committee. The student and committee chair are jointly responsible for preparing a plan of study for this period and for working with the committee to approve the plan. Within the 12 specialization credits, one three-credit course will be taken in common with all PhD students.

PPM 720 Dissertation Pro-Seminar: This seminar provides an intensive review of the process of preparing to undertake a major research project such as the dissertation. It will cover such topics as literature reviews, evaluation of research methodologies, and preparation of research proposals.

Other elements of the student's individualized plan consisting of nine credits of electives may include:

• Regular courses taken at the Muskie School or, with permission of the student's chair, at other institutions.
• Individualized readings courses, preferably with members of the student's committees.
• Advanced research courses directly appropriate to the student's planned doctoral research. An illustrative array of 1-3-credit courses could include: health services research, epidemiology, logistic regression, cost benefit analysis, program evaluation, forecasting, economic impact analysis.
• Mini-Research projects. These should generally be no more than three credits in length and should focus in particular on data development and analysis preparatory to the dissertation.

The Doctoral Dissertation

The dissertation is a comprehensive, independent research project that demonstrates the candidate's ability to undertake empirical analysis appropriate to the question they are addressing. It should contribute to knowledge in the field of public policy and provide new information that is a contribution to the theory and empirical knowledge of the subject they are studying and the potential contribution of the research. Finally, the dissertation research should be worthy of presentation at national conferences and publication in policy-relevant journals. The dissertation is orally defended to the committee and the scholarly community at large.

Dissertation Proposal: The topic, focus and quality of the student's doctoral research should be directed toward a significant public policy issue and provide the opportunity to demonstrate that the student can develop a theoretically interesting and researchable question. The dissertation proposal should define the scope of the student's doctoral research, address specific hypotheses, propositions, or research questions to be examined, discuss data collection and analysis procedures, and provide a timeline for the research project. The general form of the dissertation proposal should be essentially the same as a research proposal sent to a funding organization for peer review.

Human Subject Research Review: If a student's dissertation proposal involves human subject research as defined by the University of Southern Maine Institutional Review Board, the student must obtain IRB approval for the proposed research prior to a dissertation proposal receiving final approval by the Doctoral Research Committee. Students are advised to contact the Office of Research Compliance or to visit their website if they will be conducting human subject research.

Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree: A student is considered admitted to candidacy for the PhD upon completion of an oral defense of their dissertation proposal before their Doctoral Research Committee and submission of a written version of the proposal signed by the Committee chair and members to the Program Chair, Muskie School Office of Student Affairs and USM Office of Graduate Admissions.

Completed Dissertation: Final oral examination of the dissertation is intended to judge the quality of the dissertation, the amount of original work being presented, and the ability of the candidate to defend the approach, methods, and conclusions of the dissertation. The Committee must approve the dissertation by majority vote. The Committee may make approval conditional upon certain changes in the dissertation being made by the candidate. For editorial changes, the Committee may refer final approval to the Chair of the Committee. If substantive changes are required for approval, committee members are expected to withhold their signatures of approval until the required changes have been made.

If a majority of the committee does not approve the dissertation, the candidate shall receive a written explanation of the committee's review. One re-examination, possibly after additional revisions of the dissertation, may be requested.

The candidate's dissertation is considered complete when it has been successfully defended orally before the student's Doctoral Research Committee and a copy of the dissertation, bearing the signatures of the committee members on the cover page, is filed with the Office of Graduate Studies.

Upon approval of the dissertation by their Doctoral Research Committee, a copy of the dissertation meeting applicable standards of formatting set forth by University Microfilms Incorporated (UMI) must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. There is a $100 Dissertation Review Fee plus a Dissertation Microfilming Fee (set by UMI) which must be paid prior to receipt of the degree.

Students who anticipate participating in the University's graduation ceremony must submit a completed and correctly formatted dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies no later than one month prior to the date of graduation to allow adequate time for review and revisions.

Credit Requirements and Time Limits: A candidate must enroll in a minimum of 12 credits for work on the dissertation proposal and dissertation research. The dissertation must be completed within five (5) years after candidacy status is attained. A student working on their dissertation who is not enrolled for PPM 799 in a semester must register for GRS 601 or be on an approved Leave of Absence from the University.

Examinations

The examinations provide an opportunity for the student to demonstrate the competencies and materials of the policy and research cores as defined above.

The Preliminary Examination: The preliminary examination provides the opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate attainment of the knowledge and competencies addressed in the Policy Core. A student should be able to respond to questions that cross subjects, theories, and fields of research with coherent arguments, well grounded in the literature that they have studied. This must be taken within one semester of completion of the six courses in the Policy Core.

In academic years 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 The preliminary examination will be offered in the winter and spring of each academic year. Winter examinations will be offered in January, and Spring examinations will be offered in June. Students are expected to plan to take their examinations during these periods.

Beginning in academic year 2004-2005, the preliminary examination will be offered in the Winter only. All students who have completed the policy core are expected to take the examination at the first opportunity following completion of the policy courses.

An Examining Committee is appointed by the Program Chair for each examination (see below). The Examining Committee will provide students who will take the examination with a statement of the format and procedure for the examination not later than October 15 for examinations following the fall semester, and not later than March 15 for examinations following the spring semester.

The Research Examination: The Research Examination will be offered annually in the Spring beginning in academic year 2003-2004, and may be offered at other times as determined by the Program Chair.

Examinations are written and graded by the Examinations Committee (see below). The Examining Committee for the research examination will generally be comprised of faculty who have taught the Policy and Research Core courses.

Students will be notified by the Examining Committee of the format and process of the examination on the same schedule as the preliminary examination for regularly scheduled examinations. For non-regularly scheduled exams, the Examination Committee will provide students with a statement of format and process not less than 30 days before the exam.

Passing Examinations: A student must pass all sections of the preliminary or research examination to pass the examination. A student who fails either the preliminary or research examination will be withdrawn from the program. A student who fails one section of either examination will be allowed to retake once that part of the examination within a time specified by the Examining Committee appointed for that examination, generally no more than one month following the grading of the first examination. A student who fails either the preliminary or research examination will be withdrawn from the program.

Examination Prerequisites: A student must have no grades of I, I*, or INC in any of the policy core courses at the time they take their preliminary examination, or any of the research core courses at the time they take their research examination. A student with such grades in the relevant courses will be permitted to take the examination only with the approval of the Program Chair on the basis that resolution of the incompletes is imminent at the time of the examination. A student who cannot resolve the incompletes may be suspended from taking courses until such time as the incompletes are resolved and the examination passed.

Visit our admissions page for more information on Ph.D. admissions.

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