PhD Public Policy at University of Arkansas

Programme overview

The PhD in Public Policy is an interdisciplinary doctoral programme drawing on graduate faculty from sociology and criminology, curriculum and instruction, agricultural economics, history, journalism and nursing. It requires a minimum of 65 credit hours and prepares students to work with governmental, educational, professional and private-sector experts.

Faculty: Graduate School | Department: Public Policy (interdisciplinary programme) | Study mode: full-time | Location: Fayetteville, AR, United States

What you will study

The 65 hours comprise 23 hours of core (including Theories of Public Policy, Law and Public Policy, Policy Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, Agenda Setting and Policy Formulation, and a Capstone Seminar), 12 hours of research methods, 12 hours of concentration electives and 18 hours of dissertation. Candidacy exams follow approximately two years of graduate study.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission Requirements for Degree Program: Applicants must have a master’s degree or equivalent completed prior to beginning the doctoral program. The master’s degree should be relevant to the policy area of their concentration. For example, students with a master’s in geology might enter the agriculture policy concentration but not the family policy concentration. If students enroll in classes designated to address deficiencies, they may enter a concentration outside of their master’s area. These decisions will be made by the program faculty. An application should include identification of the applicant’s objectives and supportive background information including three letters of recommendation evaluating the applicant’s ability to successfully pursue a Ph.D. A GPA of at least a 3.20 on a 4-point scale for all graduate course work is required. Scores from the verbal and quantitative por

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate entry terms: Fall, Spring and Summer sessions.

Graduate School application deadlines: August 1 for fall, December 1 for spring, April 15 for summer sessions; some departments set earlier deadlines. The application fee is $60 for new applicants; $30 for returning UA graduate students.

Law (JD): priority application deadline April 15, with rolling review after that date; admission is for the full-time program in the fall.

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