Courses of Study 2020-2021 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
Courses of Study 2020-2021 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Policy Analysis and Management


In the College of Human Ecology .


Course Offerings  

Faculty


K. Musick, Chair (MVR 2301, 607-255-6067); D. Miller, Associate Chair; S. Sassler, Director of Undergraduate Studies; L. Tach, Director of Graduate Studies; S. Nicholson, Director of Sloan Program; J. Carmalt, Associate Director of Sloan Program; A. German, Executive Director of Sloan Program; Faculty: R. Avery, N. Bottan, C. Carey, J. Cawley, R. Dunifon, M. Fitzpatrick, R. Geddes, M. Hall, D. Kenkel, H. Kim, P. Leung, D. Lichter, M. Kapustin, M. Lovenheim, A. Mathios, D. Miller, K. Musick, S. Nicholson, Z. Pei, A. Reyes, P. Rich, N. Sanders, S. Sassler, L. Tach, S. Tennyson, W. Trochim, M. Waller, N. Ziebarth. Emeritus faculty: J. Allen, R. Battistella, K. Bryant, R. Burkhauser, F. Firebaugh, J. Ford, J. Frances, M. Galenson, J. Green, C. Hoenk Shapiro, J. Kuder, C. McClintock, J. Mueller, L. Noble, A. Parrot, E. Peters, B. Yerka.  Lecturers: J. Carmalt, T. Evans, B. Hollis, B. Tripp.

Policy Analysis and Management Major


Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) majors study the effects of government policies on individuals and families, public health, education, crime, product markets, financial markets, and a wide variety of other social impacts. The PAM major draws on theories and methods from economics, sociology, psychology, and demography. The research tools learned and used—social science theory, rigorous empirical quantitative skills, and practical applications to real-world policy issues—are highly sought after by the best in both industry and government.

Federal, state, and local governments have a central impact on all aspects of American life. The federal government alone taxes and spends in excess of 25 percent of gross domestic product. Public policy is ubiquitous, covering almost all aspects of societal and market interaction, from the environment to immigration, banks to farming, and social security to crime. Among current major government legislative initiatives are national health care, financial market regulation, education policy, immigration, and tax policy. Getting legislation right is crucially important to individuals, families, and society at large. Studying, understanding, and learning from the impacts and externalities of government policy are at the heart of Policy Analysis and Management.

Current PAM faculty members have expertise in health care, family/social welfare, demography, regulation of financial markets, transportation policy, social security, FDA regulation of pharmaceutical advertising, education, crime, law, and the economics of obesity, among others. Undergraduate and graduate students take courses from, and conduct research with, experts in the field whose work informs the public debate.

The PAM major attracts students entering the labor market into management, government, and research positions; pre-law and pre-MBA students; students interested in health administration; and students intending to pursue graduate studies in economics, sociology, and public policy.  The department also offers both a five-year BS/MHA and two-year Master of Health Administration through the department’s Sloan Program.

Students will learn critical tools for policy analysis, and then apply these skills within particular areas of policy focus. Upper-level family/social welfare courses cover governmental and private-sector income maintenance, social, and human service delivery programs and policies that range from child adoption, neglect, and abuse policies and antipoverty programs to policies and programs that impinge on or regulate marriage, divorce, and fertility. Upper-level health policy courses cover programs and issues such as health care access, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, pharmaceutical management, long-term care, managed care, public health issues such as obesity, and substance abuse policies. Upper-level market regulation courses cover programs and policies governing the regulation of advertising, the regulations of financial institutions, risk and insurance markets, food and drug safety, and public utility markets. They also address issues such as privacy, the Internet, and crime.

In addition to the core college requirements, all PAM majors are expected to take the following core courses in preparation for the upper level policy electives: PAM 2300 - Introduction to Policy Analysis , PAM 3300 - Cost-Benefit Analysis , PAM 2030 - Population and Public Policy , PAM 2101 - Statistics for Policy Analysis and Management Majors , PAM 3100 - Multiple Regression Analysis , PAM 2000 - Intermediate Microeconomics , and PAM 2040 - Economics of the Public Sector .

PAM Honors Program


The PAM honors program gives official recognition to students who have demonstrated excellence in their academic work and their capacity for independent research. In addition to fulfilling the requirements for the major, students in the honors program will participate in an honors seminar and prepare an empirically-based honors thesis. Honors students work with a research mentor in preparing for their thesis. Upon successful completion of the PAM honors program, students will receive a B.S. degree with honors in Policy Analysis and Management.  Interested students should obtain a PAM Honors Program application form in the PAM Undergraduate Office (2301 MVR). For more information, students should refer to the PAM honors website or contact the PAM Director of Undergraduate Studies.

PAM Minor


The department offers a 15-credit minor in Policy Analysis and Management for Cornell undergraduates outside of the PAM and HCP majors. PAM minors complete an introduction to policy analysis, and apply the skills learned across a selection of upper level policy electives.  Students can build the minor to focus on a specific policy area, or choose to take a breadth of courses for a general overview of policy analysis. For further information and additional policies, see the PAM website or obtain information at the PAM Undergraduate Office (2301 MVR).

Demography Minor

The department offers a five-course minor in Demography, managed by the Cornell Population Center.  The minor is a rigorous undergraduate course of study on population-related topics and approaches, providing students a broad understanding of global population dynamics and tools for analyzing demographic data. The Demography minor is open to all Cornell students, including PAM and HCP students.  For further information, see the CPC website or obtain information at the PAM Undergraduate Office (2301 MVR).

PAM Major


PAM Major

In addition to college requirements , students in the PAM Major must complete specific requirements listed here.

The requirements listed below pertain to all students matriculating in August 2020 and January 2021.

PAM Required Courses


PAM Required Courses (27 credits)  
Take all of the following:
PAM 2000  Intermediate Microeconomics (prerequisite ECON 1110 )    
PAM 2030  Population and Public Policy
PAM 2040  Economics of the Public Sector (prerequisite PAM 2000 )    
PAM 2101  Statistics for Policy Analysis and Management Majors
PAM 2300  Introduction to Policy Analysis     
PAM 3100  Multiple Regression Analysis (prerequisite PAM 2101 )
PAM 3300  Cost-Benefit Analysis (prerequisites PAM 2000 , PAM 2300 )

PAM 3000/4000 Electives


PAM 3000/4000 Electives (18 credits)  
Students must take a minimum of 18 credits of 3000 or 4000 level PAM courses in addition to the PAM Core Requirements.
Note: PAM 4000, 4010, 4020, 4030, 4060, 4980, and 4990 may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
Note: A maximum of 3 credits from PAM 4900 can be used.

PAM Additional Electives


PAM Additional Electives (3 credits)  
Any 3 additional PAM credits (except PAM 1200 & PAM 4030) OR
ECON 1120 Introductory Macroeconomics (if taken at Cornell)

Introductory Economics


Introductory Microeconomics (3 credits)

This fulfills the college distribution social sciences requirement.

ECON 1110   Introductory Microeconomics

PAM Introduction to Sociology


Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)

This fulfills the college distribution social sciences requirement.

Choose one of the following:
SOC 1101  Introduction to Sociology
DSOC 1101  Introduction to Sociology
PAM 2250  Social Problems in the U.S.
Note: PAM 2250 cannot count for both the Introduction to Sociology requirement AND the Additional PAM Electives requirement.

Psychology Requirement


Psychology (3 credits)

Choose one of the following:

HD 1150  Human Development: Infancy and Childhood
PSYCH 1101  Introduction to Psychology

PAM Mathematics


Mathematics (3-4 credits)

This fulfills the college distribution quantitative and analytical courses requirement.

Either of the following:
Score of 4 or 5 on AP Calculus BC exam OR
Any 3 credit Cornell math course except MATH 1101  and MATH 1710  

Note: If this requirement is not satisfied with AP Calculus BC then the MATH course must be taken at Cornell.
Note: AP Calculus AB credit (a score of 4 or 5) may be applied as elective credits, but does not fulfill this requirement.

PAM Government


Government (4 credits)
GOVT 1111  Introduction to American Government and Politics

Natural Science I and II


Natural Science I (3-4 credits)

This fulfills the college distribution natural sciences requirement.

One of the following:


Biology
BIOG 1140 
BIOG 1440  or BIOG 1445 
BIOMG 1350 
BIOEE 1610 
AP Biology score of 5

Chemistry
CHEM 1560   or CHEM 2070 
CHEM 2080  
AP Chemistry score of 5

PHYSICS
PHYS 1101  or PHYS 2207 
PHYS 1102  or PHYS 2208 
AP Physics score of 5

Note: If AP isn’t used to satisfy the requirement, then the course must be taken at Cornell.
Note: No lab is required.

Natural Science II (3-4 credits)
Choose any 3 credit course with a PBS, BIOLS-AG, or BIONLS-AG Course Distribution.
Note: No AP credit allowed, course must be taken at Cornell.

PAM Ethics


Ethics (3 credits)

This fulfills the college distribution humanities requirement.

Choose one of the following:  
Note: Any three credit ethics class may suffice.  You can check with the PAM Director of Undergraduate Studies.
BSOC 2051  // STS 2051 Ethical Issues in Health and Medicine
BSOC 2061  // STS 2061  // PHIL 2960  Ethics and the Environment 
BSOC 4071  Law, Science and Public Value
COMM 4300  Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication
CRP 3011  Ethics, Development, and Globalization
ECE 3600  Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice
ILRLR 3830  Workers Rights as Human Rights
ILRLR 4820  Ethics at Work
ILRLR 4880  American Ideals
ILRLR 4075  Values, Rights, and Justice at Work
INFO 1200  // STS 1201  Information, Ethics, Law, and Policy
INFO 2750  // ECE 2750  // STS 2751  // ENGRG 2750  Robot Ethics
NTRES 2320  Intro to Ethics and the Environment
PHIL 1440  Ethics of Eating
PHIL 1450  Contemporary Moral Issues
PHIL 2410  Ethics
PHIL 2420  Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 2455  // STS 2451  Introduction to Bioethics
PHIL 2441 // ASRC 3333  Ethics and Society: Aid and Its Consequences
PHIL 3410  Ethical Theory
PHIL 3410  // GOVT 3625  Modern Political Philosophy
PHIL 3480  Philosophy of Law

PAM Additional Requirements


Additional Requirements (6 credits)
Any course with the Course Distribution PBS, BIOLS-AG, BIONLS-AG, SBA, KCM, MQR, LA, CA, or HA. Language courses may count here.