Requirements Credits Grade
AW: Acad emi c Writing 3 PLCY100—Foundations of Public Policy (HS) 3
PW: Professional Writing— Taken
after 60 credits
3
HIST2 0 1 In t erp ret i n g Ameri can Hi s t o ry : Fro m 1 8 6 5
to the Present (HU)
3
MA: Fundamental Studies Math PLCY 101 Great Thinkers on Public Policy (HS/IS) 3
AR: An al y t i c Reas o n i n g STAT100 3
STAT 100 (AR) Elementary Statistics and
Probability or higher (STAT100 equivalent
accepted)
3
Requirements: 25 Cr ed i t s Course Credits Grade ECON 2 0 0 Pri n ci p l es o f Mi cro eco n o mi cs (HS) 3
NL: Nat u ral Sci en ces Lab * 4
PLCY 201 Public Leaders and Active Citizens
(SP/IS)
3
NS: Nat u ral Sci en ces * 3/4
PLCY 203 Liberty and Justice for All: Ethics and
Moral Issues in Public Policy
3
HS: Hi s t o ry an d / o r So ci al Sci en ces PLCY100 3
PLCY 300 Governance: Collective Action in the
Public Interest (Pre-req: PLCY100)
3
HU: Hu man i t i es HIST2 0 1 3
PLCY 303 Public Economics: Raising and
Spending the People’s Money (Pre-req: ECON200)
3
HU: Hu man i t i es 3
PLCY 304 Evaluating Evidence: Finding Truth in
Numb ers (Pre-req : STATS1 0 0 o r eq u i v al en t )
4
SP: Scholarship in Practice PLCY201 3
PLCY 309 Policy Internship OR Approved
Internship from another department OR Approved
Study Abroad
3
SP: Scholarship in Practice (must
be outside major requirement)*
3
PLCY306: Public Policy Analysis in Action (Taken
after 60 credits)
3
PLCY 400 Senior Capstone (Taken after 90 credits;
Pre-req: PLCY306)
3
Requirements: 6 Cr ed i t s Course Credits Grade
PLCY 401 Contemporary Issues in Public Policy
(Taken after 90 credits)
3
IS: I-Series PLCY201 3
Introduction to Public Policy Focus or General
Policy elective
3
IS: I-Series PLCY101 3
Focus/Policy Elective Course 1
Focus/Policy Elective Course 2
Requirements: 4 - 6 Credits Course Credits Grade Focus/Policy Elective Course 3
UP: Cu l t u ral Co mp et en ce PLCY302 3 TOTAL Major Credits 58
UP: Un d ers t an d i n g Pl u ral
Societies
HIST2 0 1 3 General el ect i v es / mi n o r/ d o u b l e maj o r cred i t s 22
40 TOTAL UMD Credits needed for graduation 120
Requirements for Graduation:
☐Earn a C– or higher in each course required for the major ☐15 of the final 30 credits must be earned at the 300-400 level
☐At least 30 credits must be earned at UMD ☐12 upper level major credits must be earned at UMD
☐Earn a minimum of 120 credits ☐Earn a cumulative 2.0 GPA in all UMD coursework
Fundamental Studies
Public Policy Major – Bachelor of Arts
General Education Requirements
PLCY Major Requirements
C- or better is required in all major courses and the cumulative average of these
courses must be a 2.0.
Distributi v e Studi es
Requi red Ma jo r Co urs es
Benchmark Requirement Two
Must be completed by the end of four semesters into the major
Requirements: 15 Cr ed i t s
Course
Credits
Benchmark Requirement One
Must be completed by the end of two semesters into the major
OC: Oral Co mmu n i cat i o n
3
TOTAL General Education Credits
Focus o r Genera l Po l i cy el ecti v es (9 credi ts )
Students may choose an area of focus or choose general policy related electives
Diversity
(All students must complete two Distributive Studies courses
that are approved for I-series courses.)
HS: Hi s t o ry an d / o r So ci al Sci en ces
3
PLCY302 Examining Pluralism in Public Policy
(UP)
3
ECON2 0 0
I-Series
(overlap permitted with Distributive Studies/Diversity)
Requirements Year 1: Fall Credit Year 1: Spring Credit
PLCY100 Foundations of Public Policy
(HS)
3 ENGL101 (AW) 3
Oral Communication (OC)
3 Natural Science course (NS) 3
Humanities (HU) 3
STAT100 Elementary Statistics and
Probability (AR)
3
HIST201 Interpreting American History:
From 1865 to the Present (HU and UP)
3
PLCY101 Great Thinkers on Public
Policy (HS/IS)
3
General UMD Elective 3 General UMD Elective 3
Total 15 Total 15
Year 2: Fall Credit Year 2: Spring Credit
ECON200 Principles of Microeconomics
(HS)
3 Natural Science Lab (NL) 4
Introduction to Public Policy Focus or
General Policy elective
3
PLCY 201 Public Leaders and Active
Citizens (SP/IS)
3
PLCY 203 Liberty and Justice for All:
Ethics and Moral Issues in Public Policy
3
PLCY302 Examining Pluralism in
Public Policy (UP)
3
General UMD Elective
3
Scholarship in Practice (SP) Outside
major requirements
3
General UMD Elective
3 General UMD Elective 3
Total 15 Total 16
Year 3: Fall Credit Year 3: Spring Credit
PLCY 300 Governance: Collective
Action in the Public Interest
3
PLCY306 Public Policy Analysis in
Action
3
PLCY 304 Evaluating Evidence: Finding
Truth in Numbers
4
PLCY 303 Public Economics:
Raising and Spending the People’s
Money
3
Focus/General Policy Elective Course 3 PLCY309 Internship course 3
Professional Writing (PW)
3 General UMD Elective 3
General UMD Elective
3 General UMD Elective 3
Total 16 Total 15
Year 4: Fall Credit Year 4: Spring Credit
PLCY 401 Contemporary Issues in
Public Policy
3 PLCY400 Senior Capstone 3
Focus/General Policy Elective Course 3 Focus/General Policy Elective Course 3
General UMD Elective
3 General UMD Elective 3
General UMD Elective
3 General UMD Elective 3
General UMD Elective
3 General UMD Elective 1
Total 15 Total 13
*Updated on March 11, 2020
Public Policy Major Four Year Plan
TOTAL Credits = 120
Benchmark 1
PLCY 100
HIST201
Must be completed
by the end of
two semesters into
the major.
Benchmark 2
PLCY 101
STAT100
Must be completed
by the end of four
semesters into the
major.