MIT Political Science

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS  |  Undergraduate Studies

Turn technical advances into human progress:

the Minor in Public Policy

MIT is home to thousands of students who are out to change the world. Undergraduates in disciplines like urban planning, engineering, media arts, and management are learning on a daily basis how ideas and inventions in their fields can improve people's lives and lessen the impact of human civilization on the planet.

We all recognize, however, that great innovations often must run a gauntlet of political, economic, and public policy hurdles before they have their intended impact. If you want to equip yourself to help bridge the gap between inspiration and implementation, the HASS Minor in Public Policy is designed for you. This course of study will help you anticipate how work in your area of technical expertise may be influenced—and equip you to influence—federal, state, and local policies.

Read the requirements for public policy minors.
Review HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) guidelines for all minors.

Requirements: six subjects in three tiers.

To complete a minor in public policy, you must take two required subjects in Tier I and one required subject in Tier II. Choose the remaining three subjects from one of eight substantive policy fields in Tier III.

Tier I requirement—Introduction to markets, politics, and public policy

11.002J Making Public Policy
14.01 Principles of Microeconomics


Tier II requirement—Introduction to policy analysis

11.003J Methods of Policy Analysis

Tier III requirement—Concentration of three subjects from only one of the following policy fields

Social and Educational
Environmental
Infrastructure
Science and Technology
Labor and Industrial
International
Security and Defense
Urban and Regional

Review the full list of Tier III subjects offered for the public policy minor. http://web.mit.edu/polisci/undergrad/publicpolicy/require.html

HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) minor guidelines

As you plan your minor in public policy, keep in mind that a number of general requirements apply to all minors in the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Here are a few of the most important for public policy minors:

• Of the six subjects in your public policy minor, you can use no more than five to fulfill the Institute HASS requirement.
• Of the five subjects used to fulfill the HASS requirement, you can use only one to fulfill the Distribution (HASS-D) requirement.
• You cannot use the junior/senior pass/fail option for any of your public policy minor subjects.

Review the full list of HASS minor requirements.