Public Policy

As a public policy student at F&M, you will learn not only how societal problems develop, but how they can be addressed and solved in real-world contexts. F&M’s public policy program is designed to teach you critical policy analysis skills while building relevant knowledge, helping you to ask meaningful questions, understand societal problems, and consider a variety of solutions to resolve complex policy issues. Because public policy involves so many other disciplines, much of your coursework will cross into other programs, allowing you to study public policy through a blended lens of economics, government, philosophy, and more.

Joint Major in Public Policy

You can major in public policy by combining the field with another discipline. This flexibility offers an exciting opportunity to refine your degree and design a major that is customized to your learning goals. Examples include:

• Public Policy & Business, Organizations and Society
• Public Policy & Economics 
• Public Policy & Environmental Studies
• Public Policy & Government
• Public Policy & International Studies
• Public Policy & Public Health
• Public Policy & Science, Technology and Society
• Public Policy & Sociology

By the time you graduate, you will be able to demonstrate: 

• Analytical skills and knowledge of public policy concepts to help you frame problems and questions.
• The ability to determine the size and shape of societal problems.
• The skills to develop and evaluate solutions to address complex policy issues.
• An understanding of how and why multiple disciplines are interrelated and connected.
• A strong ability to communicate complex ideas to others in order to work together toward a joint goal.
• The ability to collaborate effectively in a manner that translates to the professional arena.
  

Wondering what public policy courses are like? Explore our course catalog to see what classes are available to you.

With F&M’s many research and study-abroad offerings, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to step outside the classroom and apply what you’ve learned to the world around you.

Internships

Internships allow you to get valuable hands-on experience now and gain a competitive advantage in the job market later. Public policy students have successfully interned in local government, at departments of health in Philadelphia and Connecticut, and in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
Explore internships at F&M
 

Research Opportunities

Every student at F&M has extraordinary opportunities to engage in independent or faculty-led research. Students often use the summer to dive into this research, while others pursue yearlong independent study projects. As a public policy student, you’ll also have the opportunity to attend our Policy Analysis Workshop, learning professional methods of policy analysis to conduct policy research on a community issue.
Explore research at F&M

Community Service

F&M’s public policy program emphasizes public and community service as part of your educational experience. You’ll also find exceptional opportunities to gain valuable hands-on experience through internships and funding awards such as the Ken Duberstein ’65 Public Service Internship Endowment, Schapiro-Cadwell Internship Endowment, and the Bill Jahn '65 and Sharon Jahn Public Service Internship Endowment and Fund.

Off-Campus Study

Studying abroad is an excellent way to add value to what you’ve learned with real-life experience. Past students have visited Spain, Argentina, England, Germany, India, Jordan, South Africa, Viet Nam, Ireland, Denmark, and Bhutan.
Explore off-campus study at F&M

Leadership through service to others.

Public service, at its core, is the pursuit of the common good. Those dedicated to public service aim to strengthen communities through democratic engagement and collaboration with community members. The Public Service Leadership Fellows program is designed to help students like you develop the skills you need to innovate in the public sphere and effect positive change as future leaders.

As a Public Service Leadership Fellow, you will:

• participate in four professional development workshops during the academic year. These workshops will focus on specific leadership competencies borrowed from the “Public Service Leadership Model” of the Partnership for Public Service
• attend periodic, seminar-style discussions with local public servants (these discussions will allow Fellows to learn from public servants about their career paths as well as the challenges and opportunities public servants face in doing their work)
• shadow local public servants at least twice during the academic year
• build bonds with other Fellows through social events like “public service movie nights”
• prepare, in consultation with the program’s academic director, an end-of-year self-assessment that examines the Fellow’s leadership preparedness (including personal and academic growth over the course of the year) and develops their long-term public service goals

Faculty Mentor: Stephen Medvic

Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy

A partnership between F&M and Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy provides pathways for F&M students into high-demand graduate programs in public policy, technology, and the arts, offering meaningful tuition support and access to industries including government, technology, cybersecurity, and entertainment.

Through this shared initiative, up to 10 F&M graduates admitted to Heinz College’s master’s degree programs annually will receive scholarships that reduce tuition by at least 30% each semester. F&M graduates will also be eligible for consideration for additional merit-based scholarship support up to 100%.

The collaboration expands postgraduate pathways for F&M students seeking advanced degrees and will apply to all Heinz College master's degree programs, including:

• Master of Science in Public Policy and Management (MSPPM)

The scholarship is effective for any F&M graduate seeking to apply to Heinz College in the Fall 2026 application cycle and beyond. The award will be made at the time of admission and no separate application is necessary.

Master of Public Policy (University of Virginia) 

Franklin & Marshall public policy students and alums accepted for admission for the Master of Public Policy Program at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy will receive an annual fellowship of at least $12,500 for Virginia residents and at least $20,000 for non-residents. This funding is provided for each year of the two year program provided students remain in good standing. Application fees are waived for the Master of Public Policy Program. Contact Patrick Fleming at pfleming@fandm.edu for more information.

What can you do with a liberal arts degree in public policy? Our graduates are prepared to pursue advanced degrees or begin their chosen careers from day one. The analytic and intellectual activities that make up the work of public policy — including interpretation of text, writing, collaborating with others, and objective thought — help you develop useful and productive skills valuable for any post-college plan.

Graduate School

Many F&M public policy graduates have been accepted into graduate-level public policy programs at Princeton University, the University of Michigan, Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, the University of Pittsburgh, the London School of Economics, and the University of Virginia, among others.

Career Paths

With a degree in public policy from F&M, you’ll find you’re abundantly prepared for careers that focus on public service, including government, social policy, social services, public administration, international relations, or international development. Recent graduates have embarked on a number of exciting career paths, holding positions such as: 

• Attorney
• Media Relations Specialist
• Public Administrator
• Public Health Advisor
• Teacher
• Government Relations Manager
• Policy Analyst