Spotlight on PhD Students

Ruby Dagher comments, “Former envoy to Haiti leading foreign affairs transition team” in Embassy magazine	Kirwins Charles has published an article in the Journal of Business Research that tests the efficiency of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange	Brendan Haley co-authors report on Canada heading for ‘bitumen cliff’	Nick Falvo blogs on The Progressive Economics Forum about the “Housing Policy Under Harper”

SPPA’s doctoral program in public policy, the only such program in Canada, has two primary objectives. First, faculty and students draw on various theoretical frameworks, multi-disciplinary perspectives, and applied methodologies in an effort to advance public policy research and teaching. Second, the program develops scholars and researchers who take up positions in universities, private research institutions, and various other public and private organizations.

A distinguishing feature of the School of Public Policy and Administration is the presence of faculty who strive to integrate political science and economics in their research and teaching. The PhD program is to a considerable extent based on the view that political economy is essential to an understanding of the public sector. It is also based on the view that such multi-disciplinary perspectives are essential to an understanding of the public sector.

Spotlight on PhD Alumni

Alexandre Couture Gagnon has accepted a tenure track position as professeure en conception et analyse des politiques publiques at  École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) in Québec City.	Tamara Krawchenko has taken up a term appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Political science at Dalhousie University.	Natalia Boliari completed her PhD studies at SPPA in early 2009 and has recently been hired by Manhattan College in New York City as a tenure-track assistant professor with teaching and research focus in the fields of international economics and public policy.	Malcolm Bird is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Winnipeg

Program Requirements

Four one-term courses, and two one-term elective courses are required and these six courses are usually taken in the first year. A comprehensive examination is then taken in the summer after the first year.  Before the comprehensive exam can be taken, all six courses must be passed with an overall average of B+ or higher.   In addition, a language requirement must be met before graduation.