Overview

The Specialization requirement consists of three upper-division courses within a subfield or policy domain. These courses must be policy-relevant and fit comfortably within the specified Specialization.

Spring 2025 Acceptable Course List

Also on this page:

Specialization Requirement

Recommended Specializations 

Students can consider courses not listed below to include in the recommended specializations. As not all courses are offered every academic year or every quarter, careful planning is recommended. You can refer to the list of courses we share each quarter and to my.uchicago class search for current offerings.

Urban Policy
  • PBPL 28925 Health Impacts of Transportation Policies
  • PBPL 26305 Public Policy Practicum: Qualitative Research in Public Transportation
  • PBPL 27500 Reimagining Our Future: Past, Present & Future of Campus-Neighborhood Relations
  • PBPL 26005 Cities by Design
  • PBPL 24605 Introduction to Urban Sciences 
  • PBPL 24756 Exploring the Resilient City 
  • PBPL 27156 Urban Design with Nature 
  • PBPL 20150 Sustainable Urban Development
Criminal Justice
  • PBPL 28502 Policing in America: Black, White and Blue
  • PBPL 23300 Justice, Equity, and Opportunity: Shifting Approaches to Criminal Justice Reform
  • PBPL 27106 Police Reform and Policy Legitimacy
  • SSAD 26312 Race, Crime, and Justice in the City
  • RDIN 20800 Research, Writing and Mass Incarceration
  • RDIN 22311 Aspirations of Justice
  • ECON 28700 The Economics of Crime 
  • SOCI 28081 The Social Life of the Law 
  • SOCI 20269 Policing the City 
Energy and Environment
  • PBPL 24701 US Environmental Policy
  • PBPL 28728 Climate Change and Society: Human Impacts, Adaptation, and Policy Solutions
  • PBPL 24776 International Environmental Policy
  • PBPL 28525 Environmental Economics: Theory and Applications
  • PBPL 24102 Environmental Politics 
  • PBPL 23100 Environmental Law
  • PBPL 21310 Water: Economics, Policy, and Society  
  • CEGU 21800 Economics and Environmental Policy
  • CEGU 24705 Energy: Science, Technology, and Human Usage 
  • CEGU 26260 Environmental Justice in Principle and Practice I
Health Policy
  • PBPL 28925 Health Impacts of Transportation Policies
  • PBPL 25510 Issues in Health Policy
  • PBPL 28335 Health Care Markets and Regulation
  • BIOS 29814 Biological and Social Determinants of Health
  • PBHS 31900 Global Health Metrics
  • LLSO 29507 The Politics of Healthcare Policy in the United States, 1900 - 2020
  • PBPL 21425 Health in a Changing America: Social Context and Human Rights 
  • PBPL 28300 Health Economics and Public Policy 
  • ECON 27720 Economics and Regulation of Health Care Markets: Theory and Empirics 
  • ENST 27400 Epidemiology and Population Health 
  • HMRT 21400 Health and Human Rights 
  • HMRT 25213 Cognitive Disability and Human Rights 
Social Policy
  • PBPL 25120 Child Development and Public Policy
  • PBPL 24530 Hooking Up, Shacking Up, Breaking Up: Public Policy and Intimate Relationships
  • PBPL 23220 Public Economics
  • PBPL 25630 Poverty, Work,and Family Policy
  • PBPL 27300 Regulation of Vice
  • PBPL 28030 Higher Education Policy
  • SSAD 25810 Social Problems, Social Policy, and Social Change
  • ECON 24450 Inequality and the Social Safety Net: Theory, Empirics, and Policies
  • ECON 26700 Economics of Education
  • ECON 28700 The Economics of Crime 
  • ECON 24720 Inequality: Origins, Dimensions, and Policy 
Economic Policy
  • PBPL 28805 Behavioral Economics and Policy
  • PBPL 28528 Household Finance: Theory and Applications
  • PBPL 28791 Behavioral Science and Public Policy
  • PBPL 29404 Inequality, Household Finance, and Tax Policy
  • PBPL 25550 Economic Development and Policy
  • PBPL 28335 Health Care Markets and Regulation
  • PBPL 28670 Markets and Regulations
  • PBPL 28350 Education and Economic Development
  • PBPL 27300 Regulation of Vice
  • PBPL 25510 Issues in Health Policy
  • ECON 24450 Inequality and the Social Safety Net: Theory, Empirics, and Policies 
  • ECON 26010 Public Finance 
  • ECON 26700 Economics of Education 
  • ECON 28700 The Economics of Crime 
  • ECON 24720 Inequality: Origins, Dimensions, and Policy
International Development
  • PBPL 28498 Practicum: Women and Society
  • PBPL 28750 Conflict: Root Causes, Consequences and Solutions for the Future
  • PBPL 24901 Trade, Development and Poverty in Mexico
  • PBPL 25550 Economic Development and Policy
  • PBPL 25595 Power and "Development"
  • PBPL 20810 Political Economy of Natural Resources
  • PBPL 24776 International Environmental Policy
  • PBPL 27000 International Economics
  • PBPL 29294 Introduction to Global Health
  • PBPL 29070. Nuclear Policy 
  • ECON 23410 Economic Growth
  • PLSC 21801. Global Governance
  • GLST 21310. Water: Economics, Policy and Society
Conflict
  • PBPL 28750 Conflict: Root Causes, Consequences, and Solutions for the Future
  • PBPL 25600 Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace
  • PBPL 20115 Women, Peace and Security
  • PLSC War and the Nation State
  • PLSC American National Security Strategy
  • PLSC 29000 Intro To International Relations
Education Policy
  • PBPL 25120 Child Development and Public Policy
  • PBPL 28350 Education and Economic Development
  • PBPL 26303 Practicum: Interview Project on Public Education
  • PBPL 28030 Higher Education Policy
  • RDIN 21000 Race & American Public Schools
  • EDSO 27919 Research in School Improvement
  • EDSO 21000 Race & American Public Schools
  • EDSO 22006 Schooling and Social Inequality
Data Science or Tech Policy
  • PBPL 28829 Artificial Intelligence for Public Policy
  • PBPL 28633 How Do We Evaluate Policies?: An Empirical Approach
  • CMSC 20370 Inclusive Technology: Designing for Underserved and Marginalized Populations
  • ANTH 23338 The Anthropology of Privacy
  • ANTH 24125 Technology for Human Rights
  • DATA 22700 Data Visualization and Communication
  • DATA 25900 Ethics, Fairness, Responsibility, and Privacy in Data Science
  • DATA 27100/27200 Data Science Clinics

How to Declare Your Specialization and Practicum Courses

Complete the Specialization and Practicum declaration form to declare your specialization.

Once approved, your information will be sent to your college advisor for posting to your degree audit. If you decide to change any specialization/practicum course after approval, please resubmit the form with the updated information so we can inform your college advisor of any changes to your plan.

For questions about the selection of specialization courses, contact the Public Policy program administrator by email or sign up for office hours.

Study Abroad & Specializations

Students who participate in the Winter quarter Paris Program or Spring quarter Barcelona Program can complete a specialization in Comparative Political Economy using courses offered in study abroad programs.

Explore UChicago's study abroad programs.

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