Can a GSPP student give special attention to a specific policy area?
All first-year students take the core curriculum, which provides basic analytical approaches and skills. In contrast the second year consists mostly of electives, with students able to choose from among the rich offerings of the academic disciplines and professional programs on the Berkeley campus as well as from those at GSPP. Depending on individual preferences, students elect courses to deepen or extend their analytical skills and/or to familiarize themselves with the substance of a specific policy area (energy, health, income redistribution, international affairs, environmental protection, education, racial or gender policy, etc.). In addition, the student’s major project during the second year treats a policy problem of the student’s own preference. Similarly, a student may concentrate his or her efforts to secure a summer internship in specific policy areas of personal choice.
