PhD in Public Administration
Overview
Our PhD program is designed for students looking to achieve an in-depth academic understanding of issues in comparative policy and governance, organizational studies, and applied policy and program analysis. The program prepares students to conduct leading-edge research and take on leadership roles in government, universities and other public institutions.
Our students:
- work with experienced faculty members at the forefront of a wide variety of fields, including public policy analysis, governance and management;
- participate in funded research projects (link to research overview) through the School; and
- build externally funded research programs of their own.
Program overview
The program
- attracts top-performing students from a wide range of disciplines
- is taught by an eclectic faculty with PhDs in economics, business/management, political science, psychology and public policy, as well as public administration;
The program features the following fields of study:
- comparative policy and governance
- organizational studies
- applied policy and program analysis
These contemporary topics reflect the research strengths of our faculty members.
The first year of the program is completed full-time, on-campus and includes courses in your chosen fields, research methods and elective topics. During the second and third year, students write comprehensive examinations in their core fields and defend their dissertation proposal. Students then undertake thesis work with the goal of completing their oral defence in the fifth year of the program.
Policy & Governance
Addressing key contemporary topics of political and administrative reform, this field covers topics including new approaches to public management, accountability, performance management, privatization, auditing and financial control, the role of central agencies, public sector ethics, and the creation of partnerships among public, voluntary and private sector agencies.
Organizational Studies
This field focuses on a combination of organizational theory, behaviour, design and development, from a human resources management perspective. Organizational studies focus on topics related to improving service quality, motivation, and effectiveness. Students can also focus on managerial topics such as creative problem solving and decision-making effectiveness.
Policy & Program Analysis
This field introduces students to applied economic policy analysis, institutional design, program evaluation, and performance measurement. Studies focus on the interdisciplinary literature on policy analysis and institutional design, program evaluation, and performance measurement.
