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Public Affairs and Policy Management
The influence of public policy is pervasive in our society. It affects the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink. It affects our access to education and medical care. It determines the duties of our police at home and our troops overseas. It influences the pace of technological change and the extent of poverty. As a student in the Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management program (BPAPM), you will examine a wide variety of issues facing society today, and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to address them.
The BPAPM does this through a curriculum that is interdisciplinary and focused. It combines a careful selection of courses in economics, political science, law, history and business, with a series of coordinating courses exclusive to the degree. Together, these courses develop the conceptual skills that will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of what governments and organizations do, why they do it, and how they might do it better. Along the way you will develop the technical and analytical skills that will enable you to apply that understanding in the working world.
The Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs is the academic home for students in the BPAPM program. The College offers specialized academic counselling, an electronic resource centre and a range of speakers and workshops. It also provides a collegial setting in which you will be joined by approximately 100 Canadian and international students who are equally interested in bettering their society by improving public policy.
With an average of B or better after first year, you can apply for a student exchange. This involves spending one or two terms studying public affairs in a university located in Asia, Africa, the Americas or Europe. Graduates of the BPAPM program have also had great success in landing internships available at many different organizations. Internships offer the opportunity to gain work experience in an area of interest, to travel to a variety of locations and to meet people already working in the field. Over the last few years, Carleton graduates have taken up internships in Africa, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Tajikistan and Latvia.
Explore Public Affairs and Policy Management at Carleton University