For the 2021–22 academic year, the La Follette School’s Undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy program will increase its enrollment to more than 200 students.
The La Follette School offered its first undergraduate courses in 2018–19 and awarded its first certificates in May 2020. Nearly 100 undergraduate students have received public policy certificates since the program began.
“Students find that the Certificate coursework grows their understanding of the public policy process and how change happens,” says Undergraduate Advisor Mary Michaud. “The undergraduate courses train students to analyze and apply evidence in policymaking, and they apply these approaches in policy-relevant internships. That applied experience often makes them stand out as job or graduate-program candidates.”
The La Follette School also will begin accepting applications for its new Undergraduate Certificate in Health Policy program in November.
The Undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy program is one of the cornerstones of the La Follette School’s Kohl Initiative, created in May 2019 with a $10 million gift from former US Sen. Herb Kohl.
The program allows students to apply a policy perspective to their major course of study and bolsters their skills for success in the workforce or in their graduate school coursework. Students build a strong foundation for careers in government, nonprofit organizations, or the private sector.