General Social Policy

The General Social Policy concentration prepares students with a broad set of research, writing, and analysis skills to help analyze and develop solutions to some of the most difficult social problems. While students are encouraged to select one of the specialized public policy concentrations housed within a Heller Research Institute, the General Social concentration is an alternative track that provides a solid basis in the fundamentals of designing social policies, crafting effective policy, studying finance mechanisms, and using social science techniques to evaluate the effectiveness, fairness, and impact of public policy. Students who concentrate in General Social Policy work with an advisor in designing a customized concentration from courses within Heller, other Brandeis University Graduate Programs, and The Consortium of Greater Boston Schools. (The Heller School has cross-registration agreements with the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, and graduate-level courses at the Graduate School of Business at Bentley College, Boston University, Boston College, and Tufts University.)

Like the other concentrations, graduates of the general track gain the skills to work successfully in a wide range of roles in government, advocacy, policy research, policy implementation, and the private sector.