Public Policy Positions: What Are Departments Seeking?

Brian Shoup

In the last issue of Policy Currents we reported the first set of results from the web-based survey of section members.  In that report, we provided a brief overview of some of the demographic characteristics of section members and their respective departments and units.  In this issue of the newsletter, we focus on what departments and research organizations are seeking in teaching and research interests of prospective faculty and staff.  Since the last issue was sent out, we have received several more responses on the survey, making the information somewhat more representative of the section and its membership. 

            At the outset, it appears that overall demand for qualified scholars to teach and research policy-related issues is quite high, especially when compared to other areas in political science.   In the web-based survey, section members were asked to characterize the overall likelihood that their department or unit would be hiring for a policy-related position in the next three years.  Table 1 reflects the distribution of these responses.

Table 1

Likelihood of Hiring a Policy Specialist in the Next Three Years

 

            Table 1 suggests that the majority of responding section members belong to departments or units that are at least somewhat likely to be hiring a new faculty member that specializes in public policy in the near future.  Of these, the majority (39 out of 42) of departments or units that are highly likely to hire for a policy position are located in public or private research universities. Section members at smaller liberal arts institutions tend to report a very small likelihood that their departments will be hiring policy specialists in the near future. Though the survey did not address the reasons for this disparity, one can surmise that the recent growth of policy and public administration schools may partly explain the hiring interest of larger research universities. 

            Respondents were also asked to characterize the substantive areas that prospective employees would be expected to teach and research.  Most members who answered this item suggested that their departments are looking for individuals who can teach a range of policy-related courses.  Specifically, many respondents voiced a common interest in finding new faculty members who can teach both a general public policy course in addition to a substantive policy area.  Of these substantive areas, the most highly mentioned types were environmental policy (12), health policy (10), and social welfare policy (7).  Surprisingly, there were relatively few respondents who reported that their departments were looking for individuals to teach regulatory policy (2 mentions) or educational policy (2 mentions).

            Section members also report a wide range of research interests that their respective departments are looking  to cover.  Again, environmental policy (14) is among the most commonly mentioned substantive areas.  Other highly mentioned policy areas include health policy (8), policy processes (8), social welfare policy (6), comparative public policy (5), and technology/communications policy (5).  It should also be noted that many respondents claimed that their respective departments were less interested in the specific research interests of prospective faculty and more interested in the overall quality of their research. 

            In the next edition of Policy Currents (Spring 2001) we will examine some of the pedagogical approaches employed by section members and the general requirements of respective departments for their students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.