Policy Areas
In addition to its rigorous core curriculum, the LBJ School has seven academic specializations. These specializations represent the faculty's core areas of expertise, as well as reflecting the strength of resources available from other departments at the University of Texas.
International Affairs
The International Affairs Specialization provides LBJ School students the tools and expert knowledge to prepare them for careers in public affairs in our increasingly globalized world, helping them understand the inter-governmental, cross-cultural, and global non-governmental aspects of policy problems. The specialization introduces key paradigms for understanding international conflict and cooperation, highlights contemporary international history, analyzes the making of U.S. foreign policy, assesses the range of policy tools available in international affairs (diplomatic, economic, and military), compares different cultures and governments, and explores the special ethical concerns that arise from asymmetries in power between states in the absence of a recognized international sovereign.
It includes courses in the following areas: national security; international economics, energy and environment; conflict management; political and economic development; and international and non-governmental organizations. Credit towards the specialization requirement will be granted for appropriate courses at other UT Austin departments and schools.
The International Affairs Specialization will host a series of
discussions on current topics in international affairs.
International affairs faculty will lead many of the sessions,
beginning with a short presentation and a set of discussion questions
for the group. At other sessions, invited guests will lead the
discussions, often based on short selections of their written work
that will be circulated in advance. All sessions should be very
interactive; they will not be lectures. The entire LBJ School
community is invited to participate, but those students pursuing the
international affairs specialization are especially strongly
encouraged to come.
Natural Resources and the Environment
The Natural Resources and the Environment specialization provides coursework to support students interested in air, water, or land management; energy policy; or minerals policy in the government, nonprofit, or for-profit sectors. Courses typically address the relation among humans, other living creatures, and the earth and its chemical, physical, and geological processes. This specialization encourages graduate students to use technical, economic, and political information to be effective in policy analysis and policy making within local, regional, state, or federal arenas. The specialization builds on the LBJ School common core and flexible core courses and adds four components: five 3-credit-hour courses; a professional report in this area; some field experience; and an oral presentation of research.
Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies
The mission of the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies Specialization is to prepare graduates of the LBJ School for leadership positions in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations.
Students will acquire skills and knowledge in the three pillars of civil society studies:
Nonprofit Studies:
Attention is given to the historical development, management, structure, and operation of nonprofit organizations. The importance of a mission-focus, as well as the legal, ethical, and philosophical underpinnings of the nonprofit sector, combined with analytic and policy issues, are of critical importance in this field of practice.
Philanthropy:
Courses review the types of philanthropic and charitable organizations, their operational practices, and the legal and philosophic issues that arise from their existence and activities.
Volunteerism and Community Service:
Students explore the role of volunteers and national service participants as agents of advocacy and change, governance and policy development, and service delivery. The role of volunteers, and general community activism within a democracy, as well as the management of volunteers are critical dimensions of this goal area.
Public Management and Leadership
The mission of the Public Management and Leadership Specialization is to enhance the ability of graduates of the LBJ School to manage and lead ethically and effectively in public organizations. Our target audience is students who intend to pursue managerial or staff positions in these organizations. The specialization will provide students with an understanding about the key characteristics of both formal and informal organizations, the nature of bureaucracies, and the role of the individuals in organizations. The course work is designed to develop overall skills of leadership and management as well as specific knowledge and skills in various aspects of management and leadership.
The management components include strategic planning; managing human resources; budgeting and financial planning; resource acquisition; accounting, reporting, and others forms of accountability; program evaluation; auditing; financial analysis; procurement; information management; and financial and administrative controls.
In the area of ethical leadership the components include: understanding and influencing individuals; forming and leading work teams; organizational and national culture; leading change; establishing a compelling and meaningful vision; creating and maintaining an ethical work environment; developing oneself and others for leadership; communicating clearly and persuasively; thinking critically, analyzing complex and diverse concepts, and using reasoning, judgment and imagination in complex new leadership situations; using power and influence; motivating others; and resolving conflicts.
Social and Economic Policy
The Social and Economic Policy Specialization encompasses substantive areas of inquiry related to social policy, economic policy, and the intersection between the two.
Among the topics covered in the courses that count toward this specialization are gender and health, border health, aging policy, American social policy, criminal justice policy, education policy, labor and workforce policy, family policy, housing and community development, central banking and politics, fiscal and intergovernmental issues, trade and economic integration, and urban and regional economics.
Technology, Innovation, and Information Policy
Policy areas this specialization covers include research and development; the application of technology to economic and social needs (including energy, the environment, health, education, and national security); innovation; high tech industrial development; technology-oriented development strategies; intellectual property, information, and information security policy; distribution and dissemination of digital information and cultural content; technology as a tool in governance; community and regional development; and effects of technology on social, economic, and political outcomes.
LBJ-affiliated faculty available to read PRs include Auerbach, Chapman, Flamm, Gavin, Ghamkhar, Gholz, Greenberg, Inman, Slatin, Spence, Stolp, and Wilson. Faculty in other schools offering courses approved for this area, and available to work with LBJ students include Doty (Information), Strover (Communications), Moore (Architecture), Oden (Architecture), and Allison (Business). Several LBJ School faculty are associated with the UT Graduate Portfolio Program in Communication, Information, and Cultural Policy, and most courses offered through this portfolio program will also count toward the LBJ TIIP specialization area. (See http://www.utexas.edu/portfolio/cicp/admissions/) Professors associated with this portfolio program who may also be available to serve on PRs include Dempster, Daly, Sinha, Stein, Dillon, Harmon, Phillips, and Straubhaar. A number of LBJ faculty work with the IC2 Institute, which provides some resources supplementing LBJ activities in this area. Information on the IC2 Institute may be found at http://www.ic2.org/.
Urban and State Affairs
The LBJ School of Public Affairs recognizes the importance of urban and state affairs through its teaching, research, and outreach activities. In the Urban and State Affairs Specialization, students have the opportunity to study the public policy and governance issues in the cities and regions of Texas, the U.S., and abroad and thereby prepare themselves for professional careers in the public and non-governmental sectors. Students in this specialization may wish to avail themselves of courses in the Community and Regional Planning Program and the Department of Geography. There are several research units at the LBJ School and elsewhere on campus that conduct research on urban and state affairs.
