Certificate Program in Science, Technology and Public Policy (STPP)

Application Deadline
October 15, 2009

Overview
The Graduate Certificate Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) is designed for students already enrolled in a graduate degree program at the University of Michigan. It can be combined with a Master’s or a doctoral degree in any field.  We welcome applications from students in both LS&A departments and the professional schools.

The certificate requires 15 credit hours of course work, including electives, designed to teach students:

Find out more information about the graduate certificate program, including details about the application process.

Browse through the list of approved electives

What kinds of jobs might you get with an STPP certificate?
The STPP Program will prepare students to: 1) participate in the politics and policy of science & technology (as government officials or members of non-governmental organizations); 2) engage in science & technology policy analysis (through thinktanks, industry, or academia); and 3) contribute, as scientific or technological experts themselves, in the science & technology policymaking process.

PhD students in the STPP certificate program will likely go into academic research in their field, using the knowledge gained through the certificate to better relate their research interests to policy concerns.  There are nearly a million scientists and engineers engaged in national research activities, roughly 75% employed in industry, with the remainder in government agencies and universities. In their roles as the heads of research labs, scientists and engineers are constantly feeling the impact of science and technology policies and are often called upon to serve as expert witnesses for Congressional hearings or to sit on government advisory committees.  In order to understand how their expertise may (or may not) be used in the policymaking process, many of these professionals seek additional training in policy areas relevant to the conduct and management of research and development, the distinguishing economic characteristics and consequences of science and technology, the political issues that come into play when science moves out of the laboratory and into the policy domain, and the broad policy framework within which science and technology activities occur. 

For those Masters and PhD students who choose to pursue science policy as a career, principal markets for graduate degrees with either STPP concentrations or certificates would include Congressional staff; federal administration offices such as the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Government Accountability Office; federal mission agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health-Health and Human Services, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture, and their state and local government counterparts; government affairs in science and technology-related industries (in Michigan, for example, one could easily imagine graduates working for the automobile or pharmaceutical industries) and a broad range of nongovernmental policy bodies such as the National Research Council (and the National Academy complex), environmental organizations, nonprofit foundations, professional science societies and associations, and business and industry.  In addition, many large research universities are increasingly opening up offices in Washington, DC specifically to have a constant presence to serve as a base for outreach to Congress and the rest of the federal government for support of the universities missions, including research.

Browse through a list of STPP-related organizations and job opportunities.

Last Updated: Sept 4, 2008