| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1967 (1999) |
| Director | Susan Webb Yackee |
Academic staff | 22 |
| Students | 110 |
| Location | ,, |
| Campus | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Website | www.lafollette.wisc.edu |
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TheLa Follette School of Public Affairs is a publicgraduatepublic policy school at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison. It offersmaster's degrees inpublic affairs and international public affairs, joint graduate degrees with other departments, and undergraduate certificates in public policy and health policy. The La Follette School is housed in the Observatory Hill Office Building and Sterling Hall.
The school was founded in 1967 as the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration byClara Penniman, the first woman to chair the university'spolitical science department, making it one of the longest established institutions by type for the specific study ofpublic policy. In 1983 it was separated from the department by an act of theWisconsin Legislature, which established an Institute of Public Affairs named forWisconsingovernor andU.S. senatorRobert M. La Follette Sr. The Institute was upgraded to a School in 1999, and offers a relatively small class size from a competitive international admissions process.
Two graduate degrees are offered by the La Follette School:
The MPA is based around a core curriculum ofpolicy analysis and development,public management,microeconomics, andstatistics. The MIPA has a greater focus onmacroeconomics andinternational trade. Both are designed as two-year professional programs, with a capstone research project for real-world clients during the final semester. Students select one or more focus fields, such aspublic finance,health policy,public management,social andpoverty policy, orinternational development.
Students may enroll in joint degree programs with other university departments:
An accelerated program allowsundergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete their first year of graduate study during their senior year.
The undergraduate certificate in public policy allows undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to apply a policy perspective to their major course of study.
For 2014,U.S. News ranked the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs #12 in the nation among graduate schools of public affairs.[1]
The school is recognized as one of the top-three leaders in the study of cultural andsocial policy, a field covering sociological elements in public affairs to federal social programs, planning, and implementation, along with theUniversity of Michigan andHarvard University.[2]
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43°04′34.4″N89°24′27.5″W / 43.076222°N 89.407639°W /43.076222; -89.407639
