Walden University Introduces First Ph.D. In Public Policy and Administration Available Through Distance Education

Walden University is introducing the first online Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration this December. The introduction of this new program comes in response to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projections of significant increases in U.S., national, state and local government employment and the impending retirement of Baby Boomers in the public and nonprofit sectors within the next five to 10 years.

“The timing of our new Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration could not be better,” said Dr. John Vinton, chairman of the management division at Walden. “To have robust communities, leaders in public service must be grounded in scientific inquiry and scholarship and have the vision to create plans, develop policies and manage resources. Increasingly, they must also be prepared for the challenges of working collaboratively and effectively across organizations, government levels, sectors, and even national boundaries, which appear to be collapsing all around us.”

Current faculty for the program include the Executive Director of the Minnesota Citizen’s League, the former Director of Research of the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota, the former Mayor of Golden Colorado and notable others who plan on enhancing curricula with personal, job-related experiences.

The program builds on Walden’s longstanding tradition of scholarship and research for the sake of social change. “Because Walden believes in the `scholarship of application’,” Vinton said, “students will be encouraged to apply their knowledge to understand and influence public policy.” Students’ dissertations will focus on such critical societal problems as poverty, crime and racism, access to quality health care and environmental protection.

Walden University pioneered distance education in 1970 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The University, which is also introducing an online Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in December, has graduated thousands of students in the past 30 years, representing all 50 states and over 32 countries.

For more information on Walden’s new Ph.D. in Public Policy, MPA and MBA programs and other programs in management, education, public health and the social and behavioral sciences, visit their Web site at www.waldenu.edu or contact an enrollment counselor toll-free at 1-866-4WALDEN.