OSUN Certificate in Public Policy and Economic Analysis

Aim
The OSUN Economic Democracy Initiative has launched a new undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy and Economic Analysis. The certificate is designed for the next generation policymakers who are interested in addressing the structural determinants of inequality, unemployment, and poverty. It provides formal recognition of a rigorous and interdisciplinary course of study.

Why is it offered?

• To expand and integrate curricular programming across OSUN
• To provide students with additional credentialing opportunities
• To develop competencies and support students with special interest in policies targeting economic inequality, instability and insecurity

Who is eligible?
All undergraduate students at OSUN member institutions. Applicants from all programs are welcome.

How?
At each institution, a student can earn the certificate by completing:

• The two regularly offered core OSUN Network Collaborative Courses. If an institution does not yet offer both courses, students can substitute one of them by participating in the EDI Summer Workshop (competitive admission) or by enrolling in the OSUN summer course Democratizing Work.
• One methods course offered at the home institution
• 2 elective courses offered at the home institution
• A writing component: completion of a public policy brief

Application process

1. A completed application form
2. A short essay (1,000 word max) outlining:
   • Reasons for pursuing the certificate;
   • Area of social concern that the student wishes examine in their policy brief
   • An overview of completed and intended courses to fulfill certificate requirements
3. An email acknowledging advisor approval (attach email from academic advisor)

Certificate coordinators at each institution will keep record of applicants, support participating students, and track progress toward certificate completion.

The certificate is designed for the next generation policymakers who are interested in addressing the structural determinants of inequality, unemployment, and poverty. It provides formal recognition of a rigorous and interdisciplinary course of study.

The certificate offers training in cutting-edge economic thinking to tackle twenty-first century problems, combining the tools and techniques from several methodological traditions in economics, an intersectional approach to data science, and a careful study of historical and institutional factors. The certificate is open to all undergraduate students, irrespective of disciplinary focus in their primary program of study.

None of today’s complex challenges, from climate change and inequality to economic insecurity and poverty, fit neatly within the confines of a single academic discipline. Addressing these problems therefore requires policymakers to take a multifaceted approach, incorporating diverse perspectives and methods into their actions.

CORE COMPETENCIES 
In completing the requirements for the certificate, students will:

• Expand the scope and methods of their inquiry through instruction in multiple economic paradigms, including those not typically emphasized in traditional curricula.
• Interrogate questions of employment, inequality, discrimination, and economic (in)security, to name a few, using interdisciplinary and intersectional research methods.
• Develop data skills to examine these challenges from macro and micro perspectives.
• Learn to write public policy briefs for policy-making audiences.

Upon completion of the certificate, students will gain a deeper understanding of today’s economic challenges and contemporary policy discussions and be equipped with tools to conduct their own policy analysis and research in a multidisciplinary manner. Each of the courses fulfilling the requirements for the Certificate contribute to this outcome.

REQUIREMENTS
To earn the certificate, students must complete a total of five (5) courses (two required and three electives) for a total of 15 US or 30 ECTS credits. Two of these courses must be OSUN Network Collaborative Courses. OSUN Online Courses or participation in the EDI Summer Workshop in Public Finance and Economic Policy can substitute for the required core course with permission of the advisor. The remaining three courses may be part of the regular curriculum of the student’s home institution and/or OSUN courses and will fulfill the certificate’s methods and additional elective course requirements.

COURSE OF STUDY
Two required core courses (1,2)

• OSUN Network Collaborative Course: Economic Perspectives for Policy Making (or a corresponding OSUN policy-focused History of Economic Thought course)
• OSUN Network Collaborative Course: Right to Employment (or a corresponding OSUN Online Economic History course, such as Democratizing Work or Full Employment: History, Theory, Policy)

1 Institutions, which do not yet offer either of these collaborative courses, can allow students to enroll in another institution’s course via a hybrid format subject to faculty approval.
2 Participation in the EDI Summer Workshop in Public Finance and Economic Policy at Bard College can be substituted for one of the core courses.

Three elective courses
One elective methods/data analysis course offered by the home institution.
Two elective courses focused on public policy to address questions of economic insecurity, offered at the home institution. Students are strongly encouraged to take at least one of these courses in a discipline outside of their primary program of study.

A public policy brief
Students will be required to submit a public policy brief before completion of the program. This requirement can be fulfilled by producing a brief for one of the courses taken for the certificate or as an additional paper approved by the advisor.

ELIGIBILITY 
All undergraduate students across the Open Society University Network are eligible for the Certificate.

ADMISSION
To ensure timely progression through the program, students are asked to submit approval from their program advisor along with their application, which can be emailed to the Institution’s Certificate coordinator. Prior to submitting an application, students should have completed one of the Certificate’s core course requirements.

SUGGESTED PROGRAM OF STUDY FOR STUDENTS AT AUCA

Core courses

• OSUN Network Collaborative Course History of Economic Thought (offered spring semesters at AUCA, Prof. Asel Kyrgyzbaeva)
• OSUN Network Collaborative Course, The Right to Employment (offered spring semester, AUCA, Prof. Akylai Muktarbekkyzy and Prof. Meerim Djakypova) or EDI Summer Workshop in Public Policy (Bard College campus)

Electives

• One data/methods course at AUCA: ECO 401 Research Methods in Economics and Social Sciences
• Two additional electives from AUCA: SOC 201: Stratification, Inequality, & Power, ECO 305: Labor Economics, ECO 313: Environmental and Resource Economics

If you have any questions, please contact the Economics Department at assist_econ@auca.kg