Courses

This course examines the nature and extent of poverty primarily in the U.S. but with a comparative perspective (developed countries in Europe). To start, this course will focus on how poverty is defined and measured. It will proceed to explore how conceptions of poverty are socially constructed and historically bounded; examine what the causes and consequences of poverty are and discuss how these are complex and interwoven; and show how people can experience poverty at different points in their life course—some groups experiencing poverty more so than others.

Advocacy Lab is for those who could imagine working in national or local advocacy organizations that make change happen or anyone who wants to understand the art of issue advocacy as a theory and method of social change. An advocacy campaign attempts to impact public policy, most often through changes in regulations and/or legislation.

Open only to students in the MSPP program. This course provides MS in Public Policy students with an overview of contemporary public management. We review important intellectual and constitutional foundations of the administrative state and construct a theoretical approach to the study and practice of public management. A major objective of the course is to develop skills in critical analysis necessary for practice.

The course introduces students to the basic tools of real estate analysis and finance. The development and redevelopment of urban real estate, especially housing, is examined from a public policy perspective. Students will learn the acquisition and development process and master the basics of project-level real estate economics. Emphasis is on the financial structure of real estate projects, including tax implications, and how a variety of public policies can influence private development activity.

This course will focus on the issuance and management of debt by state and local governments as well as nonprofit institutions. The course will serve as an overview of how municipal and nonprofit borrowers access the capital markets, primarily through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Students will understand the role of the various participants in the capital markets, including but not limited to the issuer, underwriter, financial advisor, legal counsel, rating agency, insurer and investor.

Open only to students in the MSPP program. This course provides MS in Public Policy students with an overview of contemporary public management. We review important management and leadership concepts that are required to approach public management. The course will focus on specific problems that leaders may face and tools that you can use. A major objective of the course is to develop skills in critical analysis necessary for practice.

This second course in the Housing and Community Development sequence expands upon the foundational understanding of housing and community development policy by focusing on how key policy drivers, the current political and social moment, and core stakeholders are likely to create and/or limit opportunities moving forward. The course will examine the ways that particularly housing policy does and does not change, and what influences such changes.

Policymaking in the United States often raises important legal issues. This course is primarily designed to help public service students understand the kinds of legal issues that can be raised in the context of policymaking as well as the key elements of the U.S. legal system through which these issues are often litigated.

Affordable housing that's 40% less expensive to build. Three times as many soup kitchen clients served each hour. Hospital ER wait time cut by 90%. This is the type of impact social innovators aspire to achieve by applying the method called "Lean."

This course examines the process by which financing objectives are transformed into municipal bond transactions and other opportunities to utilize structured finance products in the health and corporate finance sectors. The course will center on a case study of an actual bond transaction that financed multiple new money (construction) and refunding projects. We will learn the mathematics underlying financial structure and the governing conventions and vocabulary of structured finance. We will study the instruments of structured finance and how they manifest into structural form.

The consequences of disastrous events are escalating globally in terms of lives lost, injuries, adverse social conditions, economic costs, and environmental destruction. Furthermore, the rapidity of action required when an emergency arises poses unique challenges to traditional planning and the provision of public services.

This 0-credit workshop will drill down on fundamentals of written English. We will cover punctuation, articles, passive/active voice, how and when to cite others’ work and best practices for self editing. Our focus will be on memos, but the lessons will be applicable to all written communications deliverables. Using short in class assignments and a memo you could possibly use in another class, the course is geared toward Wagner students who want to improve sentence mechanics.

This course, “Urban Design— Visualization Tools & Neighborhood Challenges,” will introduce students to visualization techniques in a series of linked exercises during the first half of the semester; in the second half of the semester, students will further develop these visualization and design tools as they address challenges and opportunities in a rapidly-changing New York City neighborhood. Instructor Joanna Simon will teach the first half of the course while Professor Louise Harpman will teach the second half.

This course, taught jointly by faculty members across the university, offers doctoral students an opportunity to learn about the latest theoretical and empirical research on critical urban issues. The course is not taught in a lecture format. Rather, the colloquium focuses on discussions of academic works in progress by scholars from around the country, working in such disciplines as sociology, history, planning, law, public health, public policy, and economics.

This course, taught jointly by faculty members across the university, offers doctoral students an opportunity to learn about the latest theoretical and empirical research on critical urban issues. The course is not taught in a lecture format. Rather, the colloquium focuses on discussions of academic works in progress by scholars from around the country, working in such disciplines as sociology, history, planning, law, public health, public policy, and economics.

Couples with CAP-GP.3301

As part of the core curriculum of the NYU Wagner Masters program, Capstone teams spend an academic year addressing challenges and identifying opportunities for a client organization or working on a pre-approved, team-generated project in which they develop a business case or prototype to create social impact or launch a social enterprise.

Open only to students in the MSPP program. Policy and Data Studio builds on the core courses, your advanced coursework, and is specifically meant to deepen your data and data analytic skills, in the content of a policy issue. Studio is a unique end event where you will use data to shed light on a policy question of your choice using the technical skills and specialized knowledge gained from the program.

Open only to students in the MSPP program. This course will provide students with an opportunity to engage in policy analysis in situations that mimic the real world practice of the craft of policy analysis. In practice, policy analysis requires drawing inferences from limited information, under time pressure and data constraints. It requires asking the right questions, finding the right data, assessing the quality of the data and analyses, and communicating results effectively in writing and in person.

Open only to students in the MSPP program. The goal of this course is to provide students with an introduction to key methods of quantitative policy analysis. We develop the statistical toolkit of regression analysis, reviewing the bivariate regression model and then continuing with multiple regression, and explore how these methods are applied to policy analysis in five benchmark techniques: randomized trials, direct regression analysis, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and difference in differences.

Developing and executing an organization’s marketing strategy can be a complicated process, but is integral to raising money, increasing visibility, recruiting brand ambassadors/influencers/advocates/supporters – and building momentum to achieve its mission. It is also affected by issues of the day and time, whether the COVID virus, racial and social injustice, the political climate and world events. 

The goal of this course to is help Executive MPA students learn financial tools to apply to decision-making within mission-driven and governmental organizations.

This graduate level course will provide an in-depth analysis of gender and sexuality policy in the United States. We will focus on the role that criminalization plays in this area, examining topics such abortion and regulation of intimate partner behavior, including sodomy. Practical application on how policy is made will be intertwined throughout the course and we will use case studies to examine why certain policy efforts, such as marriage equality was successful, while the Equal Rights Amendment failed.

The course will focus on current issues in education and social policy, beginning with an analysis  of the case for public intervention in the market for education.  We will then turn to considering key policy debates and options for addressing important problems - including both policies aimed at the education sector (i.e., public schools) and those affecting other sectors (i.e., housing policy). Particular attention will be paid to reviewing and weighing the evidence base for policy making and considering alternative solutions.

Students will have an opportunity to learn about fundraising, as well as philanthropy more broadly. This introductory course will examine the range of ways to raise funds from government, individuals, foundations and corporations. The importance of stewardship, program evaluation, and the role of the board and staff in developing effective fundraising strategies will be addressed.