ABSTRACT
Public policy courses are undergraduate curriculum standards in fields such as political science, public administration, and economics. Indeed, prestigious institutions such as Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy offer graduate programs in policy studies. There are professional societies for the study of public policy and entire academic journals devoted to promoting and disseminating the best of academic public policy scholarship. The policy sciences were to draw from all the social sciences, law, and other disciplines. The idea of the policy sciences was an outgrowth not just of Harold Lasswell's academic interests but also of his practical experience in government. One way to bring the field of public policy into focus is to view it in the plural rather than the singular sense. Within a range of different orientations toward the study of public policy, it is possible to identify a rough and ready coherence.
