Please see below for information on our Graduate Courses, Undergraduate Courses, and Fellowships and Assistantships. 


Graduate Courses

Housed in the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, the Center offers courses in the Nonprofit Policy and Leadership Track. Sample courses and faculty include:

Implementation of Social Policy PPOL-713-10 (Fall only)
Steven Rathgeb Smith, Ph.D.
Waldemar A Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy, GPPI

This course focuses on the implementation of social policy. Thus, the course will examine how social policies are delivered to citizens through a sometimes complex array of public, nonprofit and for-profit institutions. Further, it will discuss the increasingly diverse set of policy tools used by policymakers to address urgent social problems including: tax credits and deductions, vouchers, and contracting with nonprofit and for-profit organizations. As such, the course will provide students will a deeper understanding of the key institutions in social policy implementation and specific skills and knowledge of successful strategies to manage the implementation process to achieve important policy and management goals. Also, social policy implementation increasingly involves networking and collaborative governance. Consequently, students will learn important frameworks and tools to develop and sustain key networks in support of specific policy objectives. The course will also address the role of front-line workers and clients in the implementation process. The class will employ multiple learning formats including case discussion, selected reading from the policy implementation literature, and guest speakers from the local social policy community.

Credits: 1.5

Nonprofit and NGO Management PPOL531 (Spring only)
Steven Rathgeb Smith, Ph.D.
Waldemar A Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy, GPPI

Throughout the world, nonprofits and NGOs have emerged as increasingly policy advocates and providers of valued public services. This course addresses the strategic management of these organizations through the uses of cases, articles and books on management topics, guest speakers and student projects. Key management topics will be covered including: organizational start-up and sustainability; board governance; staff and volunteer management; resource development; government-nonprofit/NGO relations; social entrepreneurship and social enterprise; advocacy; and evaluation and accountability. The course will utilize cases on nonprofits and NGOs in the US and abroad to inform class discussion and student assignments. This course will focus on community-based organizations in social services, development, culture, health care, and education. 

Credits: 3

Public Leadership: Principles, Practices and Realities PPOL 595 (Fall only)
Kathy Postel Kretman, Ph.D.
Director, CPNL and Research Professor of Public Policy, GPPI

This course is designed for students seeking to become effective public leaders--as government officials and staff, issue advocates, or social entrepreneurs. Students will be challenged to think critically about the moral responsibilities and ethical dilemmas of public leadership; to understand the competing demands on leaders trying to accommodate politics, institutional constraints, and the multiple agendas of interested parties; to examine your own capacity for leadership; and to discover new ways to think about and exercise leadership for the public good. We will explore leadership principles and practices in a variety of ways: analysis of the current political scene, key actors, and forces influencing leadership decisions; case studies of leaders, ranging from grassroots organizers to presidents; class discussions with experienced public leaders and the journalists who cover them; and participation in class activities designed to allow you to practice your own leadership skills. Students will have an opportunity to interview two leaders about the issues they face, the strategies they use, and the advice they offer to emerging public leaders. 

Credits: 3

Public Policy, Advocacy and Social Change PPOL 535(Spring only)
Gary Bass
Executive Director, OMBWatch

This course examines the historic role nonprofit organizations have played in influencing public policy, building movements, organizing issue campaigns, and fostering civic engagement, as well as the changing relationships nonprofits have had with government, business and the media. It looks at many of the current policy and advocacy initiatives in fields such as welfare reform, the environment, poverty, civil rights, consumerism, health, and government reform. The course also provides an overview of the diverse strategies being used by nonprofit organizations to carry out their mission, such as organizing, legal services and litigation, research, voter education, lobbying, policy formulation, public education, and coalition building. A small, informal reception will follow each class to give students an opportunity to interact with outstanding guest speakers.

Credits: 3

Undergraduate Courses

Fellowships and Assistantships