STUDY AT THE INTERSECTION OF THEORY AND PRACTICE
"Our problem is not the lack of knowing; it is the lack of doing." Senator Mark O. Hatfield
Public and nonprofit leaders across the world are facing increasingly "wicked problems" that require sophisticated policy and management solutions that draw from a range of expertise. The Ph.D. in Public Affairs and Policy, housed in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University, is uniquely situated to meet this challenge. Drawing on and integrating theory and practice (praxis), our students gain critical insights into the conceptual frameworks that define systems of democratic governance and the wicked problems that plague them as well as the analytic skills to devise and implement collaborative, evidence-based solutions. Our graduates are well positioned for high impact careers in academia, the public sector, and civil society.