Policy, Planning, and Development (DPPD)

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The Price School’s Doctor of Policy, Planning, and Development (DPPD) provides established public, private and nonprofit sectors professionals with a doctoral-level academic experience that extends their knowledge of public affairs, enhances their leadership capabilities and develops their capacities in social change and innovation. The Price School administers the DPPD in a manner consistent with USC Graduate School policies.

Curriculum Requirements

Admission with Advanced Standing

A student begins the DPPD program with advanced standing if the student possesses a master’s degree in public policy, public management, public administration, urban planning or a related field from an accredited institution. Students with advanced standing must complete a minimum of 40 units toward the DPPD, as described below. Students without advanced standing must complete a minimum of 60 units, including the 40 units described below and 20 additional units from graduate-level course work completed at USC.

Required Courses

Core Courses (16 units)

PLUS 650 Public Policy and Globalization Units: 4
PLUS 651 Applied Research Design and Inquiry Units: 4
PLUS 652 Place, Institutions, and Governance Units: 4
PLUS 653 Leading Change and Innovation in Urban Communities Units: 4

Methodology Course (4 units)

Students select one 4-unit graduate-level methodology course in consultation with their professional advisory committee. The committee chair or faculty adviser must approve the course.

Field of Study (16 units)

In consultation with their faculty adviser and/or professional advisory committee, each student must identify a field of study and 16 units of associated course work. Four of those units must be a directed research project with the student’s professional advisory committee chair, which aims to prepare the student to write their professional dissertation. A student may complete 8 of the 16 units outside of the Price School.

Qualifying Examination and Professional Dissertation (4 units)

The professional dissertation is an in-depth study of a public policy issue, administrative process, or other element of professional practice that demonstrates an original contribution to public policy, planning, or development theory and/or practice. It must be a substantial scholarly work that satisfies the rigorous standards of doctoral-level research. Each student’s professional advisory committee supervises the research.

At the end of their third year in the program, each student must complete a qualifying examination, which is an oral defense of their dissertation research proposal before a three-person committee. Upon successful completion, students advance to doctoral candidacy and enroll in PLUS 694a , PLUS 694b , PLUS 694c , PLUS 694d and PLUS 694z , typically in their fourth year of the program. Each student must maintain continuous registration in PLUS 694a , PLUS 694b , PLUS 694c , PLUS 694d and PLUS 694z series until finishing their professional dissertation.

Upon completing an approved professional dissertation draft, each student must present their findings in an open session, but the student’s professional advisory committee is the sole evaluator.

Additional Information

Professional Advisory Committee

By the end of their second year in the program, each student must form a three-member professional advisory committee to oversee their dissertation research proposal. The committee chair must be a full-time Price School faculty member. At least two committee members must be full-time USC faculty members. One committee member may include a professional working in the student’s area of research, providing that the person possesses at least a master’s degree, and subject to program director and vice dean approval.

Dissertation Format

Each professional dissertation must conform to current USC Graduate School rules regarding format and method of preparation.

Length of Study

The maximum length of study within the DPPD program is six academic years. Students who wish to suspend study for health reasons must complete the university’s voluntary health leave of absence process.

Other Academic Issues

DPPD program rules regarding academic standing and any other issues not directly addressed here are consistent with those of the USC Graduate School.

Prerequisite

Applicants are required to have a basic competence in descriptive and inferential statistics. This prerequisite may be met in one of two ways: (1) entering students must have passed a college level inferential statistics class, with a grade of “B” or better, at an approved university within three years of matriculation or (2) take PPD 502x Statistical Foundations for Public Management and Policy and complete with a grade of “B” or better. If students select to take PPD 502x , the units associated with this class may not be used toward the DPPD degree.