{"id":159,"date":"2020-02-26T21:42:52","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T21:42:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/public-policy\/?page_id=159"},"modified":"2026-03-04T18:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T18:10:06","slug":"learning-goals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/public-policy\/learning-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Public Policy &amp; Law is an interdisciplinary program in which students learn and practice methods and modes of thinking that help them understand and become actively engaged in legal and public policy issues. Our program introduces students to a broad range of analytical skills from the social sciences and humanities, including statistical analysis, legal argumentation, and close reading of texts. Our multidisciplinary, multi-method approach prepares students to examine every stage of the policy and law lifecycle, from historical formation and the politics of passage to the complex realities of implementation. Recognizing the inherent importance of lived experience and identity, our curriculum examines how social categories like gender, race, immigration status, religion, and sexuality shape policy and law. We further ask our students to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of significant issues, acknowledging that law and policy are always value laden.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our location in Connecticut\u2019s capital city of Hartford provides students with ideal access to state and local governments, as well as to non-profit and advocacy organizations involved in the making of law and policy. Through the major, students complete an internship coupled with an academic seminar and share their insights in op-eds. These real-world experiences link academic study and practice, shaping students\u2019 capacities as engaged participants in public life.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u202fPublic Policy and Law program aims to ensure that all majors:\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Understand\u202fthe\u202fpolicy and law lifecycle, from historical formation and\u202fthe\u202fpolitics of passage to\u202fthe\u202fcomplex realities of implementation.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"5\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Acquire\u202fdepth of knowledge in a substantive area of public policy or law.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"6\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Become effective communicators, learning to write, listen, and convey ideas persuasively to diverse audiences.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"7\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Develop strong critical thinking skills, including\u202fthe\u202fcapacity to analyze complex texts.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"8\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gain research skills in\u202fidentifying\u202fquestions, assessing\u202fthe\u202fcurrent state of knowledge, and evaluating hypotheses using both quantitative and qualitative data.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"9\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Apply\u202ftheir learning through independent and collaborative engagement inside and outside of\u202fthe\u202fclassroom.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"10\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Emerge\u202fas public-minded civic participants with\u202fthe\u202fcapacity to make informed ethical decisions, recognizing and valuing a diversity of interests, identities, and worldviews.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public Policy &amp; Law is an interdisciplinary program in which students learn and practice methods and modes of thinking that help them understand and become actively engaged in legal and public policy issues. Our program introduces students to a broad range of analytical skills from the social sciences and humanities, including statistical analysis, legal argumentation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-159","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Learning Goals - Public Policy and Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/public-policy\/learning-goals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Learning Goals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Public Policy &amp; Law is an interdisciplinary program in which students learn and practice methods and modes of thinking that help them understand and become actively engaged in legal and public policy issues. 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