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Undergraduate
Programs
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
The Andrew Young School continues to attract a diverse group of undergraduates. This year, 46 percent of our students were women, 54 percent were men; and 56 percent were minority (including students who identified themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, or mixed). The School actively recruits international students, most of whom attend in the graduate programs, but our undergraduate class included students from 20 different countries who chose a major in the AYSPS this year.
In This Section
Although the majority of the school's undergraduates maintain part-time or full-time jobs while attending Georgia State, they are also among the most active in campus and community activities. Georgia State’s Student Government (SGA) president, Tourgee Simpson, a human resources policy major, with the help of other officers, was responsible for involving more students in SGA than ever before by revamping the volunteer program to train potential candidates and recruit freshmen. Senator Josue Heredia, who serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, and senator Genise Mixon, on the Public Relations Committee, are both economics majors. AYSPS senator Dominique Huff, who is distribution manager and a regular columnist for The Signal, and this year’s director of Rampway, Joseph Winter, are majoring in urban policy studies.
Twelve AYSPS students participated in athletics programs: Brian Langman (cross-country), Justin Meyer (baseball), Sylvester Morgan (men’s basketball), Andrea Neely and Monica Thomas (women’s basketball), Jamie Cagle (softball), Veronica Botold and Jacque Redman (women’s soccer), Aaron Farrelly, Tyler Hamilton, Jason Rivers and Chad Wainwright (men’s soccer). Seven AYSPS students, David Boyd, Bonnie Britt, Michael Collins, Glenda Crunk, Blake Dettwiler, Kelley Martin, and Whitney Rusert, were named to Who’s Who in American Universities, in recognition of their exceptional scholarship, extracurricular activities, and service to the university community. Kevin Ward, who teaches at McEachern High School, was nominated to Who’s Who Among American Teachers. Glenda Crunk was selected by the Office of Student Life to receive The Nell Hamilton Trotter Student Leadership Award, given to one student each semester in recognition of outstanding leadership and contributions to the campus community. Two economics majors were grand prize winners in the 5th Annual Crossing Paths, Crossing Cultures photo exhibit: Kimberly Cooper took her award-winning Study Abroad photo while visiting South Africa as part of the AYSPS/Morehouse College Economic Studies in South Africa program. Huiping Du, who completed the B.S. in Economics program and is currently a master’s student, won the grand prize for International Students.
The AYSPS Economics Club is one of the more active student organizations on campus. This year, the club designed posters about economics for use at Panther Preview and the Undecided Majors Marketplace sponsored by the Student Advising Center, wrote articles for Rampway, hosted a new student reception and faculty/student mixer, and presented a popular lecture series with topics designed to appeal to a wide audience (including “What is the effect of guns and drugs on society?” and “How can economics help you make good decisions?”). Officers Jeremiah Handschuh, Brian Johnson and Mario Martinez coordinated these events with the help of faculty advisor, Paul Ferraro. There is also an active chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the national honor society for economics majors, on campus. This year, 21 students were nominated to this honor society.
Alpha Eta Rho, Gamma Sigma Chapter of the national aviation fraternity, is also very active on the Georgia State campus. Twenty new policy studies students with career tracks in aviation qualified for Alpha Eta Rho this year (the chapter now has 50 members). The fraternity is known for its unusual fundraising and recruiting events, including the Airplane Wash and the (plane) rides they offer during their Days-at-the-Airport for new and potential aviation students. Their most recent program featured rides in a “Pitts Special” aerobatic airplane. Rides and club meetings were organized by officers Jared Adams and Joe Stephens with faculty advisor Richard Charles.
This year Brian Buckwald, a human resources policy major, was president of Circle K International, a student organization sponsored by Kiwanis club that exists to promote leadership and community service. Other AYSPS students participated in the Black Student Alliance, the Golden Key International Honor Society, the Latin American Student Association, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the College Republicans of GSU and the Young Democrats of GSU, among other organizations. Several AYSPS students who are active in ROTC were recently nominated for The National Society of Scabbard and Blade, a military honor society that will soon initiate a Georgia State chapter. The undergraduate class includes career soldiers in the Army, Navy and Marines who have returned to school to complete AYSPS degrees and advance their military careers, as well as students who plan to join the military after graduation.
Economics
Always a popular graduate major at Georgia State, the Economics program is increasingly attracting undergraduate majors. Students may choose an Economics major in the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees offered by the Andrew Young School, or as a B.B.A. in the Robinson College of Business. All three degree programs continue to grow in popularity: the B.A./B.S. programs experienced a 28 percent increase from fall 2003 to fall 2004, while the BBA-EC increased by 8 percent.
In a recent Web survey, students gave many reasons for choosing Economics as their major:
“…I still believe that economics can change part of our world! Not just the theories, but our imagination coupled with knowledge of economics can make a difference.”
“…Economics makes sense to me. So many fields that I love, like politics and music and community development, are grounded in economic relationships. Even my own personal decisions such as going back to school as a single mother made more sense to me when analyzed with an ‘economic' way of thinking.”
“…Because everything involves economics and the economy of this country depends on us … we must learn the tools and policies of economics so we can be better informed of what is going on in the world today.”
“…I chose economics because I’m interested in how micro-level transactions influence global transactions and investments. I plan to go to law school to follow corporate and international law, possibly to work for a multinational corporation or bank.”
“…It’s a science that has real-life, day-to-day impact on everyone.”
Several of our students were lucky enough to supplement their undergraduate classes with study abroad:
“…I participated in a three-week program this summer called European Union: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, based in Strasbourg, France, with trips to Luxembourg, Brussels and Germany. We visited several institutions including my two favorites, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank. This was a perfect complement to the economics course I took the previous semester, ECON 4810, International Finance.”
A number of students chose economics as a background preferred by law schools; many others said they planned to apply to graduate school in the fields of economics or business. Marketability is another reason for the growing popularity of the major. A U.S. Census Bureau study showed economics majors were among the highest paid employees—economics ranked third among the most lucrative majors. Recent Georgia State graduates have gone to work for the city and state government, IBM, Bank of America, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Among students who chose the B.A.-EC degree, the most popular minor this year was Political Science, followed by Sociology. The most popular upper-level electives selected by B.A.-EC students were classes in Urban Policy Studies, Sociology, and Political Science.
The most popular minor for B.S.-EC students was Math, followed by Political Science. Many B.S. students chose various business minors including Accounting, Finance, Risk Management and Real Estate. Their most popular electives were Marketing, Business Administration, Management, English and Sociology.
Twelve economics majors are currently earning a dual degree at Georgia State: five have secondary B.B.A. degrees in CIS (2), Management, Marketing and Finance; the others are earning secondary majors in Political Science (3), Math (2), Journalism and Anthropology.
Urban Policy Studies and Human Resources Policy
With career tracks in aviation and transportation, local government management, planning and economic development, and public policy, the Bachelor of Science in Urban Policy (B.S.-UPS) degree program has students with a wide range of interests. Whatever the career track, the focus is on policy and how it applies to the real world. Most students in the program complete internships at public, private and nonprofit agencies in metro Atlanta to gain valuable “hands-on” experience (see more details in the PAUS Internship section), and many volunteer in their communities. Here are some of their answers to the question, “Why did you choose a major in Urban Policy Studies?”
“…I changed my major to Public Policy after doing an internship at the Carter Center. It changed the way I looked at the world.”
“…I played Sim-City and got interested in city planning.”
“…I chose Urban Policy Studies because I’m interested in how cities and counties function. After graduation I want to go into business for myself or partner with a major firm that specializes in urban redevelopment. I’d like to be the one that comes in and cleans up the neighborhood.”
“…I’m applying to seminary after graduation and plan to be a missionary. I wanted to learn how to handle resources in a nonprofit.”
“…I want to understand policy so I can work with labor unions as a negotiator. I plan to apply to law school later.”
“…Living in two different cities has gotten me interested in transportation (rail), revitalization of cities and renovation of buildings. I want to know how these things are accomplished.”
The majority of students in the B.S.-UPS program already have jobs but have returned to school to change their career path. Some aviation students were already working for Delta, Airtran, or in other aviation-related positions at the time they enrolled at Georgia State hoping to advance their careers (and many have):
“…I chose policy studies as my major because I realized I wanted to perform in the business aspects of the aviation industry before becoming an engineer.”
“…I enrolled in AYSPS classes offered at Delta Air Lines training because I felt it would be a good way to transition back into a learning environment. When it was time to go to class on campus, I chose aviation because I’ve been in that business for quite awhile. I’m the manager for SkyTeam Cargo U.S. Sales Joint Venture, the marketing organization for Delta, Air France and Korean Air Lines U.S. export cargo products. I have thoroughly enjoyed all my classes.”
Students interested in becoming pilots often choose Georgia State because it is the only institution in the state that incorporates pilot training into an academic degree program:
“…I moved to Atlanta with all my aviation ratings completed, however I needed a bachelor’s degree and chose the policy studies program because there was an airline management specialty.”
“…I went with Georgia State and urban policy studies specifically because of aviation—I want to be a pilot. Put in your report: aviation students are the best kids around!”
Fourteen students completed their flight training practicums during the year and four students completed aviation-related internships. The most recent graduates of the B.S.-UPS with an aviation track were employed by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the National Transportation Safety Board, Varuna Aviation Consulting, and Chautauqua Airlines.
This year, the Aviation and Transportation career track had the most students, followed by Planning and Economic Development, Public Policy and Local Government Management. B.S.-UPS students do not choose a minor, but complete 7 upper-level electives as part of their degree. Many aviation students receive elective credit for completing pilot training; for those who do not, business courses were most frequently chosen as electives. The most popular elective for students in the Planning and Public Policy tracks was Sociology; other popular electives were Management, Criminal Justice, African American Studies, Political Science and History. Students in the Local Government track picked Management and Criminal Justice as their favorite electives.
In fall of 2001, the “human resources” career track in the B.S.-UPS degree program was spun off as a separate undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Policy and Development (B.S.-HRP). This degree option has drawn students with all kinds of previous work experience, including (in the current class) salespeople, K-12 teachers, vocational education trainers, managers, customer service representatives and instructional technologists. Several students in the program work at Georgia State, in the dean of students, admissions and advising offices. The one quality most of these students have in common is their desire to “work with people”:
“…I love dealing with people, more than just sitting in an office and you won’t find me at a computer all day. I envision myself interacting with other people, training or interviewing or implementing programs.”
“…Choosing a degree in HRP was a natural progression for me. It will prepare me for creating my own nonprofit organization, an adoption agency for special needs children.”
“…As a teacher, I’m preparing students for the work force of the future and that involves human resource issues so I must be prepared for that. I’d like to use the training and concepts to help better education by applying them in the management of public education.”
Not surprisingly, HRP majors’ approved electives most often include Sociology, Psychology, Urban Policy Studies, English, Education and Management, reflecting their interdisciplinary interests.
One PAUS class created especially for the HRP core curriculum has become popular with students from other majors and even led some of them to change their major to HRP:
“…I took PAUS 3211, The Career Development Process, and it forced me to actually think about my own career profile. Putting it down on paper made me realize, I’m not going to be in college forever. That’s when I picked human resources.”
As a result of changing priorities and resources, the B.S.-HRP degree option was phased out this year, though many of the classes will continue to be included in our curriculum. Staff and faculty advisors have held information and planning sessions for HRP majors and will work closely with the 109 students now in the program to ensure they can complete their degree requirements in a timely manner.
Twenty-two students in the B.S.-HRP and B.S.-UPS degree programs are currently pursuing dual degrees at Georgia State: eight have secondary B.B.A. degrees in Management (4), Finance (3) and Real Estate; the others are earning secondary majors in Sociology (6), Political Science (2), French (2), Economics, Psychology, and Music. One student will graduate with both the B.S.-HRP and B.S.-UPS degrees.
Some organizations now employing recent graduates of the B.S.-HRP and B.S.-UPS programs include the Atlanta School system, the Atlanta Fire Department, the Atlanta Regional Commission, Athens/Clark County Planning Department, the Chattahoochee Regional Development Commission, the City of Atlanta, the City of Conyers, Cobb County, Gwinnett County, Innolog Corp., IBM, the Marietta Development Corporation, Partners Development Company, Rich's/Macy's, the South Georgia Regional Development Center, the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget, the Forsyth County Planning Department, and Wachovia Bank.
