Policy Time is about the policy choices faced by senior American policymakers. Our main perspective is American and executive: decisions faced by the U.S. President, Governors, and their advisors. The lessons can extend to certain international settings as well We have two main goals: 1. To begin to build your personal policy approach, in which you will figure out how your values translate into real-world policy choices; and 2. To learn what it is like to be a senior policymaker. Each week will cover a different policy topic. Likely topics include immigration reform, economics, whether and when and how companies should take public positions on policy issues, guns and gun control, social media policy challenges, the opioid crisis, and trade and industrial policy. Our exact topic schedule is flexible based in part on current events. This class is heavily participatory and involves a lot of class discussion. You will write 5-GSBGEN 10 weekly short memos to explain your choices. This class is for beginners and assumes you have no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
4 units · GSB Letter Graded
Policy Time is about the policy choices faced by senior American policymakers. Our main perspective is American and executive: decisions faced by the U.S. President, Governors, and their advisors. The lessons can extend to certain international settings as well We have two main goals: 1. To begin to build your personal policy approach, in which you will figure out how your values translate into real-world policy choices; and 2. To learn what it is like to be a senior policymaker. Each week will cover a different policy topic. Likely topics include immigration reform, economics, whether and when and how companies should take public positions on policy issues, guns and gun control, social media policy challenges, the opioid crisis, and trade and industrial policy. Our exact topic schedule is flexible based in part on current events. This class is heavily participatory and involves a lot of class discussion. You will write 5-10 weekly short memos to explain your choices. This class is for beginners and assumes you have no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
Offered in Spring 2026 at Stanford University.