MA in Policy Studies
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The Master of Arts in Policy Studies program is a community of people who believe policy can make a difference. The program is comprised of students, scholars, and policy professionals who collaborate in policy arenas such as environment & energy, labor, education, technology, human rights, local and state government, and technology. Faculty and student research contributes to the academic body of knowledge, promotes public education, and engages in the major contemporary policy debates. A complete listing of Capstone projects completed by Policy Studies students is available on the program web site.
Recent Submissions
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The Transition from K-12 to Higher Education and the Impact on Disability and Accommodations
(2022)This study addresses the barriers students with disabilities face when transitioning from K-12 to higher education in Washington State. Students receiving accommodations from the three campuses at the University of Washington ... -
Understanding Punjab Farmer Suicides: A Qualitative Study
(2021)The farmer suicide phenomenon in Punjab, India, has been ongoing since the 1980's, which is around the same time Punjab was dealing with the side effects of the green revolution technology implemented by the central ... -
The Intersection of Mental Illness, Homelessness & Incarceration
(2021)Over the summer of 2021, research was conducted to analyze the relationship between mental illness, homelessness, and incarceration. This research consisted of a 15-part survey of half demographic and half open-ended long ... -
The Role of Institutions in Supporting Underrepresented Students’ Upward Transfer from Community College
(2021)Community colleges serve more historically marginalized and underrepresented students than any other sector of U.S. higher education (Jenkins & Fink, 2015). Despite the majority of community college students reporting ... -
A Case Study of Municipal Elections and Latino Voter Behavior in Yakima, Washington
(2021)The purpose of this case study examines the aftereffects of the Montes v. City of Yakima ruling that led to Latinx political representation on the Yakima City Council. The study will look at the quick growth of Latinx ... -
Perspectives on Community Solar in Washington State: A Mixed Methods Comparative Case Study
(2021)As Washington State moves the electric grid toward a renewables-based future, strong community solar policy has an opportunity to unlock the financial benefits of community solar to traditionally marginalized groups and ... -
“We need to teach students how to make the change...” Dreams and realities of climate and sustainability action in Seattle Public Schools
(2021)Today’s K-12 students face a future more uncertain and perilous than any living generation has faced. Climate change is no longer abstract; human activity has already caused around 1.1-1.2℃ of warming, disrupting human ... -
The Iranian Exodus: A Thematic Analysis of the Iranian Experience of Immigrating to the United States
(2021)This study seeks to examine the experiences of twelve Iranians immigrating to the United States and the discriminatory governmental initiatives and policies instituted on Middle Easterns, more specifically Iranian-Americans, ... -
The Beginning of a Long Conversation: Insights into Hanford Advisory Board Members Opinions on Diversity, Language Services, and Community Engagement
(2021)The Hanford Nuclear Site is an important part of Washington state’s past, present and future. Onsite cleanup of hazardous radioactive waste has been underway for more than 30 years and will most likely continue for another ... -
Antiracist Pedagogy in Washington State’s K-12 Classrooms: The Practice and Challenges
(2021)This research study asks K-12 educators in Washington State how they practice antiracism in their classrooms, what challenges they face when doing so, and whether they feel supported by their administration, district, ... -
Universal Basic Income: The Social Policy Upgrade for the Future, a Meta-Synthesis
(2021)This study illustrates that poverty takes an intense toll on every aspect of an individual’s existence and that getting access to sufficient resources is the key to a thriving and healthy life that adds value to a society. ... -
Relationship between Petrostates and Political Instability. Libya’s Political History with Petroleum
(2021)Libya’s socio-political structure has been structured through colonization, the influence of petroleum, and unacceptable political regimes from Gaddafi’s dictator-monarch rule, which limited Libyans from economic prosperity ... -
Contemporary Magnet School System: Role and Mission
(2021)Using a single case study design, the study attempts to answer the following questions: What are the role and the mission that the magnet schools have in the school choice system today? How are magnet schools positioned ... -
The Story of California Proposition 227 (1998): How History, Immigration, and Direct Democracy Shaped the Policy Narratives in the Battle for Bilingual Education
(2021)In the 1990s, political actors across the United States, such as Ron Unz, seized on simmering tensions against immigrants to push discriminatory policies. In Unz’s case, he created Proposition 227: “English for the ... -
Restorative Practice Behavior Model Within Secure Juvenile Detention Facility: King County Juvenile Detention Center
(2020)A policy shift in King County, Washington to ban the use of solitary confinement has required restructuring of the way in which King County Juvenile Detention Center responds to unsafe, problem behaviors. The new restorative ... -
The Mckinney Vento Program and the Marysville School District
(2020)The Mckinney Vento program is a federal program that removes barriers for homeless students and helps assist them staying in school, as well as providing funding under Title I. A needs assessment of the McKinney Vento ... -
Primed for Force: Police Officer Stress and Near-Term Use of Force
(2020)The names of a growing number of Americans have entered the public discourse because their lives have been ended directly by the actions of law enforcement officers in the course of their assigned duties. In the United ... -
Reframing the Conversation on Gender-Based Violence: A Thematic Analysis of Anita Hill’s New York Times Opinion Editorial “Let’s Talk About How to End Sexual Violence”
(2020)When the issue of gender-based violence shifted from a “personal” to a “public” matter in the early ‘90s, the U.S. invested heavily in criminal justice-based interventions through the Violence Against Women Act. Despite ... -
Signed U Visa Certifications in Washington State Counties: Identifying Patterns Using Latinx Population
(2020)Congress created the U visa in 2000 as a form of immigration relief to help government agencies investigate crimes committed against undocumented immigrants and keep the overall community safe. U visa applicants are required ... -
A Quantitative Analysis: Effects of Right-to-Work Laws & Union Density on Voter Participation in the United States, 1972 to 2012
(2020)The societal effects of governmental labor policies have broad implications for our lives and reach far beyond economics, into virtually all areas of our communities. In this paper I have sought to better understand and ...
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