In an effort to enhance and enrich the student experience, the State and Local Governance Initiative provides hands-on education on state government operations through research, internships and graduate assistantships. The initiative allows the School to expand its programs, support, research and teaching on issues related to Maryland.

Reducing and eliminating health inequalities across population groups requires an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach to identify the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental determinants that produce health inequalities over the life course and translate these findings to policymakers who are in a position to enact change.

As technology becomes increasingly prolific in every aspect of our lives, it provides new opportunities for business and interpersonal connections. But as information technology and big data create new industries and opportunities, the increasing interdependence of technical and human systems make us more susceptible to unauthorized access and disruption. 21st century policy leaders need to not only understand technology, but anticipate the challenges it may create.

Within the Social Policy pillar, we prioritize practical training for both graduate and undergraduate students to enable their hiring into, and successful navigation within, a broad range of career opportunities that bear directly on the enhancement of human and community well-being. A key theme in this pillar is fostering ‘sophisticated awareness’ of the many pathways and pitfalls (technical, methodological, procedural and political) that comprise the challenging arena of Social Policy.