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Course Listing for PUBLIC POLICY & LAW - Spring 2026 (ALL: 01/20/2026 - 05/08/2026)
Class
No.		 Course ID Title Credits Type Instructor(s) Days:Times Location Permission
Required		 Dist Qtr
2315 PBPL-123-01 Fundamentals of American Law 1.00 LEC Weiner, Matthew T: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 29 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is not open to seniors.
  This course introduces students to the fundamentals of the United States legal system. Core topics covered include: sources of law; the role of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches in the creation, implementation, and interpretation of laws ; state and federal judicial systems; civil and criminal cases; trial and appellate process; criminal law and procedure; elements of due process; safeguarding the rights of the accused; current issues confronting the criminal justice system; and an overview of torts, contracts and alternate dispute resolution. The course will also focus on legal ethics and emerging trends in the legal profession. Students will learn to read and analyze case law and statutes and acquire substantive techniques for legal writing and oral presentations.
2173 PBPL-201-01 Intro to Ameri Public Policy 1.00 LEC Laws, Serena MW: 8:30AM-9:45AM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 25 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: 10 seats reserved for first year students, 11 for sophomores and 4 additional seats will be available with instructor permission.
  This course introduces students to the formal and informal processes through which American public policy is made. They will study the constitutional institutions of government and the distinct role each branch of the national government plays in the policy-making process, and also examine the ways in which informal institutions-political parties, the media, and political lobbyists-contribute to and shape the policy process.
1073 PBPL-202-01 Law, Argument and Pub Pol 1.00 LEC Falk, Glenn TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Open to Public Policy and Law majors, or permission of instructor.
  In this course, students will study legal reasoning and the myriad ways in which legal arguments influence the making of American public policy. They will learn how to structure a legal argument and identify key facts and issues, analyze the formal process through which legal cases unfold (including jurisdiction, standing, and the rules of evidence), and examine how rules of law, which define policy choices and outcomes, develop out of a series of cases.
1183 PBPL-202-02 Law, Argument and Pub Pol 1.00 LEC Falk, Glenn TR: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Open to Public Policy and Law majors, or permission of instructor.
  In this course, students will study legal reasoning and the myriad ways in which legal arguments influence the making of American public policy. They will learn how to structure a legal argument and identify key facts and issues, analyze the formal process through which legal cases unfold (including jurisdiction, standing, and the rules of evidence), and examine how rules of law, which define policy choices and outcomes, develop out of a series of cases.
2946 PBPL-202-03 Law, Argument and Pub Pol 1.00 LEC Turiano, Evan MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Open to Public Policy and Law majors, or permission of instructor.
  In this course, students will study legal reasoning and the myriad ways in which legal arguments influence the making of American public policy. They will learn how to structure a legal argument and identify key facts and issues, analyze the formal process through which legal cases unfold (including jurisdiction, standing, and the rules of evidence), and examine how rules of law, which define policy choices and outcomes, develop out of a series of cases.
1221 PBPL-220-01 Research and Evaluation 1.00 SEM Gleason, Shane TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM TBA NUM  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Public Policy and Law 201, Juniors and Seniors must be PBPL majors, or permission of instructor.
  NOTE: Students taking this course should not enroll in POLS 242.
  Which policy interventions actually work and which fail to meet their goals? Answering this question is essential to improving public and non-profit services and securing further funding for worthwhile projects. This course aims to give students the ability to comprehend policy research and evaluation, as well as the tools to design and conduct basic qualitative and quantitative analysis. Students will apply these practical skills in assignments that ask them to design evaluations or analyze data to assess the effectiveness of policies. Topics will include data analysis using statistical software, but no previous programming experience is necessary. NOTE: Students may not earn credit for PBPL 220 and POLS 242.
2336 PBPL-310-01 Tax Pol & Inequality in Htfd 1.00 SEM Laws, Serena W: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA SOCW  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLIC, POLS, URST
  NOTE: 10 seats reserved for PBPL majors. Limit to 5 seniors.
  In this course students will learn about U.S. tax policy and apply their knowledge by preparing taxes for Hartford residents at Trinity's VITA Tax Clinic. Tax policy in the United States is a key site of government redistribution-a place where economic inequality can be mitigated or reinforced. This course explores central elements of tax policy with an emphasis on the politics and policies that led to the growth of social tax expenditures, including refundable tax credits. Students will receive training to become IRS certified tax preparers, and each student will prepare taxes for a regular shift at a VITA site near campus. An enhanced version of this class fulfills the PBPL Internship Requirement.
2947 PBPL-341-01 Guns in Law and Policy 1.00 SEM Turiano, Evan MW: 11:30AM-12:45PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Gun violence is a hallmark of American life, and few communities have been spared from its tragic effects. Efforts to mitigate gun violence remain inextricable from debates over the meaning of the Second Amendment. Students will study the histories of gun control and gun rights in America and analyze the competing interpretations of the Second Amendment that have emerged from landmark Supreme Court cases in recent decades. Then, students will examine the struggle between state level policymaking efforts and pro-gun constitutional challenges over policies including red flag laws, waiting periods, magazine capacity restrictions, and sensitive place laws. This class will offer students the chance to consider the complex interplay of history, law, and policymaking as it relates to gun control in the United States.
2948 PBPL-341-02 Guns in Law and Policy 1.00 SEM Turiano, Evan MW: 2:55PM-4:10PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Gun violence is a hallmark of American life, and few communities have been spared from its tragic effects. Efforts to mitigate gun violence remain inextricable from debates over the meaning of the Second Amendment. Students will study the histories of gun control and gun rights in America and analyze the competing interpretations of the Second Amendment that have emerged from landmark Supreme Court cases in recent decades. Then, students will examine the struggle between state level policymaking efforts and pro-gun constitutional challenges over policies including red flag laws, waiting periods, magazine capacity restrictions, and sensitive place laws. This class will offer students the chance to consider the complex interplay of history, law, and policymaking as it relates to gun control in the United States.
2528 PBPL-365-01 Crime,Punishment&Public Policy 1.00 LEC Harwell, Jonathan W: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOIP  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Public Policy 201, Public Policy 202, or Political Science102, or permission of instructor.
  This course considers the origins of mass incarceration, the role of race, gender and poverty in our criminal justice system, and current proposals for reform. Topics include mandatory minimum sentences, plea bargaining and prosecutorial discretion; the criminal procedure revolution of the 1960s and its aftermath; false confessions, forensic evidence, and post-conviction review; and probation, diversionary programs and sex offender registration. It also will consider constitutional limitations on governmental search and seizure in an age of technological change and the evolving understanding of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Finally, the course will examine the interaction between the criminal justice system and societal concerns over the use of force by police.
2949 PBPL-387-01 Political Leadership & Policy 1.00 SEM Greenberg, Jack TR: 6:30PM-7:45PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 7 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: POLS-387-01
  What does political leadership entail in American governance and public policy? This course examines the kinds of leadership different political and policy contexts incentivize and how various leaders “meet their moment,” exploring the practical and ethical considerations guiding consequential decision-making in the policymaking process. Leadership has long been an all-or-nothing proposition. “The history of the world is but the biography of great men,” argued Thomas Carlyle, to which Herbert Spencer replied, “the genesis of societies by the actions of great men, may be comfortably believed so long as, resting in general notions, you do not ask for particulars.” In this course, we will resist both essentialism and existentialism, tending away from the biographic and toward an appreciation for leadership's distinct role in American institutions.
2910 PBPL-398-01 Public Policy Law Intern & Sem 1.00 SEM Greenberg, Jack R: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLIC
  Open to Public Policy and Law majors, or permission of instructor.
  The required internship is designed to: (1) To provide students with the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to the work of an organization concerned with the making of public policy; (2) To engage students in academic projects directly linked to the internship experience and their areas of concentration in the major. Public Policy majors may enroll in the course during pre-registration without instructor permission; however, in order to successfully participate in the course, by the first day of the semester students must have secured an internship and obtained instructor approval for the internship via the form available on our website: https://www.trincoll.edu/public-policy/internship-information/
1125 PBPL-399-01 Independent Study 1.00 - 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: Submission fo the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment
  Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar's Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment.
1220 PBPL-401-01 Curr Iss: Supreme Ct & Pub Pol 1.00 SEM Gleason, Shane T: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA Y WEB  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is only open to senior Public Policy and Law majors.
  This senior seminar will focus the Supreme Court's role in our constitutional framework and its impact on public policy. We will explore polarization on the Court and competing theories of constitutional interpretation. We also will study the way in which the death of Justice Ginsburg and the recent appointments of Justices Barrett and Jackson are likely to affect the Court's decisions in important areas of jurisprudence, including abortion, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom second amendment rights, and racial gerrymandering.
2824 PBPL-406-01 Current Iss US Immigration Pol 1.00 SEM Williamson, Abigail T: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: This course is only open to senior Public Policy and Law majors.
  Today, immigrants and their children comprise a quarter of the US population. Thus, the presence of immigrants influences nearly all areas of US policymaking. This capstone senior seminar examines current issues in immigration and immigrant incorporation policies. Topics include US border security, the increased state and local regulation of immigration, and policies to address unauthorized immigrant status. Course assignments will emphasize persuasive writing and communication for a policymaking audience, including memos and briefings based on independent student research. Students will develop and present a final research paper drawing on analysis of federal administrative data.
2335 PBPL-409-01 Law, History and Public Policy 1.00 SEM Falk, Glenn W: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA Y WEB  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is only open to senior Public Policy and Law majors.
  Lawyers, judges, politicians, and others often invoke history to support the arguments they wish to make. The use or misuse of history in constitutional interpretation can have significant consequences for the equality of all citizens, including women, African Americans, and Indigenous people, as well as for the future of our democracy. This senior seminar will study topics which lie at the intersection of law, history, and public policy, including the contested terrain of Second Amendment gun rights and gun control; the debate over whether our nation began with a proslavery or an antislavery Constitution, and why that question still matters today; and arguments over the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment.
1126 PBPL-466-01 Teaching Assistant 0.50 - 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  NOTE: Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and director are required for enrollment
  Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin. (0.5 - 1 course credit)
1182 PBPL-490-01 Research Assistantship 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to undertake substantial research work with a faculty member. Students need to complete a special registration form, available online, and have it signed by the supervising instructor.
2658 PBPL-499-01 Senior Thesis Part 2 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y WEB  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is the second part of a two semester, two credit thesis. Submission of the special registration form and the approval of the thesis adviser and the director are required for enrollment. The registration form is required for each semester of this year-long thesis.
1302 PBPL-840-01 Budget Mgt & Public Policy 1.00 SEM Sinani, Elda M: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course will focus on the practical aspects of public budgeting, finance, and financial management in the policy making process. It will begin with the "how to's" of budget development, from estimating and projecting revenues to deconstructing expenditures in order to develop the best estimates. Where appropriate, elements of public finance theory will be introduced and discussed as it relates to practical budget and financial management Both the bonding process and the complications related to third party service provision will be addressed. We will utilize practical tools for budget and financial management, such as results-based accountability, performance contracting, and reviewing budget to actual data together with projected to actual service data on a regular basis.
2046 PBPL-849-01 Health Care Regulation&Policy 1.00 SEM Gaul, Tanya T: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course will offer an overview of the basic concepts and principles of health care regulation and policy that are necessary to understand the health care sector in the United States. This course will focus on the purposes of health care regulation, the key components of regulation and the processes by which regulation is developed and implemented. Various spheres of health care regulation will be analyzed, including both governmental and private parties involved in the regulatory process. Emphasis will be on policy issues and conflicts that underlie health care regulation.
2067 PBPL-866-01 State and Local Policy 1.00 LEC Cabral, Jonathan R: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 8 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  State and local governments play a vital role in governing, policy innovation, and the delivery of services in the United States. Their importance has arguably increased in recent decades with the trend toward devolution of government to the state and local levels, the use of referenda, and the central role of states in battles over social issues. In this course we will review available social science research to consider the central issues and challenges of governance at the state and local levels. We will examine differences between states’ political cultures and their implications for public policy, compare federal versus state and local provision of social services, and consider the significance of the use of redistricting, recalls, referenda and initiatives in political struggles across the country.
1670 PBPL-874-01 Practicum 1.00 SEM Fitzpatrick, Sean W: 6:30PM-9:00PM TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
    Cross-listing: URST-874-01
  The Practicum is a semester-long opportunity for students to apply and expand their knowledge and technical skills by performing an actual consulting engagement for a public sector client organization. Practicum students will work in small teams to analyze and make recommendations with respect to issues of real significance faced by their clients. Each engagement will combine research, project planning, and problem-solving challenges, as well as substantial client contact. Client organizations are selected from across the policy spectrum to better enable students to pursue subject matters of particular relevance to their studies and career interests. Each engagement will culminate in a final report and formal presentation to the client organization. The Practicum instructor will provide careful guidance and participants will have opportunities to share ideas, experiences, and best practices.
1114 PBPL-940-01 Independent Study 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Selected topics in special areas are available by arrangement with the instructor and written approval of the director of public policy studies. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies for the special approval form.
1120 PBPL-953-01 Research Project 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  A research project on a special topic approved by the instructor and with the written approval of the director of public policy studies. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies for the special approval form.
1118 PBPL-954-01 Thesis Part I 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Two credit thesis: start time-approval of idea, initial bibliography, and sketch of the project by pre-registration time for graduate students in the term prior to registration for the credit; first draft by reading week of the second semester, "final" first draft by end of spring vacation week; final copy due one week before the last day of classes.
1119 PBPL-955-01 Thesis Part II 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
1117 PBPL-956-01 Thesis 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA SOC  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
2938 AMST-349-01 Global Migration/Refugee Lab 1.00 SEM Hussain, Shaznene
Alic, Erna		 TBA TBA Y SOGI  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLIC, PBPL Cross-listing: INTS-349-01, HRST-349-01
  Provides an experiential-based introduction to the practical challenges of refugee and immigrant resettlement and integration and to the development of effective policies and implementation strategies to address them. Students will be placed with a community-based organization working with immigrants and refugees 10-12 hours a week and attend (weekly or biweekly) seminar class meetings to integrate their onsite learning experience and responsibilities with discussions of assigned readings and relevant concepts in participatory action research and diaspora studies. Seminar meetings will be organized around enrolled students' existing class schedules.
2044 EDUC-300-01 Education Reform: Past&Present 1.00 LEC Castillo, Elise TR: 1:30PM-2:45PM TBA HUM  
  Enrollment limited to 24 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with PBPL
  Prerequisite: C- or better in EDUC200 or Public Policy and Law major, or permission of instructor
  How do we explain the rise and decline of education reform movements? How do we evaluate their level of “success” from different sources of evidence? Drawing upon primary source materials and historical interpretations, this course examines a broad array of elementary, secondary, and higher education reform movements from the mid-19th century to the present, analyzing social, material, and ideological contexts. This intermediate-level seminar explores a topic common to all branches of educational studies from both theoretical and comparative perspectives.
2576 EDUC-309-01 Race Class & Educ Policy 1.00 SEM Castillo, Elise TR: 10:50AM-12:05PM TBA SOIP  
  Enrollment limited to 19 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with PBPL
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Educational Studies 200 or permission of instructor.
  How do competing theories explain educational inequality? How do different policies attempt to address it? This class will consider the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the examination of educational inequality. Possible topics include economic and cultural capital, racial/gender/sexual identity formation, desegregation, multiculturalism, detracking, school choice, school-family relationships, and affirmative action. Student groups will expand upon the readings by proposing, implementing, and presenting their research analysis from a community learning project.
2939 HRST-349-01 Global Migration/Refugee Lab 1.00 SEM Hussain, Shaznene
Alic, Erna		 TBA TBA Y SOGI  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLIC, PBPL Cross-listing: INTS-349-01, AMST-349-01
  Provides an experiential-based introduction to the practical challenges of refugee and immigrant resettlement and integration and to the development of effective policies and implementation strategies to address them. Students will be placed with a community-based organization working with immigrants and refugees 10-12 hours a week and attend (weekly or biweekly) seminar class meetings to integrate their onsite learning experience and responsibilities with discussions of assigned readings and relevant concepts in participatory action research and diaspora studies. Seminar meetings will be organized around enrolled students' existing class schedules.
2940 INTS-349-01 Global Migration/Refugee Lab 1.00 SEM Hussain, Shaznene
Alic, Erna		 TBA TBA Y SOGI  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Also cross-referenced with CLIC, PBPL Cross-listing: HRST-349-01, AMST-349-01
  Provides an experiential-based introduction to the practical challenges of refugee and immigrant resettlement and integration and to the development of effective policies and implementation strategies to address them. Students will be placed with a community-based organization working with immigrants and refugees 10-12 hours a week and attend (weekly or biweekly) seminar class meetings to integrate their onsite learning experience and responsibilities with discussions of assigned readings and relevant concepts in participatory action research and diaspora studies. Seminar meetings will be organized around enrolled students' existing class schedules.