A Look at the First Full Year of Our Undergraduate Major
By Rachel Fyall, Associate Professor, Undergraduate Program Director
Happy Spring! I am now three months into my role as the Evans School’s Undergraduate Program Director. While we have offered a minor since 2019, the 2025-2026 academic year is the first full year of our undergraduate major. With new students declaring a Public Service and Policy (PSP) major each quarter, our current roster includes 61 undergraduate students in the major and more than 1,100 seats filled in our undergraduate PUBPOL courses by the end of the academic year. It is a joy to witness our undergraduate students become part of the fabric of Evans School life.
As the major grows, we have the opportunity to offer an increasing array of undergraduate courses. Our gateway course, Introduction to Public Policy & Governance, is now offered every quarter (including asynchronously over the summer). Mid-level courses range from the fundamentals of policy research and implementation to more specialized topics like Designing Equity in Health Policy. Upper-level students further hone their practical skills through more intimate courses focused on leadership, ethics, and negotiation. The diverse course offerings allow undergraduates to learn from both full-time Evans faculty and talented community instructors, who bring their practitioner lens to the classroom experience.
In June, our first six PSP undergraduate majors will participate in the Evans School’s Convocation Ceremony. This team of students is incredible, and a good representation of what we hope to encourage among our undergraduate cohorts: All six students are double-majors – ranging from Education to Public Health to Mathematics – showcasing the range of topics that a PSP major can complement. One of our graduating seniors will continue her public policy and leadership journey by enrolling in the Evans School MPA program!
As a culmination of their undergraduate studies, the graduating students recently completed a quarter-long intensive Policy Lab course, partnering with the City of Kenmore’s Deputy City Manager to develop an analysis of the city’s automated traffic ticketing system. The students presented their findings and recommendations at Kenmore City Hall in early March. The students found the Policy Lab experience especially meaningful because of the opportunity to connect with public service professionals, spend time in court, and experience firsthand the reality and challenges of working with government administrative data. They also valued working on a project with real-world implications.
Students are also making public service and policy connections outside of the classroom. During a recent evening at the HUB, the Evans School co-sponsored the Networks for Change event with the Department of Political Science. Policy experts – including Evans alum Jesse Warren, MPA ‘20, from King County – were matched with small groups of students around roundtables to talk about how to address collective and pressing issues together. Event participants came away with renewed energy for the work of government and governance.
We look forward to continued opportunities to develop our undergraduate offerings and experiences alongside the rest of the Evans community!