| PL396 is an interdisciplinary course where students learn to apply network strategies to real policy issues, and assess the utility of these models to society. The course enables students to confront complexity in modeling, solving, analyzing, and understanding large dynamic systems and networks. The course is designed with three sections. The first portion of the course covers basic network analytic methods and concepts. Students get hands-on experience with network software tools. In the second section, high-level concepts and modeling principles are covered. In the third sections, four major policy issues are covered - health care, natural resources, cyber/information, and education. Cadets research a government policy and re-define the problem in network terminology and relational data. Evaluating and recommending public policy is a complex social, political, scientific process with many competing issues and challenges. As final projects, students select their own topics, and are asked to critique and provide resolution of issues around education, health care, transportation, information technology, and public utilities from network perspectives.
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