M.P.P. Curriculum and Program Requirements
Overview
The M.P.P. program requirements are intended to ensure an interdisciplinary foundation in public policy analysis. They are based on the principle that all students should master a common set of concepts and analytical tools, but that each student needs to fashion an individualized curriculum based on his or her intellectual and vocational goals.
The curriculum, therefore, is divided into 3 categories:
- core courses
- disciplinary foundation courses
- courses in a particular policy area or discipline
The M.P.P. core curriculum consists of 7 courses (19 credits):
Basic concepts (13 credits):
PUBL 603 Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis
PUBL 613 Managing Public Organizations
PUBL 623 Governmental Budgeting
PUBL 698 Policy Analysis Capstone
PUBL 699 Policy Analysis Paper (1 credit)
Research methods and quantitative analysis (6 credits):
PUBL 600 Research Methodology
PUBL 604 Statistical Analysis
All M.P.P. students must also take the following 3 disciplinary foundation courses (9 credits):
ECON 600 Policy Consequences of Economic Analysis or ECON 601 Microeconomic Analysis
PUBL 601 Political and Social Context of the Policy Process
SOCY 606 Social Inequality and Social Policy
M.P.P. students may choose either a study concentration that is either policy or disciplinary. Concentrations require a total of four courses (12 credits). One of these must be a concentration approved statistical/ methodological/analytical course.
More about study concentrations
Internships
M.P.P. students without previous appropriate professional experience are encouraged to participate in an internship. The Public Policy department provides information and agency contacts for internships.
M.P.P. Capstone Course and Policy Analysis Paper
Masters students are required to take a 3 credit capstone course (PUBL 698) after they have completed all of their courses in the core and disciplinary foundations. In the capstone course the class will engage in a common policy analysis exercise under the guidance of the faculty responsible for the class. During the semester following the capstone course, students register for a 1 credit course (PUBL 699) in which each student produces a policy analysis paper following the model set forth in the capstone course.
Master’s Thesis Option
Students may write a Master’s thesis instead of the policy analysis paper. Students choosing this option must take the 3 credit capstone course (PUBL 698) described above. They will then substitute a 6 credit hour master’s thesis for the one credit hour policy analysis paper. Students choosing this option will be required to take only 3 track courses instead of the 4 required of other students. As a consequence, students choosing the master’s thesis option will engage in a 42 credit hour master’s program instead of the 40 hour program required of the other students.