Best Universities offering graduate programs in Public Policy Analysis

The Master in Public Policy (MPP) is a rigorous two-year program that prepares students to understand complex problems and craft concrete solutions. Through courses, exercises and fieldwork, students master concepts and skills that draw on the social sciences but are adapted for action. A defining feature of the MPP is its relevance: Students can take what they learn here, apply it in the real world, and deliver results.

At the heart of the program is a core curriculum that lets you learn across a range of areas. Classes are taught using a combination of traditional lectures and the case method, which was pioneered at Harvard. Students will work with world-renowned faculty members in a collaborative environment. Best of all, your classmates will be as diverse and interesting as the issues you investigate and the problems you solve.

The two-year MPP is a professional degree program designed to develop leaders who put evidence first. In course work, students will build critical thinking and analytical skills in the core curriculum that teach them to make data-driven decisions now and throughout their career. Through applied experiences in Chicago and beyond, students will meet face-to-face with professionals in the field to analyze urgent policy problems and design solutions that work, using the latest science and technology.

The core curriculum draws on a variety of disciplines and fields, including economics, sociology, political science, statistics, econometrics, political economy, organizational theory, and program evaluation, an ideal fit for students seeking a multidisciplinary approach to the study of public policy.

MPA in Economic Policy Management (MPA-EPM), formerly known as the program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM), is designed to equip students with advanced skills regarding economic management and policymaking. Furthermore, this curriculum looks to foster an understanding of current world economic environments, its history, and associated institutions. Through these initiatives, graduates of MPA-EPM should be well-versed in how to apply their knowledge of these areas.

This program centers on two three-semester courses related to Macroeconomic Policy Management and Econometrics which are supplemented by classes in management skills and political economy. Additionally, students may opt for elective courses provided by SIPA as well as other Columbia graduate schools that integrate real-world examples and case studies into their curriculums.

Individuals with a prior graduate degree in economics or a related field may apply to transfer up to twelve credits toward their MPA in Economic Policy Management. Those wishing to pursue this option must contact the MPA-EPM Office before April 1st. The criteria for deciding whether credits qualify for transfer involve evaluating how many courses were part of the graduate program, correlating these courses with those of the MPA-EPM curriculum, and observing the applicant's results.

Successful applicants to MPA-EPM will be awarded a Master of Public Administration degree after meeting necessary requirements. These include a minimum of 54 credits of graduate-level coursework and a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Individuals can select from three main areas: Economic Policy Management, Energy & Environment, and Central Banking and Financial Markets.

The mission of the graduate program in Public Policy is to provide students with the advanced skills necessary to assess the performance of alternative approaches to policy making and implementation, evaluate program effectiveness, understand the political constraints faced by policy-makers, and appreciate the conflicts in fundamental human values that often animate policy debate. After completing the graduate core curriculum, students apply these skills by focusing their studies in a two-quarter, 10-unit practicum for the M.P.P. degree or a 5-unit master's thesis for the M.A. degree. Each student in the M.P.P. program also completes at least one concentration tailored to the student's primary degree program or the student's interests and skills.

The Ph.D. in Public Policy is an interdisciplinary social science degree. Graduates of the program are prepared for academic positions in public policy, public administration, policy-oriented schools, social science departments, and for professional positions in domestic and international public agencies and research organizations. The program aims to matriculate 6-8 students per year, enabling each student to receive individual faculty attention in courses and in research.

The core of the program is research mentoring with one or more faculty members, as the student becomes expert in an area of inquiry. Initially, the student's research is closely tied to that of faculty members but, by the dissertation, the student becomes an independent scholar. The program requires a two-course sequence in theories of public policy, and coursework in three other social science disciplines. Students designate both a disciplinary concentration such as economics, political science, sociology, or psychology in which they take a minimum of five courses, and a policy focus, such as social policy, globalization and development, health policy, or other policy area. Students interested in environmental policy should apply directly to the University Program in Environmental Policy, but may enroll in Public Policy Ph.D. courses.

The Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) is a rigorous, eleven-month, ten-course program that prepares professionals with knowledge and skills to use policy to increase equity, promote justice, and forge social change.

In a world experiencing seismic political economic shifts, we are in need of socially-minded and justice-oriented policy professionals able to instill effective, positive change. Policymakers are currently grappling with the dominance of a gaze toward markets for addressing social inequalities and inequities; increasing economic inequality due to the accumulation and movement of global capital; the intensifying rigidity of migration across borders and manufactured fears of those bodies across the border; the continued practices of extraction that is most consequential to natural ecologies, indigenous communities, and the racialized other; growing racial, ethnic, and religious tensions; rapidly shifting social lives due to emergent visual technologies of surveillance; increasing precarity of labor due to automation; and the uncertain shaping of social futures as a result of a global pandemic. Now, more than ever, the world needs critically trained, evidence-informed policy professionals who can address these areas with expertise.

The MSSP program provides students with the interdisciplinary training to produce critically-oriented, evidence-informed policy solutions. The degree offers a combination of theory, policy analysis, and policy research and evaluation methods courses using a variety of analytical methods, as well as the opportunity to gain real-world, practical experience through an internship and via the Data for Equitable Justice Lab. The MSSP program draws on the expertise of world-renowned faculty, including social scientists and policy experts, and emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary perspectives in addressing social problems and finding equitable solutions. The program engages fields such as law, economics, statistics, and communications, among others. Given the increasing need for professionals with intellectually rigorous, ethical approaches to policy, the program combines the policy courses with training in critical theory and philosophy, producing professionals that can think critically and globally.

Northwestern’s MPPA curriculum offers a unique and comprehensive opportunity to delve into both the administrative and analytical sides of policy. This holistic approach is grounded in the perspective that policy challenges are fluid, interconnected, and global. This perspective gives graduates the tools needed to rise in the field and drive change at the local, national, and international levels.

The MPPA program is offered in part-time and accelerated full-time formats. The part-time option offers a choice of five specializations and a wide range of electives that enable you to create the course of study you need to meet your career goals. You can complete your degree through part-time, nonresidential study or the one-year accelerated option. Whatever you choose, you will learn from experienced, engaged faculty who are thought leaders in their fields.

GSPP offers a doctoral degree program for students who seek careers in policy research in academia and/or with governments, non-profits, or research institutes. Usually only two or three Ph.D. applicants are admitted each year.

The Ph.D. program emphasizes the generation of knowledge, theories, methodologies, and applications appropriate to the advancement of public policy analysis and policy-relevant research. Doctoral students pursue highly individualized programs of study and typically work closely with Goldman faculty members who share the student’s subject matter interest. The doctoral program provides enormous flexibility in the topics addressed and the program of study, but is designed mainly to train social science researchers with an interest in applied policy issues.

A thorough preparation in or aptitude for rigorous policy research is a prerequisite for the doctorate. Because there is no core program of study, the PhD committee prefers applicants who can show some clear evidence of sustained interest in (and aptitude for) public policy and applied research.

The Master of Science in Data Science Public Policy (MS-DSPP) is a 39-credit degree program, divided into core (required) courses, elective courses, and seminars. The core courses emphasize analytical skills and core knowledge for designing and managing sound public policy.

The Data Science for Public Policy program hosts Data Science in Action Seminars approximately once every month. These sessions allow students to directly interact with leading experts who are applying data science to important policy challenges.

At the UCLA Department of Public Policy, they take people who are passionate about making a difference in the world and give them the tools they need to do so. This Master of Public Policy program combines the best of traditional policy education with a flexibility and responsiveness that enables us to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world. With a diversified tool kit of quantitative and analytical skills and the flexibility to design their own program of study – while drawing on all the resources of a top research university – UCLA Luskin graduates are equipped to become policy leaders. A set of joint degree programs offer an even broader range of skill and expertise development, and the minor in public policy provides undergraduates with a systematic overview of public policy questions.

The Master of Public Policy is a two year, full time on-ground professional degree program. The curriculum consists of core courses that provide students with general analytic tools that are applicable in all policy areas and culminates in an advanced, team-based final project that prepares students for real-world client interactions. For this final project, the Applied Policy Project (APP), students work together and apply key skills in negotiation, analysis, research, presentation, and persuasion to advocate a “best” answer for a given policy problem.