Core Curriculum
Political Institutions and Process (9 credits)
There are three required courses covering political processes, ethics and public management. Students pursuing a policy concentration in International Policy & Development (IPD) are required to take Comparative Policy Process.
- PPOL 517 -- Public Policy Process or PPOL 519 - Comparative Policy Process (3 credits)
- PPOL 560 -- Ethics, Values & Public Policy OR
PPOL 561 -- Ethics in a Globalized World (3 credits)
- PPOL 580 -- Public Management or PPOL 581 -- Comparative Public Management (3 credits)
Economics (6-9 credits)
All students are required to complete Introduction to Microtheory in their first fall term as it is a prerequisite for another required course, Public Finance, typically offered in the spring term.
International Policy & Development (IPD) students are also required to take Macroeconomics, typically in their first spring semester.
- PPOL 501 -- Introduction to Microtheory (3 credits)
- PPOL 502 -- Macroeconomics (3 credits) (required of IPD students only)
- PPOL 503 -- Public Finance (3 credits)
Methods of Analysis and Thesis Workshop (15 credits)
The quantitative methods courses teach the tools and techniques of statistics and econometrics and must be taken in sequence. The capstone experience for MPP students is the thesis project. The thesis is a two semester applied policy project resulting in a substantial, original, research paper.
- PPOL 508 -- Statistical Methods for Policy Analysis (3 credits)
- PPOL 509 -- Regression Methods for Policy Analysis (3 credits)
- PPOL 512 -- Advanced Regression & Program Evaluation for Policy Analysis (3 credits)
- PPOL 700/701 -- Thesis Workshop (6 credits, 3/semester)
Some examples of past Theses include:
Policy Track (6-9 credits) and Electives (9 credits)
Students choose a
track that prepares them more fully for their policy career goals. (IPD students must take Macroeconomics plus two additional track courses) Participation in a track is required of all students and consists of 9 credits within the track. The remaining 9 credits can be related to the student's track area or can serve as "free
electives" to explore other policy areas.
