Graduate Programs in Public Policy

Master’s Program Brochure
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A Guide for Graduate Students

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Courses and Programs of Study

Students in the Masters of Public Policy (MPP) program are required to complete sixteen courses. This includes eight required courses (six core courses plus two credit-bearing internship and research workshop courses) and eight electives which the student choose. The required classes are shown below, along with brief course descriptions:

MPP Required Courses:

Institutions and Policymaking (PP200)
-how political, social, and economic institutions structure policymaking, with examples from different policy areas
Economics and Public Policy (PP201)
-application of economic reasoning to public policy, including microeconomics and public economics
Statistics (PP203)
-social and economic statistics and their role in research
Policy Analysis (PP204)
-program evaluation and policy analysis of various issue areas
Public Budgeting and Management (PP202)
-how public organizations are managed and budgeted, with studies of selected policy agencies
Applied Research (PP260)
-applied use of data sources, software, analysis, and interpretation
Internship (PP280)
-practical job experience in the public, private, or non-profit sector
Research Workshop (PP290)
-group policy analysis projects centering on topics organized by the instructor. This includes policy analysis of particular agencies, data analysis of a policy area, and program evaluation of a policy topic.

We have designed the Masters program so that students have a number of electives they can choose to develop expertise in their areas of particular interest. This includes seminars in public policy and courses in related areas such as political science, economics, sociology, history, law, education, urban studies, and community health. The following chart lists some of the methodology, institutions, and policy courses that are offered regularly:

General Elective Courses
Methodology	Policymaking Institutions	Substantive Policy
BC132 Survey Research	PS110 Congress	EC116 Managerial Economics
BC203/213 Bio Statistics	PS111 Mass Media	EC121 Macroeconomics
BC207/208/216 Regression	PS113 Presidency	EC122 Monetary Policy
BC236 Evaluating Public Health	PS116 Legal System	EC148 Public Economics
BC237 Applied Methods	PS210 American Politics	EC180 Politics and Finance
BC242 Health Policy Analysis	PS182-38 Civil Liberties	EC205/206/209 Microeconomics
BC252/253 Data Analysis		EC207/208 Macroeconomics
EC163/164/203/204 Econometrics		EC248 Public Economics
ED110 Qualitative Methods		HI178 Modernizing America
ED111 Statistics		PS105 Ethics and Policy
ED116 Impact of Social Program		PS108 Transportation Policy
PP170-1 Geographic Information Systems and Public Policy		PS114 Public Opinion
PS200 Strategies of Inquiry		PS131 African-American Politics
SO187-33 Geographic Information Systems		PS202 American Political Development
SO201 Multivariate Methods		PS226 Issue Containment
SO221 Qualitative Methods		PS182-23 Agenda Building
		PS182-7 Rhode Island Government
		SO103 Organizational Theory
		SO106 Leadership
		SO140 Political Sociology
		SO187-31 Management

Additionally, students can specialize in one of three different tracks (education policy, health care and human services, and urban policy). Students can use research projects, internships, and elective courses to develop specialized knowledge in these areas. The following chart lists a number of courses that can be used as electives in the areas of education, health care/human services, and urban policy:

Policy Track Electives
Education Policy	Health Care/Human Services	Urban Policy
AC190-1 Nostalgic Campus	AC190-2 Children and Childhood	AC153 Auto in American Life
ED102 History of Am Education	BC168-1 Public Health	AC161-4 Making America
ED113 Analyzing Education Policy	BC168-5 Health Policy	AC161-9 Civil Rights Movement
ED115 Education, Economy, and School Reform	BC168-11 Comparative Health	EC141 Urban Economics
ED120 History School Reform	BC240 Health Care Systems	HI183 American Urban History
ED121 Public Education and People of Color	EC117 Welfare Economics	PP170-1 Urban Revitalization
ED164 Public Schools and Politics	EC131 Labor Economics	PS131 African American Politics
ED173 Higher Education in Historical Context	EC136 Health Economics	PS207 Black Political Participation
ED176 Education and Public Policy	EC232 Labor Economics	US187-5 Downtown Development
PP170-13 Education Policy	HI284 US Social History	US187-11 American City
PP 210: " Educational Leadership in Diverse Settings	PP170-15 Fiscal Federalism
	PP170-10 Housing Policy
	PP170 Health Policy
	PS208 Politics of Child Abuse
	SO155 Sociology of Medicine
	SO154 Human Needs
	SO231 Health Institutions

Students interested in education policy can draw on courses and research opportunities in the Department of Education, Education Alliance, and Annenberg Institute. Those interested in health care and human services could take advantage of connections with the Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, and Center for Gerontology. Urban policy specialists could tap into the range of urban teaching and research at Brown through the Program in Urban Studies and Center for Population Studies, as well as the departments of Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Education, History, and American Civilization.

The table below shows the course sequencing for the Masters of Public Policy. We want students to fulfill the basic core courses during the first year to prepare them for more intensive work to follow. Completion of electives will be enhanced by fundamental skills acquired through the core courses.

MPP Course Sequencing	Fall	Spring
Year One	Institutions and Policymaking Statistics Public Budget/Management Elective	Economics and Public Policy Policy Analysis Elective Elective
Year Two	Applied Research Internship Elective Elective	Research Workshop Elective Elective Elective