The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a graduate-level professional degree. It provides training in

policy analysis Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement th ...

and

program evaluation Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. In the public, private, and voluntar ...

public policy schools A public policy school or school of public affairs is typically a university program, institution, or professional school of public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, security studies, management, urban pla ...

. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the decision processes associated with them. This includes training in the role of economic and political factors in public decision-making and policy formulation; microeconomic analysis of policy options and issues; resource allocation and decision modeling; cost/benefit analysis; statistical methods; and various applications to specific public policy topics. MPP graduates serve or have served in the public sector, at the international, national, subnational, and local levels and the private sector.

MPP and MPA: differences and similarities

Over time, the curriculum of master of public policy and the

master of public administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

(MPA) degrees have tended to overlap in many areas, due to the realization that

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

analysts and program evaluators could benefit from an understanding of

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

, and vice versa. Today, the core course offerings of many MPA and MPP programs are similar, with MPA programs also providing training in policy analysis, and MPP programs also providing coursework in program implementation. However, MPP programs still place more emphasis on policy analysis, research, and evaluation, while MPA programs place more emphasis on the implementation of public policies and the design of effective programs and projects to achieve public policy goals. In recognition of the overlapping coursework and subject matter, some universities have begun offering a combined MPAP or MPPA degree, master of public administration and policy or

master of public policy and administration The Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) is a graduate-level professional degree that blends the theoretical and practical aspects of public administration and policy analysis. Tailored for individuals aspiring to contribute to the p ...

. Several institutions use "public policy" as an umbrella term, which may house several programs such as an MPA and degrees related to highly specific areas focusing on fields such as survey research or

nonprofit studies Nonprofit studies or nonprofit management is a multidisciplinary field of teaching and research that focuses on practices of the nonprofit sector and can date back to the 1920s. This area of inquiry examines the management and effectiveness of the ...

. Significant differences between the two degrees: * The scope of each degree: An MPA has a broader focus, emphasizing the management and administration of public service organizations, while an MPP has a narrower focus, centering on the analysis of policy issues and the design of solutions for them. * Coursework: An MPA typically entails a greater emphasis on management and administrative areas, including budgeting, personnel management, and public law. On the other hand, an MPP requires courses that place more emphasis on policy analysis, political theory, and research methods. * Professional opportunities: With an MPA degree, you can explore diverse roles within the government or nonprofit sector, while an MPP degree is more likely to lead to policy-focused positions. * Post-graduate programs: An MPA degree often serves as a stepping stone to various postgraduate programs, such as law school or public health administration. In contrast, an MPP degree does not usually offer as many opportunities for further study. * Cost: Compared to the MPP program, an MPA program tends to be more expensive due to its additional coursework and longer duration.

Interdisciplinary approach

Over the years MPP programs have become more interdisciplinary drawing from

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, and

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

. In general, a core curriculum of an MPP program includes courses on

microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...

public finance Public finance refers to the monetary resources available to governments and also to the study of finance within government and role of the government in the economy. Within academic settings, public finance is a widely studied subject in man ...

research methods Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

and advanced

data analysis Data analysis is the process of inspecting, Data cleansing, cleansing, Data transformation, transforming, and Data modeling, modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Da ...

, qualitative research, population methods, politics of policy process, policy analysis,

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, public management, urban policy and

GIS A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...

, program evaluation, and more. All these courses are designed to equip MPP graduates with skills and knowledge in advanced economic analysis, political analysis, ethical analysis, data analysis, management and leadership. Depending on the interest, MPP students can concentrate in many policy areas including urban policy, global policy, social policy, health policy, energy and environmental policy, non-profit management, transportation, economic development,

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

, and population research.

References

{{Academic degrees Public Policy, Master Public policy

MPP and MPA: differences and similarities

Interdisciplinary approach

See also

References