
MPA curriculum
Our powerhouse Master of Public Affairs curriculum will...
- Broaden your expertise on a wide range of domestic and international affairs in the public domain.
- Deepen your understanding of public institutions and political, economic, and social processes and their implications for policy development and implementation.
- Teach you the analytic skills necessary for objective policy analysis and evaluation.
- Refine and deepen your leadership and management skills.
- Enable you to explore and apply the roles of values and ethics in public policy design and decision-making.
- Enhance your written and verbal strategic communication skills.
Core requirements
PP 580: Values, Ethics, and Public Policy | 3 credits |
PP 522: Policy Writing | 1 credit |
PP 590: Mgmt/Leadership in Public Affairs | 3 credits |
PP 554: Economics for Public Affairs | 3 credits |
PP 529: Statistics | 3 credits |
PP 725: Capstone Project | 5 credits |
Subtotal of credits for core | 18 credits |
Electives | 12 credits |
Total credits | 30 credits |
Up to 9 credits of electives can be selected from other graduate programs on campus. The Ford School follows the Rackham Graduate School's policy on the assignment of credit hours.
Capstone
The program culminates in an experiential capstone project. Through a 5-credit course (PubPol 725), each student will complete a sophisticated applied project for a client external to the University of Michigan.
Some examples of recent capstone projects include:
- A multi-country analysis of different types of travel restrictions imposed on human rights activists as a strategy to quash their activities (Client: Human Rights First)
- Policy development and implementation regarding work force development in Detroit (Client: Accenture consulting and City of Detroit)
- Legal analysis of anti-data localization policies in the U.S. and other countries (Client: Amazon Web Services)
Resources and community
Our MPA students will join a welcoming and diverse scholarly community. They will have ready access to all of the outstanding faculty, academic, career, and personal support that is such an important part of our longstanding, top-ranked, two-year Master of Public Policy degree program.
Some fellowship support is available for Master of Public Affairs students.
Download the MPA brochure