Policy concentrations

Policy concentrations in the MPP program 

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree at the Ford School is a generalist degree, through which students gain research, analytic, management and communications skills that are highly transferable across sectors, policy issue areas, and geographic regions. Building upon the foundational knowledge and skills attained in the core curriculum (24 credits), students can tailor their educational experiences through the flexibility of having 24 elective credits. 

With this flexibility, Ford School MPP students are able to gain significant depth in an area of great interest and passion through optional policy concentrations and graduate certificate programs.  Policy concentrations and graduate certificates are included on students’ transcripts, officially signaling that a student has acquired depth and mastery in a defined area of study. Students cannot elect more than one concentration, and are encouraged to take additional relevant courses beyond the minimum requirements to gain a deeper understanding. 

Starting with MPP students who matriculated fall 2018, the Ford School is offering optional policy concentrations (9-12 credits beyond the required courses in the MPP core curriculum) in 5 areas:

  • Public policy analysis methods
  • Non-profit and public management
  • Social policy
  • International policy
  • International economic development

If you would like to submit a course for consideration under a particular concentration, please use this formFaculty Leads will assist in identifying the set of courses that students can take for credit towards each of the concentrations, including any courses that are required.  Student and Academic Services staff (primarily the Master Student Academic Advisor and Registrar) will be responsible for assessing whether or not individual students have met the requirement for a concentration, which will be designated as a program of study on students’ transcripts. Student concerns or petitions related to policy concentrations will be reviewed by the Masters Program Committee.

 

  • Focus 

    Applied methods and skills for rigorous policy analysis and research

    Requirements 

    PubPol 571 plus 6 additional credits

    Courses

    • PubPol 571 Applied Econometrics (required)
    • PubPol 557 Data Visualization for Public Policy
    • PubPol 567 STATA for Public Policy
    • PubPol 568 Practicum in Data Analysis Using STATA
    • PubPol 577 R for Public Policy
    • PubPol 633 Qualitative Methods
    • PubPol 647 Excel for Public Policy
    • PubPol 712 Causal Inference in Education Policy Research I
    • PubPol 713 Causal Inference in Education Policy Research II
    • PubPol 715 Public Budgeting & Financial Planning
    • PubPol 744 Economics of the Public Sector
    • PubPol 750 Applied Methods for Development
    • Econ 675 Applied Microeconometrics 
    • Educ 707 Psychometric Theory: Classical and Latent Trait Models
    • Educ 737 Experimental Methods in Educational Research 
    • Educ 771-001 Panel Data and Event History Methods 
    • Educ 799 Categorical and Limited Dependent Variable Modeling 
    • Educ 803 Structural Equation Model (SEM)
    • ENV 411/EAS 531 Principles of GIS
    • HBEHED 638 Qualitative Methods of Public Health
    • HMP 610 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
    • PolSci 787 Multivariate Analysis 
    • SI 618 Data Manipulation and Analysis
    • SI 670 Applied Machine Learning
    • Soc 542 Quantitative Modeling
    • Stats 601 Analysis of Multivariate and Categorical Data
    • Stats 642 Linear Statistical Models I
    • SurvMeth 600 Fundamentals of Survey Methodology
    • SurvMeth 617/BioStat 617/Soc 717/Stats 580 Sampling Theory
    • SurvMeth 621 Fundamentals of Data Collection
    • SurvMeth 630 Questionnaire Design and Evaluation
    • TO 628 Advanced Big Data Analytics
    • URP 520 Geographic Information Systems
    • BIOS 617 Sampling Theory
    • BE 582 Economic Decisions & Games
    • Soc 717 Sampling Theory
    • Stat 580 Sampling Theory
    • TO 512 Decision Support with Spreadsheets

    Focus

    Knowledge and skills related to the operation, management and leadership of public and non-profit organizations

    Requirements

    6 credits beyond 586/587 and/or 582 requirement in the core curriculum

    Courses

    • PubPol 587 Working in Diverse Organizations
    • PubPol 587 Innovation in Government
    • PubPol 587 Policy and Management in the Non-Profit Sector
    • PubPol 587 Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofits
    • PubPol 587 Building Intergovernmental Alliances
    • PubPol 587 Organizational Causes of Large Scale Technology Failure
    • PubPol 687 Negotiations
    • PubPol 715 Budgeting and Financial Planning
    • PubPol 750 Budget Literacy for Mission Driven Organizations
    • BA 601 Governing Nonprofit Organizations
    • EDUC 551 School Organization and the Policy Environment
    • EDUC 555 Financial and Legal Policies in Schools
    • EDUC 769 Philanthropy & Higher Education
    • HMP 604 Organization and Management of Health Advocacy & Community-Based Non-Profits
    • HMP 643 Managing People in Health Organizations
    • MO 672 Leading Non-Profit Organizations
    • SW 560 Introduction to Community Organization, Mgmt and Policy/Evaluation Practice 
    • SW 660 Managing Programs and Projects
    • SW 663 Fundraising and Grant Writing
    • SW 665 Leadership and Organizational Governance
    • URP 587 Planning for Organizational and Community Change 
    • URP 610 Public Private Partnerships: Financing Equitable Development 
    • ENTR 560 Project Management & Consulting
    • MO 512 Bargaining & Influencing Skills: Negotiations in a Global Economy
    • SW 652 Organizing for Social and Political Action

    Note: PubPol 583 Negotiation Basics for Public Policy does not count for the concentration.

    Focus

    Knowledge and policy analysis skills related to key areas of social policy.

    Requirements

    9 credits; no required courses

    Courses

    • PubPol 611 Higher Education and Public Policy
    • PubPol 628/Educ 628 Democracy, Education, & Liberation
    • PubPol 677 Immigration Policy
    • PubPol 692 Thinking About Crime
    • PubPol 710 Obstacles to Providing Social Services in Michigan 
    • PubPol 710 Fixing Foster Care
    • PubPol 727 History, Reparations and Policy
    • PubPol 732 Public Policy in Postsecondary Education
    • PubPol 736 Poverty and Inequality
    • PubPol 744 Economics of the Public Sector
    • PubPol 746 Social Welfare Policy
    • PubPol 750 Policy, Politics, and Public Health
    • PubPol 750 From Voting Rights to Economic Rights: Increasing Economic Mobility through Community Development in America’s Deep South
    • PubPol 750 Racial Foundations of Public Policy
    • PubPol 750 Politics of Healthcare Reform
    • PubPol 750 Public Policy Approaches to Social Disparities in Health
    • PubPol 750 Child and Family Policy
    • PubPol 750 Smart Cities and the Future of Mobility
    • PubPol 750 Health Economics & U.S. Health Policy
    • PubPol 750 Gender, Race & Employment Policy
    • PubPol 750 Education Policy and Economic Mobility: Challenges and Promise 
    • PubPol 750 Diversity Initiatives in Higher Education
    • PubPol 750 Criminal Justice Reform
    • PubPol 750 Civil Conflict  
    • PubPol 712/Educ 712 Causal Inference in Education Policy Research I: Early Childhood through High School
    • Educ 547 Workforce Education
    • Educ 644 Comparative and International Education
    • Educ 764 Public Policy in Postsecondary Education
    • HMP 617 US Food Policy and Public Health
    • HMP 626 Race, Ethnicity, Culture and Policy
    • HMP 653 Law and Public Health
    • Law 741 Reducing Firearm Violence in Urban Communities
    • SW 530 Introduction to Social Welfare Policy and Services
    • SW 652 Organizing for Social and Political Action
    • SW 682 Immigration, Forced Migration & Transformative Practice 
    • URP 560 Transportation & Land Use Planning
    • URP 581 Housing Policy and Economics
    • URP 583: Race, Difference, and Social Justice in the American City  
    • BE 688 Washington DC Residential on Health Care Policy and Politics
    • EAS 501 Indigenous Peoples, Rights, & Environmental Justice
    • Educ 672 Power, Privilege, and the Politics of Difference in Higher Education
    • Educ 722 Race, Racism, and Anti-Blackness in Higher Education
    • HBHE 640 Community Organization for Health Education
    • HMP 633 Health Insurance in America (How Did We Get Into This Mess? How Do We Get Out?)
    • Law 653 Employment Discrimination
    • SW 505 Engaging Social Justice, Diversity and Oppression in Social Work
    • SW 674 Community-Based Policy Advocacy
    • SW 784 Understanding & Organizing Against Inhumane Immigration Policy
    • URP 534 Crime & Community Development
    • URP 572 Global & Comparative Housing Policy

    Focus 

    Knowledge and policy analysis skills related to diplomacy, national security, human rights

    Requirements 

    12 credits 

    Strongly recommended

    International affairs or comparative politics section of PubPol 510-Politics of Public Policy  

    Courses

    • PubPol 580 Values, Ethics and Public Policy -  international affairs section (recommended and will count toward 12 credits for the concentration)
    • PubPol 541 International Trade Policy
    • PubPol 542 International Financial Policy
    • PubPol 621 Peacebuilding:  Law, Diplomacy, and the Transition from Conflict
    • PubPol 674 International Economic Development Program (IEDP)
    • PubPol 675 Human Rights & International Policy
    • PubPol 676 International Politics of Poverty
    • PubPol 710 Law School PSI: Human Rights, Mineral Extraction, and the Global Supply Chain
    • PubPol 710 Law School PSI: Designing a New Global Refugee Protection System
    • PubPol 716 Introduction to Chinese Policy
    • PubPol 717 Social Activism, Democracy & Globalization from Perspective of Global South
    • PubPol 750 Global Issues:  Drugs, Crime and Terrorism
    • PubPol 750 Comparative Law and Policy
    • PubPol 750 Role of Courts in Human Rights
    • PubPol 750 National Security Council and Counterterrorism
    • PubPol 750 Exercising Influence: Corporate, Governmental, and NGO Diplomacy
    • PubPol 750 Africa in Context: Diplomacy, Democracy, & Development
    • PubPol 750 Diplomacy & Statecraft in an Age of Globalization
    • PubPol 750 U.S. Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific
    • PubPol 750 U.S. Diplomacy in Europe
    • PubPol 750 Policy Frameworks in National Security/National Security Decision-Making
    • PubPol 750 Lessons from the Japanese Economy
    • PubPol 750 U.S. Foreign Policy Leadership
    • PubPol 750 Cybersecurity Threats and Policy Approaches
    • PubPol 763 Drugs, Crime & Terrorism
    • PubPol 766 Issues in National Security
    • EAS 563 International Environmental Policy
    • PolSci 688 Selected Topics in Political Science (international sections)
    • Law 630 International Law
    • Law 695 International Trade Law
    • Soc 560 Power, History and Social Change
    • PolSci 661 Proseminar in International Political Economy
    • PolSci 662 Proseminar in International Security & Conflict
    • PolSci 664 The State in Comparative Politics and World Politics

    Focus

    Knowledge and policy analysis skills related to economic and social development

    Requirements

    PubPol 534 plus 6 additional credits

    Courses

    • PubPol 534 Economics of Developing Countries (required)
    • PubPol 556 Macroeconomics
    • PubPol 541 International Trade Policy
    • PubPol 542 International Financial Policy
    • PubPol 674 International Economic Development Program (IEDP)
    • PubPol 676 International Politics of Poverty
    • PubPol 716 Intro to Chinese Policy (with trip)
    • PubPol 741 Principles of Finance & Global Financial Markets
    • PubPol 750 Global Financial Markets, Crises and Policies
    • PubPol 750 Applied Methods for Development
    • PubPol 750 Challenges to Service Delivery in Developing Countries
    • PubPol 750 Exercising Influence: Corporate, Governmental, and NGO Diplomacy
    • PubPol 750 Africa in Context: Diplomacy, Democracy, & Development
    • PubPol 750 International Development Management
    • PubPol 750 Gender, Trade, and the International Division of Labor
    • PubPol 763 Drugs, Crime & Terrorism
    • EAS 501.162 Sustainability for Development
    • Epid 506 Health of Nations:  Introduction to International Health
    • HMP 624 Health Policy Challenges in Developing Countries
    • PolSci 651 Proseminar in Political Economy (Section 001: Comparative and International Political Economy)
    • EAS 582 Program Evaluation for Sustainability & Development
    • PolSci 641 Political Economy of Development
    • PolSci 641 State-Making