Master of Public Policy
Whether you have just finished your undergraduate degree, a current public servant looking for professional development, or someone looking for a career change, a Master of Public Policy can help you further your capacity to serve your community!
Why pursue a Master of Public Policy?
Members of organizations with quantitative skills that can only be learned by earning a graduate degree in public policy are growing more and more necessary in Tucson, Arizona, the United States, and the world. Non-profits, government agencies, public institutions, and the private sector are looking for employees that are equipped with the necessary policy analysis skills to help their organizations thrive.
The world faces increasingly complex policy problems, which places ever more formidable demands on leadership across all sectors; creators of policy must learn how to integrate the analytical knowledge from all sectors into their policy making decisions.
The traditional boundaries between public, private, and non-profit sectors are becoming increasingly indistinct; public policy and private enterprise have assumed promising but sometimes troublesome new relationships. Despite this increased cooperation, policy remains a specific entity requiring particular knowledge and skills: the creators of future policy must understand the public policy and decision-making framework for proponents of the public interest.
The Master of Public Policy program at the University of Arizona trains students to be uniquely qualified to address the policy challenges facing the Southern Arizona region and the nation. Faculty of the School of Government and Public Policy possess considerable expertise in a variety of policy areas and are experts in the areas of public management, policy analysis, environmental policy, and program evaluation. As such, the MPP is a policy-focused degree program that will provide students with the analytical skills necessary to address important regional policy concerns like border security, environmental sustainability, and natural resource policy.
While our Master of Public Administration program (MPA) has been a fixture at the University of Arizona since 1958, the Master of Public Policy program, established in 2014, will offer students additional training in microeconomic theory and quantitative analysis, as well as policy-relevant electives.
We offer all of our MPP core courses between the hours of 5:30-8 PM to accommodate students who work full time while they earn their degree. A student attending classes full time can earn an MPP in as little as 2 years.
Not sure if an MPP is right for you? Find out the differences between our MPA and MPP programs here.
See our FAQ page as well for more information.
Program Mission Statement
The mission of our program is to prepare a diverse group of graduate students, including public and nonprofit professionals and pre-service students, to effectively manage, govern and lead as dedicated public servants working in local, state, and federal government and non-profit organizations. We equip our students with essential skills in analysis, communication, and management. Our faculty and curriculum model public service values such as civility, ethics, and accountability, and emphasizes leadership skills that include a commitment to diversity and social justice. We accomplish our program mission by advancing the knowledge of public policy and management through dedicated teaching, research, and public service.
