Outcome evaluation is a critical tool in measuring the efficacy of public policy. The Master of Arts in Public Policy & Evaluation trains you in the technical aspects of outcome evaluation to provide a focused understanding of what makes public policy effective.

The Master of Arts in Public Policy & Evaluation (MAPPE) is joint program offered by the Division of Politics & Economics (DPE) and the Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences (DBOS) that combines two highly complementary domains—public policy and evaluation—which are often taught and learned separately. The program places strong emphasis on the politics of outcome evaluation; you’ll develop an understanding of stakeholder and constituent roles in evaluation, empowerment aspects, and the ethical requirements of a policy analyst and evaluator. The program allows considerable flexibility to construct a degree that builds important skills for a range of careers, especially in nonprofit or governmental settings.

Program Highlights
  • Students in the MAPPE program may take policy/evaluation-relevant elective or transdisciplinary courses at any CGU school with the approval of their academic advisors.
  • The program offers graduate-only education in small, seminar-style classes taught by highly knowledgeable faculty-scholars.
  • You can pursue your MA in conjunction with another degree, such as a Master of Public Health. You earn a diploma for each degree and “double count” some units from one program to the other to decrease your required total units.

Program at a Glance

UNITS
48 units

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
2 years

*This estimate assumes full-time registration and pursuit of the degree. Actual completion times will vary and may be higher, depending on full- or part-time course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.

COURSES BEGIN
Fall | Spring | Summer

DIVISIONS
Division of Politics & Economics
Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

DEGREE AWARDED
MA in Public Policy & Evaluation

Featured Courses

PP 306
Legislative Process & Public Policy

Examines the role played by members of Congress in the three stages of the policy process: agenda setting, enactment, and execution.

PP 330
Public Policy Process

Examines how policy is formed, framed, and filtered in the American political system. Various theories and models of policy making are examined and compared.

PP 338
Policy Design and Implementation

Explores how policy analysis can help us devise better public policies—and then make them work in practice.

PP 331
Policy Evaluation

Addresses alternative models for understanding and evaluating public policy, ranging from those based on traditional welfare economics to others based on political philosophy.

PSYCH 315
Theory-Driven Evaluation

Professional development workshop focuses on theory-driven evaluation.

PSYCH 302a
Research Methods

Surveys contemporary research methods in psychology, focusing on research conceptualization, design, and measurement and the logic of minimizing the number of viable alternative explanations for a set of findings.

Program Requirements

Final Paper Portfolio
During your final semester, you must provide the program office a copy of a paper you wrote during your first semester along with a later paper you consider to be an example of your best work. This is an opportunity to demonstrate how your thinking, knowledge, and experience have evolved over the course of the program and where you see your career heading.

Faculty & Research

  • Heather E. Campbell profile image

    Heather E. Campbell

    Professor, Department of Politics & Government
    Director, Division of Politics & Economics
    Field Chair, Public Policy
    Thornton F. Bradshaw Chair

    Research Interests

    Public Policy, Urban Environmental Policy, Environmental Justice

  • Tarek Azzam profile image

    Tarek Azzam

    Senior Visiting Fellow

    Research Interests

    Social Research and Methodologies, Policy & Program Evaluations, Data Visualization and Evaluation

  • Tiffany Berry profile image

    Tiffany Berry

    Dean, School of Social Science, Policy & Evaluation
    Full Research Professor

    Research Interests

    Educational Program Evaluation, K–12 Educational Curricula, Comprehensive School Reform

    Affiliated with

    Claremont Evaluation Center

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Request information about the Public Policy & Evaluation program

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John Moore

Assistant Director of Admissions
T: 909-607-3925
E: john.moore@cgu.edu