CGU’s Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) degree begins and ends with purpose. As an MPP student, you’ll benefit from an emphasis on social justice and human flourishing, transdisciplinarity, a customizable curriculum that aligns with your passions, and proximity to the Los Angeles metropolitan area—a living laboratory of social and economic issues.

The MPP program will challenge you to think big, but also to think practically. You’ll learn to design and implement transformative public policies, as well as fashion and invigorate institutions and partnerships. Since tomorrow’s policy challenges do not inhabit any one academic domain, you’ll work across disciplines and out into the world, and learn to combine ideas and insights in new ways that matter.

CGU’s proximity to the Los Angeles metropolitan area will give you firsthand exposure to the most pressing social and economic issues—the growth of immigrant populations, urban environmental impacts like suburban sprawl, environmental injustice, green energy infrastructure, and education reform. In the MPP program, you’ll train with some of the world’s leading experts in these areas, and you can customize your learning experience by combining core courses and electives to align your passion and purpose with pressing social problems.

Program Highlights
  • Design your own specialization based on your interests: urban and regional development, poverty and inequality, public health, water policy, education, international development, and more.
  • Pursue your MPP in conjunction with another degree. Earn a PhD in psychology or a Master’s in Public Health. Apply units from one program to the other to decrease the required total units.
  • Prepare yourself for a high-impact career. CGU alums work in exciting positions in government, business, and non-profits—locally, nationally, and around the world.

Program at a Glance

UNITS
32 units

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
1.5 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

DIVISION
Division of Politics & Economics

DEGREE AWARDED
MA in Public Policy

Featured Courses

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 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 482
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods

Examines regression analysis, focusing partly on theoretical issues and partly on practical problems in applied regression to prepare students for advanced study of econometric techniques.

PP 336
Water Finance, Law and Equity

Presents an interdisciplinary approach to state and local water policy and resource management by integrating policymaking processes, finance, law, and the practical management of water systems.

SPE 315
Game Theory

Analyzes the strategic interaction between individuals, firms, governments, and other groups of people.

TNDY 405C
Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality

Surveys the diverse literature on income inequality to develop a nuanced understanding of the issue and, ultimately, develop a policy proposal to manage rising income inequality with a multifaceted approach.

Curriculum

The Master of Arts in Public Policy is a 32-unit (up to 40 if students lack prerequisites) degree program that builds knowledge of current government programs and debates about them. This degree can be completed in 18 months (full-time) or 2 years (part-time).

Core Courses (20 units)

  • PP330 Public Policy Process
  • PP338 Policy Design and Implementation
  • Multivariate Regression Analysis (PP482 or INST483)
  • Advanced Applied Data Analysis (PP487)
  • Transdisciplinary Capstone (PP488 TNDY488)

Evaluation (4 units)

  • PP331 Policy Evaluation OR SPE 381 Cost-Benefit Analysis

MPP Pathways (8 units)

  • Advanced Analysis pathway
  • Social Justice and Inequality pathway
  • Environmental and Water Policy pathway
  • Health Policy pathway
  • Leadership and Flourishing pathway

Prerequisites
Statistics and Microeconomics, which can be met at CGU via SPE 313 Microeconomics and Public Policy or Econ313 Microeconomics (requires math), and PP481 or INST481 Quantitative Research Methods

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

  • Robert Klitgaard profile image

    Robert Klitgaard

    University Professor

    Research Interests

    Public Policy, Economic Strategy, Institutional Reform, Corruption

  • Jean Reith Schroedel profile image

    Jean Reith Schroedel

    Professor Emerita of Political Science
    Former Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy

    Research Interests

    Native American voting rights, American political development, women and politics, religion and politics, and congressional policy-making

  • Tarek Azzam profile image

    Tarek Azzam

    Senior Visiting Fellow

    Research Interests

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

  • Darleen V. Peterson profile image

    Darleen V. Peterson

    Professor of Practice, Community and Global Health
    Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
    Director of the Certificate and Master of Public Health (MPH) programs

    Research Interests

    Evaluation of Health Communication Campaigns, Effects of Pro- and Anti-Tobacco and Alcohol Marketing; Public Health Education Accreditation

  • Javier Rodríguez profile image

    Javier Rodríguez

    Associate Professor

    Research Interests

    Public & Health Policy, Social Inequality, Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Request information about the Public Policy program

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John Moore

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