Public Policy and Evaluation, MA

The Master of Arts in Public Policy and Evaluation (MAPPE) is a joint program that combines public policy, evaluation, and strong methodology to build expertise in the areas below.

Organizational and process implementation techniques
Technical aspects of outcome evaluations
Political issues of evaluation, including stakeholder/constituent roles
Aspects of empowerment
Ethical requirements of the policy analyst/evaluator

Working closely with an advisor, students enjoy considerable individual flexibility to customize a program that builds important skills for a wide range of careers.

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.

Admission requirements are detailed in the Admission section of the Bulletin.

Degree Requirements

Coursework. The program requires 48 units.

Final Paper Portfolio. All students are required to submit two papers to the program office. One paper must be written during the student’s first semester in the program. A second paper should represent the student’s best work and may come from any subsequent semester that the student is enrolled in the program. Papers are used for accreditation reviews of the program.

University Policies. University policies detailed in the Academic Policies section of the Bulletin apply.

Policy Focus (16 units)

PP 330 - Public Policy Process
PP 338 - Policy Design and Implementation
SP&E 313 - Microeconomics and Public Policy
- Note: If students have an equivalent college-level course in Microeconomics, this requirement may be met, but units may only transfer if the Microeconomics course is a graduate-level course that meets the institutional transfer standards. See your advisor for details.
SP&E 318 - Cost Benefit Analysis

Evaluation Focus (12 units)

Please choose 3 classes from the following:

PSYCH 326 - Foundations of Evaluation (2 units)
PP 331 - Policy Evaluation OR Psych 315EE - Evaluation Procedures
PSYCH 414 - Evaluation Procedures Practicum (2 units)
PSYCH 315Z - Comparative Evaluation Theory

Research and Statistical Methods (12 units)

In addition to the course options listed below, an advisor may approve other PP methods courses.

PSYCH 302a - Research Methods

AND one of the following options:

Option 1

PP 481 - Introduction to Statistical Analysis (4 units)
PP 482 - Multivariate Regression Analysis (4 units)

Option 2

PSYCH 308a - Intermediate Statistics (2 units)
PSYCH 308b - ANOVA (2 units)
PSYCH 308c - Applied Multiple Regression(2 units)
PSYCH 308d - Categorical Data Analysis (2 units)

Elective Courses (8 units)

Any electives appropriate to your goals. Approval by a faculty advisor is required. Suggested courses include:

PP306 - Legislative Process and Public Policy (4 units)
Psych315a - Theory Driven Program Evaluation (2 units)
Psych352l - Professional Development in Evaluation and Applied Methods (2 units)
SP&E 484 - Experimental and Qualitative Methods (4 units)
PP329 - Public Opinion (4 units)
Any policy or evaluation topics course, such as on diversity, health, urban, education, youth, etc.

Students may take elective courses at PG. However, students may also take policy/evaluation-relevant elective courses at any CGU school with the approval of their academic advisors. Transdisciplinary courses are allowed and may be of particular interest to students who wish to transfer to a Ph.D. program.