Public Policy, MA

CGU’s Masters of Public Policy (MPP) program is designed to develop policy analysts with strong quantitative skills and political knowledge, equipped with boundary-crossing tools and mindsets to foster positive, sustainable, and strategic change. The program is distinguished by four signature pillars: a customizable curriculum that aligns with your passions and possibilities, an emphasis on social justice and human flourishing, transdisciplinary inquiry, and physical proximity to a living laboratory within the complex and exciting climate of Southern California. 

Program Highlights

Areas of Emphasis include Social Justice and Inequality, Environmental and Water policy, Health policy, Leadership and Flourishing, and you may create a self-designed track based on your interests.
Graduate-only education is offered in small, seminar-style classes taught by highly knowledgeable faculty scholars.
You can pursue your MPP in conjunction with another degree, such as a Ph.D. in Psychology. 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. Admission requirements are detailed in the Admissions section of the current Policies and General Information Bulletin.

University Policies. Policies detailed in the current Policies and General Information Bulletin apply.

Degree Requirements

Coursework. The MPP program can be completed with 32 units of coursework for students who already meet the microeconomic and statistics prerequisites described below (students who do not meet the microeconomic and statistics prerequisites detailed below will require 4-8 additional units).

Final Paper Portfolio. All students are required to submit two papers to the program office. One paper should 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.

Core Requirements (20 units):

PP 330 - Public Policy Process (4 units)

PP 338 - Policy Design & Implementation (4 units)

PP 482 - Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (4 units)

(Prerequisite: PP 481 or equivalent)

PP 487 - Advanced Applied Data Analysis (various letters and topics) (4 units)

(Prerequisites: PP 482 or equivalent)

TNDY 488 – Transdisciplinary Public Policy Capstone (4 units)

(Prerequisites: Final semester of coursework)

Evaluation Requirement (4 units)

Either

PPP 331 - Policy Evaluation OR

(Prerequisite: PP 482 or equivalent)

SPE 318 - Cost-Benefit Analysis

(Prerequisite: Microeconomics [e.g., Econ 313, SPE 313, or equivalent])

MPP Pathways Requirement (8 units)

Students choose two courses (8 units) specializing in one of the five Pathways below.

[Note: Students enrolled in an interfield or dual-degree program with public policy may waive the pathways credits as coursework in their other field/degree will meet this requirement.]

Pathway I: Advanced Analysis (8 units from the following:)

PP 331 - Policy Evaluation (4 units) OR SPE 318 - Cost-Benefit Analysis (4 units) *
PP 485 - Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research (4 units)
PP 329 - Public Opinion (4 units)
IST 370 – Introduction to GIS Analytics and Solution Development (4 units)

IST 377 - Geographic Information Systems-Special Topics (4 units)
PP 484 - Survey Research (4 units)

* Students may only use one of these courses for Pathway credit since one is used to fulfill the Evaluation Requirement.

Pathway II: Social Justice and Inequality (8 units from the following)

TNDY 405C - Wealth, Poverty and Inequality (4 units)
TNDY 407K - Transdisciplinary Research in Inequality (4 units)
TNDY 407V - Urban Studies (4 units)
SPE 354 – Comparative Public Policy (4 units)
EDUC 407 – Foundations of Educational Policy (4 units)
PP 309 - Women, Politics, and Policy (4 units)

PP 341 - US Immigration Policy (4 units)
CGH 317 - Ethics, Human Rights & Cultural Diversity (4 units)
PSYCH 350D - Law & Psychology (4 units)
EA 086PZ - Environmental Justice (with professor approval & added work)
TNDY 408G - Cultural Competence (4 units)
TNDY 407O - Corruption (4 units)
Other courses are approved by advisor

Pathway III: Environmental and Water Policy (8 units from the following)

PP 336 - Water Finance, Law and Equity (4 units)
PP 407B - One Water for the Future (4 units)
HIST200 QPO – Water in the West (with professor approval & added work)
POST 281 – Politics of Water (with professor approval & added work)
SPE 354 – Comparative Public Policy (4 units)
TNDY 407V - Urban Studies (4 units)

TNDY 407T - Experiencing Sustainability (4 units)
IST 370 – Introduction to GIS Analytics and Solution Development (4 units)
IST 377A or F - Geographic Information Systems (various letters and topics) (4 units)
CGH 304 - Environmental & Occupational Health (4 units)
EA 086PZ - Environmental Justice with professor approval & added work)
Other courses as approved by advisor, including approved courses from the Environmental Analysis program of the 5 Claremont Colleges.

Pathway IV: Health Policy (8 units from the following)

CGH 300 - Theoretical Foundations in Health Promotion & Education (4 units)

CGH 303 - Health Services in the US & Abroad (4 units)
CGH 304 - Environmental &Occupational Health (4 units)
CGH 316 - Public Health Leadership (4 units)
CGH 409 - Designing & Evaluating Health Behavior Interventions (4 units)
CGH 411 - Health Economics and Financing (4 units)

EVAL 350 - Developing and Evaluating Health Behavior Interventions (4 units)
PHYSCH 350FF - Health Promotion (4 units)
PSYCH 350GG- Prevention Science Applied to Evidence-Based Prevention Interventions and Policies (4 units)
PSYCH 350V – Intervention Development (4 units)

CGH 349F – U.S. Health Policy (4 units

Pathway V: Leadership and Flourishing (8 units from the following)

TNDY 404B - Leadership & Followership (4 units)
TNDY 407J - Leader Development (4 units)
TNDY 407R - The Practice of Self-Management (4 units)

TNDY 407U - Science of Human Flourishing (4 units)
PSYCH 319 - Organizational Behavior (4 units)
PSYCH 321 - Organizational Theory (4 units)
PSYCH 329 – Foundations of Positive Psychology (4 units)
PSYCH 350KK - Positive Organizational Psychology (4 units)

PSYCH 350PP - Positive Leadership (4 units)
PSYCH 350SS - Leadership in a Complex World (4 units)
PSYCH 350Y - Good Work (4 units)
CGH 316 - Public Health Leadership (4 units)
TNDY 407O – Corruption (4 units)
TNDY 404O – Collaboration Across the Public-Private Divide (4 units)
Other courses as approved by advisor

Microeconomics and Statistics Degree Prerequisites (4-8 units):

The CGU MPP prerequisite requirements for microeconomics and statistics prepare graduate students for rigorous and agile training to tackle the world’s complex policy issues. Prior to MPP coursework:

The microeconomics requirement may be met through the successful completion of:

ECON 313 – Microeconomic Analysis OR
SPE 313 - Microeconomics & Public Policy OR
Another college-level Microeconomics Course (undergraduate or graduate level; evaluated by program faculty)

The statistics requirement may be met through the successful completion of:

CGU Introductory Social Statistics course PP 481 – Introduction to Statistical Analysis OR
Proficiency demonstrated through passing a Claremont Graduate University Division of Politics and Economics statistics examination (recommended only for students who have already completed a college-level statistics course.)

The prerequisite requirements must have been met within three years of program matriculation.