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Master of Public Policy (MPP)
The degree includes two levels of requirements: the foundation courses and the advanced curriculum. Those who have met the foundation requirements through earlier course work (at Mills or elsewhere) may enter the advanced curriculum and complete the degree in one academic year. For those who need to complete some foundation requirements, the degree may take up to two years.
Foundation Requirements: Prior to entering the advanced curriculum, students must have completed all or nearly all of the following foundation courses (Mills courses or their equivalents):
- Politics of the Policy-Making Process
- Introduction to Economics/Economic Policy Analysis
- Ethics of Policy/Politics
- Law and Society
- Introduction to Statistics
- Public Sector Economics
- Methods of Policy Analysis
- Dynamics of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, or Class
(requirement may be met with any course
that exposes students to analysis of these
structural dimensions)
For the names and numbers of the Mills courses meeting these requirements, see the list of courses in our undergraduate 4+1 program. Equivalent courses are those we determine to have covered the essential material covered in the Mills foundation courses.
Flexible Options for Meeting Foundation Requirements: We are happy to work with candidates who are interested in the one-year Mills MPP program but have not fulfilled all of the program’s prerequisites. We will review your past course work to determine which of the requirements have been met and identify the best options for completing the prerequisites. Some candidates take the necessary courses here at Mills on a part-time or full-time basis. Others take course equivalents that we have identified at other institutions (such as local campuses in the California State University system or community colleges) in which students can enroll on a temporary basis.
Advanced Curriculum: The advanced curriculum consists of seven required courses and two electives that offer students opportunities to augment and deepen their skills through practical application. These courses emphasize both conceptual and applied dimensions of policy making, governance, and management, training students to identify policy options and work through implementation strategies. The curriculum is structured to expose students to the types of challenges they will face as professionals, such as working in teams under tight deadlines with multiple constituencies and competing interests.
Required:
PPOL 220 Professional Challenges I: Organizational Efficacy (1)
PPOL 221 Professional Challenges II: Political Efficacy (1)
PPOL 230–231 The Integrative Core I and II: Application/Integration of Policy Analysis Frameworks (2)
PPOL 225 Simulations and Computer Applications (1)
PPOL 227 Local and Community Policymaking, Planning, and Management (1)
MGMT 214 Financial Accounting (1)
Two graduate electives will be chosen by the student and approved by the program director or advisor. Electives must be selected to deepen the student's knowledge of either analytic methods or a policy area of concentration. Students should be aware that graduate-level courses in a substantive policy area or advanced methods may require satisfaction of prerequisites.
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