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Graduate

Students and Faculty eating lunch

Students and faculty catch up at the 2015 Welcome Back Lunch

The Graduate Program in Public Policy offers two master's degrees:

  • Master of Public Policy (MPP), a two-year program leading to a professional degree;
  • Master of Arts (MA), a one-year program not intended as a professional degree.

The MPP is available to current Stanford seniors and graduate students, recent Stanford alumni, and external applicants seeking a joint degree. The MA is available to current Stanford graduate students.

The purpose of the master's program is to further develop knowledge and skills in public policy and to prepare students for a professional career or doctoral studies. This is achieved through completion of courses, in the primary field as well as related areas, and experience with independent work and specialization.

The MPP or MA degree is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in public policy. Through completion of advanced course work and rigorous skills training, the graduate program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge of public policy and to interpret and present the results of such research.

Admissions

Memorial Church and quad

The program offers two graduate programs in Public Policy. The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a two-year professional degree and the Master of Arts in Public Policy (MA) is a one-year non-professional degree.

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Degree Requirements

students and faculty at alumni reception

The graduate Public Policy core curriculum includes at least 45 units of applied skills in economics, quantitative methods, organizational behavior, social psychology, political science, political philosophy, ethics, and law.

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