MPP and MPA Programs
University of California Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) - MPP
Program Comparison Highlights
Institutional Structure: Berkeley's MPP is delivered through the Goldman School of Public Policy, which has an administrative status equivalent to a faculty.
Note on History: "During the late 1960s, educators nationwide recognized the need for a new kind of public leadership and a new type of graduate education, fostering the vision, knowledge, and practical skills to empower a new generation of policy makers. The Goldman School of Public Policy, founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1969, was one of the nation’s first graduate programs of its kind. As such, it has helped define the art and science of modern public policy. Aaron Wildavsky, a political scientist, was the Goldman School’s founding dean." (At https://gspp.berkeley.edu/about/history, 18 May 2015.)
Curriculum Design: With an 18-course degree, the Berkeley MPP has one of the higher course requirements among the MPP/MPA programs. Our PEACO calculations below suggest that typical students take about 65% of their course work in policy-oriented subjects and 35% in management-oriented subjects. Typical students take about 40% of their course work in subjects with high math-economics content. This places the Berkeley MPP in the "high course requirement, policy-oriented, higher math-economics content" curricular type, along with such programs as the Harvard MPP and the Chicago MPP (see MPP/MPA Curricular Types). Among peers in its curricular type, the Berkeley MPP has as a moderate number of courses and a high proportion of courses taught within the school. The competency gap analysis below suggests that a Berkeley MPP student taking the required courses and a random selection of listed electives would, on average, graduate with approximately 36 course-weeks of shortfall in the core-competency subject matter identified in MPP/MPA Core Competencies, including shortfalls of 6 course-weeks in Socioeconomic and Political Context and 5 course-weeks in Ethics, Rights and Accountability.
Professional Program Features: The Goldman MPP makes extensive use of current and former practitioners in its teaching. Its Career Services site (https://gspp.berkeley.edu/career-services) lists a wide range of professional development modules, career counselling services and co-curricular activities with a professional focus. There is a vast array of resources on the site of the Office of Career Advancement (at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/office-of-career-advancement). The Goldman School has 3 research centres: Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement; Center for Environmental Public Policy; and Project on Information Technology and Homeland Security.
Program Summary
Website:
http://gspp.berkeley.edu/
University: University of California Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California, USA
Degree: Master of Public Policy
Marketing Approach: "Leadership for the Public Good - Transforming smart, dedicated, service-minded women and men into public policy leaders"
"GSPP has a unique mandate to ensure that GSPP's teaching, research and programs are of the highest caliber and that the public benefits from the leadership and knowledge created here. Dean Henry E. Brady, the Board of Advisors and members of the administration work together with the faculty to make sure that what is taught inside the School remains relevant to the world outside it. Undergirding this work is the deeply held belief that investing in the best and the brightest policy students will create leaders who are committed to the common good and who have the skills to put that commitment into practice." (at http://gspp.berkeley.edu/ and http://gspp.berkeley.edu/about/leadership accessed 20 November 2013)
"Admission to the Goldman School is highly selective, determined by a committee of faculty, administrators and current students who evaluate the applicant’s academic preparation and demonstrated commitment to public service." (at http://gspp.berkeley.edu/admissions accessed 11 December 2013)
Degrees Awarded per Year: 90 (From Admission Statistics at https://gspp.berkeley.edu/admissions/why-choose-gspp/admissions-stats, accessed 18 May 2015.)
Academic Unit within University: Goldman School of Public Policy, with administrative status equivalent to a faculty (see http://berkeley.edu/academics/school.shtml.)
Related Academic Units and Degrees: The Goldman School also offers undergraduate courses and a PhD program. Berkeley's graduate programs are listed at http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Registration/feesched.html#pubpol http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/list.shtml. Of the 31 concurrent degrees are listed at http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/concurrent.shtml, 10 are concurrent with the Master of Public Policy.
Posted Tuition: For 2014-15 total fees per semester are $12,157 ($24,314 per year) for California Residents and $18,530 ($37,060 per year) for non-residents (at https://gspp.berkeley.edu/admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid, accessed 23 February 2015).
Concentration/Curriculum Overview: The core curriculum of GSPP's two-year Master in Public Policy (MPP) program emphasizes the practical and applied dimensions of policymaking. Courses provide strong foundations in political decision making and law, and equip students with analytical tools and concepts, including microeconomic theory and statistical modeling. Five electives, designed to allow students to focus on a particular policy area, can be taken either at GSPP or elsewhere on the Berkeley campus. Because real public policy problems are often ill-defined and resistant to straightforward application of formal analytic techniques, the curriculum includes substantial field work, allowing students to apply their learning in the service of real-life policy clients. Students work at a summer policy internship between their first and second years and complete an analysis, in groups and individually, during the spring semester of each year. Class sizes are relatively small; students enjoy a sense of camaraderie with one another and with faculty. Teamwork, rather than competition, is encouraged. This approach develops skills in negotiation, cooperation, and consensus building, all essential to effective public leadership.
Degree Requirements:
Summary: The MPP degree is earned in a two-year, full-time program consisting of a core curriculum, a policy internship in the summer after completion of the first year, a second-year policy analysis project, and elective courses chosen from those available on the campus (including but not limited to those offered by the School).
Duration: 20 Months
Number of One-Semester-Equivalent Courses Required for Completion: 18 (See Notes 2 and 3 below.)
Number of required courses: 13 (Note 2: This counts both the Summer Internship and the Thesis Seminar as 2 one-semester equivalent courses.)
Number of Typically Taken Electives: 5 (Note 3: Estimate based on the core structure outline: http://gspp.berkeley.edu/academics/masters-degree-mpp/core-structure.)
Comprehensive examination: No
Thesis required: Yes
Internship required: Yes
International study required: No, but optional
Co-Curricular Activities Supportive to Degree
Professional development and career support: Yes
Student run journal: Yes, http://www.policymattersjournal.org/
Applied Projects: Not listed although some of the courses include applied projects for external clients.
Pro Bono Consulting: No
Courses Offered: There is a course list at http://gspp.berkeley.edu/academics/course-information/graduate-courses and a more detailed list of GSPP courses for Fall 2013 are found at http://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/page/Fall_2013_Course_Offerings_Preview_8.28.2013.pdf and those for Spring 2014 are found at http://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/page/Course_Offerings-_Spring_2014-10.4.2013.doc; Fall 2014 at https://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/page/Fall_2014_Course_Offerings_Preview_8.28.2014.pdf and Spring 2015 at https://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/page/Course_Offerings-_Spring_2015-1.16.2015.pdf. With permission, students can also select graduate-level courses offered by other units at Berkeley. The courses offered by the Goldman School of Public Policy have been assigned to Atlas subjects in the map below. Required courses are indicated by (R). Courses with 6 hours per week are counted as two, as is the Summer Internship. Courses with less than 3 hours per week for a full semester are indicated by (0.33) or (0.67).
Course Material Online: Most courses listed in the sources above have one- or two-paragraph course descriptions but full syllabi are not publicly available online.
Instructional Distribution (PEACO Profile): The distribution of instruction offered, based on the course assignments to subjects in the CourseMap below, weighted by estimated enrolment based on the number of electives offered (45) and number of electives typically taken (5), is as follows:
|
|
Berkeley |
|
|
MPP |
|
Curricular Type Parameters |
|
|
Number of Courses Required for Graduation |
18.0 |
|
Math-Economics Subjects (EA, QM, Macro, Fin Markets) |
39.5% |
|
Policy-Oriented Subjects |
64.6% |
|
Management-Oriented Subjects |
35.4% |
|
|
|
|
Enrolment-Adjusted Course Distribution |
|
|
Analysis and Skill Subjects |
73.4% |
|
- Policy and Management Analysis |
26.3% |
|
- Economic Analysis |
12.5% |
|
|
- Quantitative and Analytic Methods |
27.5% |
|
- Leadership and Communication Skills |
7.1% |
|
Institutions and Context Subjects |
13.3% |
|
- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process |
12.9% |
|
- Ethics, Rights and Accountability |
0.4% |
|
- Socioeconomic, Political, and Global Contexts |
0.0% |
|
Management Function Subjects |
2.3% |
|
- Public Financial Management |
1.0% |
|
- Evaluation and Performance Measurement |
0.4% |
|
- Other Management Functions |
0.8% |
|
Policy Sector Subjects |
11.0% |
|
- Macroeconomic Policy |
1.6% |
|
- International Development |
1.3% |
|
- Health |
0.0% |
|
- Other Policy Sectors |
8.2% |
|
Total |
100% |
|
|
|
|
Competency Gap Analysis (in Course-Weeks of Instruction) |
|
|
Course-Weeks in Core Subjects taken by Typical Student |
196 |
|
Surplus or Shortfall Relative to Core Competency Requirement |
|
|
- Policy and Management Analysis (CCR = 18 course-weeks) |
39 |
|
- Economic Analysis (CCR = 12) |
15 |
|
- Quantitative Methods (CCR = 12) |
43 |
|
- Analytic Methods (CCR = 6) |
-1 |
|
- Leadership Skills (CCR = 9) |
5 |
|
- Communication Skills (CCR = 3 courses) |
-2 |
|
- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process (CCR = 18) |
10 |
|
- Ethics, Rights and Accountability (CCR = 6 courses) |
-5 |
|
- Socioeconomic and Political Context (CCR = 6) |
-6 |
|
- Global Context (CCR = 3) |
-3 |
|
- Public Financial Management (CCR = 6) |
-4 |
|
- Evaluation and Performance Measurement (CCR = 6) |
-5 |
|
- Human Resource Management (CCR = 3) |
-2 |
|
- Information and Technology Management (CCR = 3) |
-3 |
|
- Macroeconomic Policy (CCR = 6) |
-3 |
|
- Environment and Sustainability (CCR = 3) |
-2 |
|
Subject-Matter Shortfall for Typical Student (Sum of Shortfalls) |
-36 |
|
|
|
|
Additional Parameters |
|
|
Total Courses Listed |
59 |
|
Courses Designated as Required (inc. Specialization Reqs) |
15.0 |
|
Archetypal Public Affairs Subjects (P&MA, EA, QM, DI&PP) |
77.1% |
|
Archetypal International Affairs Subjects (GC, ID, DS&FR) |
3.0% |
|
|
|
|
Courses Required and Offered |
|
|
Courses Required to Graduate |
18 |
|
Required Courses |
15 |
|
Elective Courses Taken by Typical Student |
3 |
|
Elective Courses Listed |
44.3 |
|
Enrolment Weight of Elective Course |
0.07 |
|
Total Courses Listed |
59.3 |
Course Outlines and Syllabi Online: No
Source: At http://gspp.berkeley.edu/academics/masters-degree-mpp and other sites noted above (accessed 20 November 2013).
Page Created By: Kyle Richardson on 7 October 2013; last updated by Ian Clark on 8 September 2015. Updating and editing may consist of substantive and/or formatting changes. Unless otherwise noted, however, information regarding a program's structure, curricular offerings and PEACO score is based on the program as it was on the date of page creation. The content presented on this page, except for the assignments of courses to Atlas subjects, the Instructional Distribution analysis, and the Commentary is drawn directly from the source(s) cited above, and consists of direct quotations or close paraphrases.
Berkeley GSPP Course Map
C o u r s e s O f f e r e d l i s t e d b y P u b l i c P o l i c y a n d M a n a g e m e n t S u b j e c t