Stanford GPPP

Institutional Structure: The Graduate Program in Public Policy was created in 2006:

"The Stanford interdisciplinary program in Public Policy has offered a strong undergraduate major since 1980. In 2006, the Faculty Senate granted the Public Policy Program approval for a graduate program, which included an MPP (a two-year professional degree) and an MA in Public Policy (a one-year degree). Both master’s programs were initially open only to Stanford graduate students. In the autumn of 2007-2008, the first graduate class started, comprised of three students. Since then, the program has steadily grown. The program currently offers 13 joint degrees.  In the autumn of 2009, the program also began accepting coterminal applications, which allow undergraduates to complete an undergraduate degree in any discipline and a master’s degree in Public Policy simultaneously." (At https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/about/what-public-policy-stanford, accessed 18 February 2015.) 

Professional Program Features: The program includes a Practicum and Colloquium, and is rare among MPP/MPA programs in providing a required full course on Writing and Rhetoric for Policy Audiences.  

Program Summary

Website: https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/academics/graduate

University: Stanford University

Location: Stanford, California

Degree: Master in Public Policy

Marketing Approach: "The MPP ... 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." (At https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/academics/graduate, accessed 17 February 2015.)

Degrees Awarded per Year: TBD [Information will be requested from the School]

Academic Unit within University: The GPPP is an interdisciplinary graduate program administered by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), described as "a nonpartisan economic policy research organization that unites remarkable economic talent from all parts of Stanford University" (at http://siepr.stanford.edu/about_siepr, accessed 17 February 2015).

Related Academic Units and Degrees: The GPPP offers two Master's degrees: MPP and MA, a one-year program not intended as a professional degree. 

Posted Tuition: The 2014-2015 academic year tuition rate for full time (meaning 11 to 18 units/qtr) study is $14,728 per quarter ($44,184 per year), at https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/academics/graduate/frequently-asked-questions, accessed 17 February 2015.

Concentration/Curriculum Overview: 

MPP Degree Requirements

Summary: The MPP is a two-year program leading to a professional degree. It is available to current Stanford seniors and graduate students, recent Stanford alumni, and external applicants seeking a joint degree.

• Core Curriculum—All core courses must be taken for a letter grade and must be completed with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.
• At least two electives are taken during the first year. At least one must be from the Concentration Electives List.
• Colloquium: All Public Policy graduate students are required to attend and enroll in three quarters of PUBLPOL 311 Public Policy Colloquium (3 units) during their first year of the program. Attendance and participation are mandatory.
• Practicum: Completion of the two-quarter practicum course, PUBLPOL 309 Practicum (10 units, Autumn and Winter quarters), and presentation of a report in which interdisciplinary student teams analyze real world policy issues for outside clients.
• Concentration: Advanced course work in a specialized field, chosen from the approved list of concentration courses with the prior approval of the student's faculty adviser and the program director.

Duration: 2 years (6 quarters)

Academic Prerequisite: The Public Policy graduate curriculum assumes that students have completed the following: Microeconomics (Stanford equivalent: ECON 50) and Multivariable Calculus (Stanford equivalent: MATH 51). While the prerequisites are not required to be completed at the time of application, they must be completed prior to matriculation.

Number of One-Semester-Equivalent Courses Required for Completion: 17.3 (90 credits) See Note 1.course. See Note 1.

Note 1: We apply the same conversion factor of 1 four-unit quarter course = 10/13 one-semester as for other MPP/MPA programs using the quarter system (See Credit and Course Equivalencies).

Number of Required Courses: 10.4

Number of Electives Typically Taken (difference between above two entries): 6.9

Number of Electives Offered within Program: 6+

Comprehensive Examination: No

Thesis Required: No

Internship Required: No

International Study Required: No

Co-curricular Activities Supportive to Degree

Professional Development and Career Support: No

Student-run Journal: No

Applied Projects: No

Pro Bono Consulting: No

Courses Offered: The full list of courses offered in the GPPP is found at https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/courses?title=&field_s_course_instructor_value=&field_s_course_term_value=All&page=1, accessed 17 February 2015.

Course Material Online: One-paragraph course descriptions are found at the Courses page noted above. No syllabi are publicly available online. 

Instructional Distribution (PEACO Profile): The table below indicates the distribution of instruction offered, based on the course assignments to subjects in the Course Map below, weighted by estimated enrolment determined by the PEACO Algorithm.   

		Stanford
		MPP
I. Courses Required and Offered
	Number of one-semester courses required for degree	17.3
	Number of required courses	10.4
	Number of elective courses taken	6.9
	Number of courses offered	45.8
	Enrolment weight of elective courses	0.15
II. Distribution of Courses (Enrolment-Adjusted) among Atlas
Domains and Subjects
	Tools and Skills	42.9%
	- Strategy and Structure	5.1%
	- Economic Analysis	13.3%
	- Quantitative Methods and Management Sciences	5.6%
	- Leadership, Communication, Professional Practice	18.9%
	Institutions and Context	16.0%
	- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process	6.5%
	- Ethics and Accountability	5.1%
	- Socioeconomic, Political, and Global Contexts	4.4%
	Management Functions	4.4%
	- Public Financial Management	0.0%
	- Evaluation and Performance Measurement	0.0%
	- Other Management Functions	4.4%
	Policy Sectors	36.6%
	- Fiscal, Monetary and Tax Policy	5.9%
	- International Development	0.0%
	- Health	5.9%
	- Other Policy Sectors	24.9%
	Total	100%
III. Number of Courses in "NASPAA-required Subjects" taken by
Typical Student in NASPAA Required Competency Domains
	Lead and Manage in Public Governance	1.08
	Participate and Contribute to the Policy Process	1.44
	Analyze, Synthesize, Solve Problems and Make Decisions	4.47
	Articulate and Apply Public Service Perspectives	3.02
	Communicate and Interact with Workforce and Citizenry	1.73
	Total Course Equivalents taken in Required Competencies	11.74
IV. Ratio of Courses in "NASPAA-required Subjects" taken by
Typical Student to Estimated Requirement for Competency
	Lead and Manage in Public Governance	0.60
	Participate and Contribute to the Policy Process	0.66
	Analyze, Synthesize, Solve Problems and Make Decisions	1.19
	Articulate and Apply Public Service Perspectives	2.02
	Communicate and Interact with Workforce and Citizenry	2.19
	Ratio of Total Instruction in Competencies to Amount Needed	1.17
V. Number of Microeconomics, Macroeconomics or Quantitative
Methods Courses taken by Typical Student
	Economic Analysis	2.31
	Fiscal, Monetary and Tax Policy	1.02
	Quantitative Methods	0.96
	Total	4.29
	Ratio of Quantitative Courses to Total Courses Required	24.8%
Sum of Tools and Skills and Management Functions		47.3%

Source: At https://publicpolicy.stanford.edu/academics/graduate and related sites (accessed 18 February 2015).

Page Created By: Ian Clark on 18 February 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.

Stanford MPP 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