Princeton Wilson

Masters in Public Affairs (MPA): This two-year, full-time residential program teaches analytical skills that address the political, economic, quantitative, organizational, and normative aspects of complex policy problems. It fosters an appreciation of the historical, institutional, and cultural contexts and interactions that encompass both domestic and international arenas.

Masters of Public Policy (MPP): This one-year, full-time residential program offers practicing public policy professionals the opportunity to earn a degree in one year. In addition to studying for the MPP degree, students may also earn a certificate in science, technology, and environmental policy; urban and regional planning; or demography. The MPP program has recently been expanded to qualified physicians, Ph.D. scientists, and lawyers.

Degree Requirements:

Masters of Public Administration: The curriculum includes six required core courses that address skills and techniques needed for the systematic study of public policy problems. The courses cover political analysis, quantitative methods, and economic and behavioral analysis. Each MPA candidate selects a policy field in which to specialize from the school’s four fields of concentration: international relations, development studies, domestic policy, and economics and public policy. Students may also take courses leading to a joint degree in public affairs and law (MPA/JD), or with other professional degree programs, by special request. Certificate programs in demography through the Office of Population Research; health and health policy in conjunction with the Center for Health and Wellbeing; the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP); and most recently, urban policy or urban policy and planning offer additional areas of specialization among the four fields of concentration.

A unique hallmark of the school’s curriculum is the collaborative approach to planning elective courses and graduate policy workshops by faculty field coordinators, first-year students, and administrators. This enables the school not only to draw upon the strengths of its faculty, but also to adapt to the most pressing issues of domestic or international affairs and be highly responsive to the individual and collective interests of students. The school’s resources also enable it to offer high-profile appointments to visiting scholars and policy practitioners who complement the academic and professional expertise of the faculty. At the end of the first semester, students take part in a policy project called the Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE). The IPE requires students to synthesize the skills they acquired in the fall-term analytic courses. Recent topics have included: rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina; medical malpractice liability and tort reform; cotton tariffs and U.S.-China relations; SUVs and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; smallpox vaccinations; and prescription drug coverage for seniors. Students are given briefing materials to review in advance, and are then required to respond to a set of specific policy questions in the form of a comprehensive analytical memorandum. In May, at the end of their first year, students are required to take the Qualifying Examination (QE1), an exercise that closely parallels the IPE. Like the IPE, the QE1 requires an integrated use of analytical skills acquired in the core curriculum during the first year. Recent topics have included living wage campaigns, mercury emissions reduction, immigration policy reform, air transportation security , oil drilling in the Arctic, and California's electricity market. Second-year students complete a qualifying exam (QE2) in their respective field of concentration in lieu of a master’s thesis or independent project.

Masters of Public Policy: All MPP students begin with a six-week summer program in economics, statistics, leadership and policy analysis. The summer program is designed to enhance students’ preparation for graduate-level courses. The seminar aims to introduce them to the approaches they will encounter in WWS courses during the academic year, while also helping them get to know their peers and refine their learning objectives for the year. To qualify for the degree, MPP candidates must successfully complete eight courses during the academic year. A typical MPP program of study will include a specialization in one of the School’s four fields of concentration: International Relations, Development Studies, Domestic Policy, or Economics and Public Policy. In addition, a typical program would include a few courses in economics and/or program and policy evaluation, psychology, negotiation and/or financial management, as well as half-term policy-analysis courses. MPP students may choose to specialize further with a certificate program. The School's flexible curriculum provides an exceptional opportunity for mid-career students to tailor their learning experience at Princeton to their individual needs and objectives.

Duration: MPA: 2 years; MPP: 1 year 

Number of One-Semester-Equivalent Courses Required for Completion: MPA: 18 (including the required internship deemed equivalent to 2 one-semester courses); MPP: 8

Number of required courses: MPA: 10.75 (6 core courses plus imputed value for requirements of the concentrations plus internship); MPP: 8

Number of Typically Taken Electives: MPA: 7.25 (including the required options in individual concentrations); MPP: 0

Number of Electives offered within program: 74 one-semester course equivalents

Comprehensive examination: MPA: Yes; MPP: No

Thesis required: MPA: No; MPP: No

Internship required: MPA: Yes; MPP: No

International study required: No

Co-Curricular Activities Supportive to Degree

Professional development and career support: Yes

 Student run journal: Yes, http://www.princeton.edu/jpia//

Applied Projects: MPA: Yes; MPP: No,

Pro Bono Consulting: No

Courses Offered: The full list of 2013-14 WWS courses are found at http://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/ and in the Princeton Graduate School Catalogue at http://www.princeton.edu/gradschool/about/catalog/fields/woodrow_wilson_school/#courses. The latter has been downloaded to the Atlas at Course Listing for Wilson School Graduate Programs from Princeton Catalog, January 2014. With permission, students can also select graduate-level courses offered by other units at Princeton University. The courses offered by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs have been assigned to Atlas subjects in the course map below. Required courses are indicated by (R). Where the required course has two options, they are both designated with (R/2); where they have three options they are designated with (R/3) and where there are four options they are designated by (R/4).

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.

		Princeton	Princeton
		MPA	MPP
Curricular Type Parameters
	Number of Courses Required for Graduation	18.0	10.0
	Math-Economics Subjects (EA, QM, Macro, Fin Markets)	33.9%	18.5%
	Policy-Oriented Subjects	84.0%	84.7%
	Management-Oriented Subjects	16.0%	15.3%
Enrolment-Adjusted Course Distribution
	Analysis and Skill Subjects	39.3%	19.6%
	- Policy and Management Analysis	13.1%	3.2%
	- Economic Analysis	8.9%	4.8%
	- Quantitative  and Analytic Methods	16.3%	9.5%
	- Leadership and Communication Skills	1.0%	2.1%
	Institutions and Context Subjects	15.3%	21.7%
	- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process	3.5%	3.2%
	- Ethics, Rights and Accountability	0.8%	1.6%
	- Socioeconomic, Political, and Global Contexts	11.0%	16.9%
	Management Function Subjects	4.6%	7.9%
	- Public Financial Management	0.8%	1.6%
	- Evaluation and Performance Measurement	0.5%	1.1%
	- Other Management Functions	3.3%	5.3%
	Policy Sector Subjects	40.8%	50.8%
	- Macroeconomic Policy	10.4%	7.4%
	- International Development	10.4%	12.7%
	- Health	4.8%	5.8%
	- Other Policy Sectors	15.2%	24.9%
	Total	100%	100%
Competency Gap Analysis (in Course-Weeks of Instruction)
	Course-Weeks in Core Subjects taken by Typical Student	149	68
	Surplus or Shortfall Relative to Core Competency Requirement
	- Policy and Management Analysis (CCR = 18 course-weeks)	10	-14
	- Economic Analysis (CCR = 12)	7	-6
	- Quantitative Methods (CCR = 12)	20	-4
	- Analytic Methods (CCR = 6)	-3	-2
	- Leadership Skills (CCR = 9)	-7	-6
	- Communication Skills (CCR = 3 courses)	-3	-3
	- Democratic Institutions and Policy Process (CCR = 18)	-10	-14
	- Ethics, Rights and Accountability (CCR = 6 courses)	-4	-4
	- Socioeconomic and Political Context (CCR = 6)	3	4
	- Global Context (CCR = 3)	12	7
	- Public Financial Management (CCR = 6)	-4	-4
	- Evaluation and Performance Measurement (CCR = 6)	-5	-5
	- Human Resource Management (CCR = 3)	0	1
	- Information and Technology Management (CCR = 3)	-2	-2
	- Macroeconomic Policy (CCR = 6)	16	3
	- Environment and Sustainability (CCR = 3)	-2	-2
	Subject-Matter Shortfall for Typical Student (Sum of Shortfalls)	-40	-67
Additional Parameters
	Total Courses Listed	98	97
	Courses Designated as Required (inc. Specialization Reqs)	10.8	2.0
	Archetypal Public Affairs Subjects (P&MA, EA, QM, DI&PP)	40.2%	17.5%
	Archetypal International Affairs Subjects (GC, ID, DS&FR)	22.1%	29.6%
Courses Required and Offered
	Courses Required to Graduate	18	10
	Required Courses	10.8	2
	Elective Courses Taken by Typical Student	7.3	8
	Elective Courses Listed	87	95
	Enrolment Weight of Elective Course	0.08	0.08
	Total Courses Listed	98	97

Source: At http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/curriculum/mpp-curriculum; http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/curriculum/mpa-curriculum; http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/curriculum; http://www.princeton.edu/gradschool/about/catalog/fields/woodrow_wilson_school/#requirements (accessed 26 January 2014).

Page Created By: Matthew Seddon on 30 December 2013 and updated by Ian Clark on 13 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.

Princeton WWS 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
[NOTE: If the links below to course descriptions on the Wilson website become outdated, please use the downloaded course descriptions
at Course Listing for Wilson School Graduate Programs from Princeton Catalog, January 2014]