MPP and MPA Programs
Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - MPA, MPP
Program Comparison Highlights
Institutional Structure: TO COME
Curriculum Design: The Princeton nomenclature differs from many other schools in that its MPP is the one-year mid-career program and its MPA (Master of Public Affairs) is the two-year, pre-career program. The Woodrow Wilson MPA has 4 concentrations: international relations, development studies, domestic policy, and economics and public policy. Among the programs yet examined, the Princeton MPA has one of the highest proportions of instruction in the Policy Sectors domain (36%, compared with Toronto at 24%, Harvard and Carnegie at 22%, Duke at 20%, NYU at 19%, and Berkeley at 16%). It is in the mid-range of the proportion of instruction in the Institutions and Context domain (15%, compared with Toronto at 31%, Harvard at 23%, NYU at 14%, Duke at 13%, and Berkeley at 7%) and the low range in the Management Functions domain (3%, comparable to Harvard and Berkeley at 3%, but much lower than NYU at 20% and Carnegie at 17%). It has in the lower middle range for the proportion of instruction in the Tools and Skills domain (46% compared with 74% at Berkeley, 59% at Duke, 52% at Harvard, 47% at NYU and 44% at Toronto). See PEACO Profile Comparisons, accessed 26 January 2014.
Professional Program Features: TO COME
Program Summary
Website: http://wws.princeton.edu/
University: Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Degree: Master in Public Affairs (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP)
Marketing Approach: "The Master in Public Affairs (MPA) program offers rigorous preparation for international and domestic policy careers. This two-year full-time residential program cultivates among its students and graduates a lasting commitment to public service. Through the core curriculum and a wide variety of elective courses, students learn analytical skills that address the political, economic, quantitative, behavioral and normative aspects of complex policy problems. The program also promotes understanding of the distinctive historical, institutional and cultural contexts of domestic and international policy making. The Woodrow Wilson School believes that it is essential for students of public and international affairs to understand how issues of gender, race, class and cultural diversity affect public policy decisions, implementation and outcomes. The School is committed to incorporating these issues into its curriculum, public affairs programming, research colloquiums and other activities." (At http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/programs/mpa, accessed 25 January 2014)
"The Woodrow Wilson School offers a one-year Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree for mid-career professionals who are rising leaders in international and domestic public policy. This rigorous residential program is designed for mid-career professionals with seven or more years of public service experience in government agencies or nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad." (At http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/programs/mpp, accessed 26 January 2014)
Degrees Awarded per Year: MPA: 65-80. At http://wws.princeton.edu/admissions/mpa, accessed 19 May 2015. Also see "The School enrolls approximately 130-140 MPA students, 15-25 MPP students and 30-40 Ph.D. students," at http://wws.princeton.edu/admissions/frequently-asked-questions#sthash.wYxjDZBT.dpuf (accessed 18 May 2015.)
Academic Unit within University: The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional school within Princeton University.
Related Academic Units and Degrees: The WWS's graduate programs are listed, at http://wws.princeton.edu/graduate-academics/programs-and-certificates.
Posted Tuition: $45,350 per year for 2015-16 (at http://wws.princeton.edu/admissions/mpp/financial-aid, accessed 17 May 2015).
Concentration/ Curriculum Overview:
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]