Program Overview

---

Master of Public Policy (MPP) Program

The primary objective of the MPP program is to prepare students for careers in policy analysis, politics, and public affairs within the public, nonprofit, or private sectors. The MPP is normally a two-year degree for full-time students and is an in-person degree, although some graduate policy courses are offered synchronous remote on Zoom.

Program Requirements

• Students must complete 48 credits, including 30 credits of required coursework and 18 elective credits.
• Electives must include at least 9 credits (three courses) that comprise a concentration in a substantive policy area.
• There is no thesis requirement.
• A student must maintain an overall grade-point average of 3.0 to graduate.

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum for the MPP program consists of the following courses:

• Public Policy Formation 34:833:510 (3 credits): Formulation and implementation of public policy, with emphasis on federal policymaking, models for policy choice, and intergovernmental policy problems.
• Economics for Public Policy 34:833:543 (3 credits): Basic microeconomic analysis with applications to current policy issues.
• Management/Organizational Behavior requirement, fulfilled by one of the following (3 credits):
  • Managing People and Organizations 34:833:681: Designed to enhance understanding of one’s own motivation and behavior as well as that of others.
  • Nonprofit Management 34:833:570: Applies management concepts to nonprofit organizations.
  • Public Management 34:833:571: Fundamental tasks and responsibilities of management in the public sector.
• Finance/Budgeting requirement, fulfilled by one of the following (3 credits):
  • State and Local Public Finance 34:833:540: Theory and practice of state-local public finance.
  • Nonprofit and Community Development Finance 34:833:612: Introduction to nonprofit and community development financing.
  • Budgeting for Public Policy 34:833:567: Overview of budgeting and related financial management issues in the public sector.
• Research Design 34:833:530 (3 credits): Covers both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Basic Quantitative Methods 34:833:515 (3 credits) or place-out exam: Covers descriptive and inferential statistics.
• Applied Multivariate Methods 34:833:630 (3 credits): Covers applied skills in data cleaning, data management, and advanced multivariate analysis.
• Applied Field Experience 1 34:833:661 (0 credits) & Applied Field Experience 2 34:833:662 (0 credits): Meet approximately 12 times over the course of the first year of the MPP program.
• Applied Field Experience 3 34:833:663 (3 credits): Allows students to gain practical experience in a public policy setting.
• Policy Research Practicum I & II 34:833:640 (3 credits) & 641 (3 credits): Participation in a group research project for a public or nonprofit agency.

Elective Courses

• 18 credits, 9 of which must make up a concentration in a policy area.
• Up to 12 credits may be from elsewhere at Rutgers University or (by special arrangement) from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Areas of Concentration

Master of Public Policy students are required to complete a three-course (9-credit) concentration. The program currently offers the following concentration policy areas:

• Budget and Finance
• Economics
• Education
• Environment
• Gender
• Health
• Labor and Workforce
• Management
• Methods
• Nonprofit Management
• Political Processes and Institutions
• Social Justice and Advocacy
• Social Policy
• Urban Policy and Community Development

Faculty

The program faculty includes:

• Julia Sass Rubin, Ph.D., Program Director
• Joel Cantor, Sc.D.
• Jocelyn Elise Crowley, Ph.D.
• Derek DeLia, Ph.D.
• Irina Grafova, Ph.D.
• Andrea Hetling, Ph.D.
• Emily Parker, Ph.D.
• Mark Paul, Ph.D.
• Ronald Quincy, Ph.D.
• Stuart Shapiro, Ph.D.
• Jermaine Toney, Ph.D.
• Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D.
• Shar Williams, Ph.D.
• Ruth Winecoff, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Fellows

• Adriana Abizadeh
• Henry Coleman
• Bob Gordon
• Richard Keevey
• Brandon McKoy

Lecturers

• Leah Apgar
• Rich Bagger
• Josie Faass, Ph.D.
• Marie Mascherin
• Angie McGuire, Ph.D.
• Derek Roseman
• Sean Simone, Ph.D.
• Bob Sommer
• Greg Stankiewicz, Ph.D.
• Marleina Ubel
• Stephanie Walsh, Ph.D.
• Brielle Winslow-Majette

Student & Academic Services

• Steve Weston, Assistant Dean of Academic Administration
• Courtney Culler, Associate Director for Graduate Student Services
• Greg Marrero, Senior Counselor, Graduate Student Services
• Andrea Garrido, Assistant Director for Career Management for Planning, Policy, and Informatics Masters Students
• Cheryl Egan, Assistant Director for Career Management for Health Administration Masters Students

By the Numbers

• Average Salary: Class of 2024
• Employed or Pursuing Higher Education: Six months post-graduation, Class of 2024
• Participating in an Internship: for Applied Field Experiences, Class of 2024

MPP Degree and Employment Statistics

Available upon request.