Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy - Programs of Study

Programs of Study

Three graduate degrees and one graduate certificate are currently offered:

• Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.)
• Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Social Science
• Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Undergraduate degree:

• Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy (B.A.)

Discontinued degree:

• Accelerated Master of Public Policy. The Accelerated M.P.P. was a sub-matriculation program for exceptional undergraduates that allowed them to complete a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Policy fully in five years time. The prerequisites consisted of extensive undergraduate political science, economics, and mathematics coursework. It was discontinued with the creation of the undergraduate policy degree. The final Accelerated M.P.P. students graduated in 2009.

The doctoral program is conducted jointly with the economics, sociology, or political science department. The MPP program is the largest of the three, and is generally completed in two years. The Ford School has developed dual degrees with many professional programs, which enables students to complete work on two degrees simultaneously. The most common dual degree programs include coursework in business, education, information, law, natural resources and the environment, public health, Russian and Eastern European studies, social work, or urban and regional planning.

The curriculum emphasizes analytic methods, management, and ethics. Grounded in these key areas, students specialize in a wide range of policy fields from domestic social policy and international trade to nonprofit management. Students are encouraged to participate in interdisciplinary work by incorporating graduate courses from other schools at the university. Most students choose a particular area on which to focus, generally from: U.S. Social Policy, Economics, International Development & Politics, Public & Nonprofit Management, Politics of Policymaking, or Methodologies of Policy Analysis.

A key component of the MPP course of study is hands-on experience, which takes the form of a required ten-week internship, typically completed in the summer between the program's two years.

Students also have opportunities for specialized study and travel during the academic year. Currently, there are four courses which allow students to gain practical experience with policymaking and/or international exposure:

• Applied Policy Seminar - A semester-long course in which students are assigned to real-world projects for local governments, often requiring assessment of costs/benefits and implications of a policy change.
• Integrated Policy Exercise - A week-long, school-wide simulation addressing either a local or international issue.
• Distance Learning Project for Quantitative Social Science - A year-long course that trains students in social science techniques for policymaking and partners them with social scientists in South Africa via the web and a country trip in the winter term.
• International Economic Development Program - A semester-long course in which students, in conjunction with a faculty member, study the economic, political, and social development of a developing country, culminating in a visit over the winter break.

In September 2007, the school began its first undergraduate program with 50 third-year students beginning the two-year program of study.