Public policy school

Public policy schools teach students policy studies, policy analysis, public policy, public administration, and public affairs.

Public policy schools offer a wide range of public policy degrees including the Master of Public Policy (MPP), the Master of Public Administration (MPA), the Master of Public Affairs (MPAff), the Master of International Affairs and PhDs in Public Policy, Policy Studies, Public Administration, and Doctor of Public Administration (DPA).

In the United States, students pursue a public policy degree after having completed an undergraduate degree in some other field. American public policy programs are generally located in an autonomous graduate or professional school within a larger university.

Curriculum

Most public policy programs combine elements of political science, economics, statistics, law, international relations, international development, public finance, ethics, and public administration. Some schools also apply quantitative analysis, management information systems, organizational behavior, project management, and operations research to the public sector.

While degrees in Public Policy are generally at the graduate level (masters and PhD), some undergraduate degree programs still exist. Coursework for this designation requires an introductory course in Public Policy coupled with an applied course in Public Policy and is concluded with additional coursework in Urban Planning, Social Welfare, and Public Policy.

Admission

In the United States, applicants must have graduated from an accredited university and are generally required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

The top programs

U.S. News & World Report provides rankings of Public Affairs (Master's) schools, as of 2004, via a peer reviewed process. The top four schools are [1]:

1) Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University (4.6 of 5.0)
2) Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (4.5 of 5.0)
3) School of Public and International Affairs at University of Georgia (4.4 of 5.0)
3) Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington (4.4 of 5.0)

Other top 50 programs according to the 2004 rankings include:

05) Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley
05) Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University
07) University of Southern California
08) Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University
08) Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
10) School of Public Affairs at American University
10) Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
10) Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at the Duke University
10) George Washington University
10) University at Albany, The State University of New York
10) University of Kansas
10) University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
17) Georgetown Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University
17) La Follette School of Public Affairs at University of Wisconsin - Madison
17) Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University
17) Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago
21) Maryland School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park
21) Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh
21) School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University
21) University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
21) University of California - Los Angeles
26) Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University
26) School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University
26) Florida State University
26) Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University
26) Rutgers University - Newark
26) University of Nebraska at Omaha
26) University of Washington
26) Virginia Tech
34) Martin School at University of Kentucky
35) George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University
35) Cornell Institute for Public Affairs at Cornell University
35) Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
35) Northern Illinois University
35) University of Colorado - Denver
35) University of Delaware
35) University of Missouri - Columbia
42) Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania
42) Cleveland State University
42) Naval Postgraduate School
42) John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University
46) City University of New York - John Jay College
46) George Mason University
46) University of Arizona
46) University of Illinois at Chicago
46) University of Utah

Other Countries

Australia

Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University
Discipline of Government and International Relations at The University of Sydney

Germany

Italy

Iran