Master of Public Policy

Complete the following seven required courses:

• PUAD 5003: Research and Analytic Methods (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5004: Economics and Public Finance (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5005: The Policy Process and Democracy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5310: Principles of Policy Design (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5320: Public Policy Analysis (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5380: Public Participation, Political Equity, and Government (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5750 – Policy Workshop Seminar (3 credits)
  • Each seminar is 1 credit hour, and students take three seminar courses on different topics for a total of 3 credit hours.

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Complete 12 credit hours of approved elective courses. Sample electives include:

• PUAD 5230: Education Systems Leadership (3 credits)
• PUAD 5007: Qualitative Methods (3 credits)
• PUAD 5008: Evidence-Based Decision- Making (3 credits)
• PUAD 5120: Nonprofits and Public Policy (3 credits)
• PUAD 5350: Program Evaluation (3 credits)
• PUAD 5420: Law and Public Policy (3 credits)
• PUAD 5460: Political Advocacy (3 credits)
• PUAD 5628: Social Problems & Policies (3 credits)
• PUAD 5740:  Sustainable Energy Policy (3 credits) 
• COMM 5282: Environmental Communication (3 credits)
• COMM 5682: Political Communication (3 credits) 
• ECON 5150: Economic Forecasting (3 credits) 
• ECON 5530: Economics of Natural Resources (3 credits)
• ECON 5540: Environmental Economics (3 credits) 
• EDUC 5655: Leadership Practices for Transformative School Reform (3 credits)
• ENVS 5720: Climate Change: Causes, Impacts & Solutions (3 credits)
• GEOG 5085: GIS Applications for the Urban Environment (3 credits)
• GEOG 5090: Environmental Modeling with GIS (3 credits)
• PHIL 5430: Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
• PSCI 5011: GIS in Political Science (3 credits)
• PSCI 5206: Social Movements, Democracy & Global Politics (3 credits)
• PSCI 5914: Community Organizing & Community Development (3 credits)

Other electives may be taken with approval from the concentration director.

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Students who have not had one year of public, nonprofit, or relevant private-sector service experience following the awarding of their bachelor's degree are required to complete a three-credit internship. A minimum of 240 hours of supervised work is required to earn 3 hours of credit. Students must have completed 18 credit hours with a GPA of 3.0 prior to enrolling in the internship course.

• PUAD 6910: Internship (3 credits)

Learn more about internships

Capstone Option (3 credits)

With the exception of those pursuing the thesis option, all MPP students must complete the capstone course during the last semester of their degree program. All core classes must be completed before taking the capstone. The capstone cannot be taken during the summer semester.

• PUAD 5361: Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

Thesis Option (6 credits)

With the exception of those pursuing the capstone option, all MPP students must complete a thesis. Students must receive the approval of both a faculty advisor and the director of the public policy program to complete a thesis for 6 semester hours (3 additional credit hours to the capstone option). Also, students must complete all core courses and at least 30 credit hours before becoming eligible to register for the thesis.

• PUAD 6950: Master's Thesis (6 credits)

Learn about the capstone and thesis options

This concentration provides students with an understanding of how K-12 education is governed, financed, and regulated in the United States. You will become familiar with the interaction between federal, state, and local policies and with the context in which education policy is formulated and implemented.

Complete the following two courses, for a total of 6 credit hours:

• PUAD 5200: Education Policy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5210: Education Finance (3 credits)
  

Complete two elective courses from the list below for a total of 6 credits:

• PUAD 5110: Seminar in Nonprofit Management (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5120: Nonprofits & Public Policy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5140: Nonprofit Financial Management (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5170: Strategic Management for Nonprofit and Public Managers (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5180: Social Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5230: Education Systems Leadership & Policy Institute (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5310: Principles of Policy Design (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5320: Public Policy Analysis (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5350: Program Evaluation (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5460: Political Advocacy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5625: Local Government Management (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5626: Local Government Politics & Policy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5628 - Social Problems & Policies (3 credits)
• Other electives may be taken with approval from the concentration director.

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This concentration provides additional knowledge and skills relevant to careers in environmental policy.

Complete the following two courses, for a total of 6 credit hours:

• PUAD 5631: Environmental Politics & Policy (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5644: Environmental Hazards & Law (3 credits)
  

Complete two elective courses from the list below, for a total of 6 credits.

• PUAD 5740: Sustainable Energy Policy (3 credits)
  
• COMM 5282: Environmental Communication (3 credits)
  
• ECON 5530: Economics of Natural Resources (3 credits)
  
• ECON 5540: Environmental Economics (3 credits)
  
• ENVS 5720: Climate Change: Causes, Impacts & Solutions (3 credits)
  
• GEOG 5090: Environmental Modeling with GIS (3 credits)
  
• PHIL 5430: Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
  
• Other electives may be taken with approval from the concentration director.

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This concentration provides training for students interested in building additional quantitative and qualitative skills used in traditional public policy analysis.

Complete the following course, for a total of 3 credit hours:

• PUAD 5330 – Intermediate Statistical Analysis (3 credits)
  • An equivalent intermediate statistical analysis course may be substituted with director approval.
    

Complete three elective courses from the list below, for a total of 9 credits: 

• PUAD 5007: Qualitative Methods (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5008: Evidence-Based Decision-Making (3 credits)
  
• PUAD 5350: Program Evaluation (3 credits)
  
• ECON 5150: Economic Forecasting (3 credits)
  
• GEOG 5085: GIS Applications for the Urban Environment (3 credits)
  
• PSCI 5011: GIS in Political Science (3 credits)
  
• Other electives may be taken with approval from the concentration director.
  

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This concentration is designed for students who are primarily interested in careers that involve developing and advocating for policy solutions in their particular areas of interest.

Complete the following three courses, for a total of 9 credits:

• PUAD 5180: Social Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
• PUAD 5370: Public Discourse & Policy (3 credits)
• PUAD 5460: Political Advocacy (3 credits)

Complete one elective course from the list below, for a total of 3 credits.

• PUAD 5120: Nonprofits & Public Policy (3 credits)
• PUAD 5420: Law and Public Policy (3 credits)
• COMM 5282: Environmental Communication (3 credits)
• COMM 5682: Political Communication (3 credits)
• PSCI 5206: Social Movements, Democracy & Global Politics (3 credits)
• PSCI 5914: Community Organizations & Community Development (3 credits)
• Other electives may be taken with approval from the concentration director.
  

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• Make substantive contributions to improved public policy through the application of critical thinking, objective analysis, ethical frameworks, diverse perspectives, and democratic values;
• Serve as an effective change agent for public policy through strategic leadership and collaboration skills and a sophisticated understanding of the policy process;
• Apply the fundamental methodological tools used in public policy development and analysis; and
• Communicate verbally and in writing about public policy to a diverse range of audiences for a variety of purposes.

Learn more about deadlines, forms, and academic policies for graduate programs at CU Denver.