The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is an interdisciplinary degree program designed to prepare students for work in the analysis, development, and evaluation of public policies. In all levels of government and on a global scale, public needs and limited resources require public policy choices that are at once economically efficient, socially and technically effective, and politically responsive. Such choices confront policymakers in a broad range of critical issues, including health, education, economic development, public finance, social policy, nonprofit policy, and disaster policy.<br><br>Decision-makers often lack the knowledge and skills needed to interpret the full social, political, economic, and technical dimensions of the policy issues they face. In response, state and local governments, businesses, and federal agencies have turned to trained policy analysts for assistance in assessing policy options and in evaluating public programs. The same is true for nonprofit agencies, such as hospitals, schools, emergency preparedness and relief agencies, and regional planning organizations.<br><br>The curriculum is a two-year course of study of 39 hours of graduate coursework, comprised of 21 credit hours of required core courses, 3-6 credit hours of coursework in analytical and financial methods, and 12-15 credit hours in a defined concentration or an individualized concentration that must be approved by the program director.