MPP计划的要求旨在为学生提供公共政策分析的坚实的跨学科基础。学生掌握一套通用的概念和分析工具，并在研究集中完成其他课程。该课程分为3个类别，共计37个学分。除非另有说明，否则课程为3个学分。该跨学科的公共政策课程同时提供硕士学位和博士学位，是为希望在公共政策和公共政策分析方面进修研究生的高动力人士设计的。学生团体包括全日制和非全日制学生。大多数课程在晚上提供，以允许工作的学生继续攻读学位。
The MPP program requirements are designed to provide students with a solid, interdisciplinary foundation in public policy analysis. Students master a common set of concepts and analytical tools, and complete additional courses in a study specialization. The curriculum is divided into 3 categories for a total of 37 credits. The Policy Sciences Graduate Program was conceived in 1972. Policy science at that time was an emerging field that used an interdisciplinary approach to solve local, regional and national problems. UMBC was a young institution that had opened in 1966 with a philosophy based on innovation and inclusiveness. Consistent with that philosophy, UMBC established a policy sciences education center in the mid-Atlantic region.The master's program enrolled its first class of 12 students in 1974. The first nine Ph.D. students were admitted in 1978. The program became the Department of Public Policy in 2003. Once housed in the Administration Building, the department moved into the new Public Policy Building in 2004. In 2014, UMBC established the School of Public Policy.