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

• Erfurt School of Public Policy, Master of Public Policy, Germany's first accredited Public Policy Program
• Hertie School of Governance (Berlin)

Italy

• Master of Public Policy Analysis, COREP, Turin, Italy
• Institute for Public Administration and Health Care Management (IPAS), Milan, Italy
• Master of Public Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

Iran

• Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Tehran

Japan

• Osaka School of International Public Policy at Osaka University

Netherlands

• Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at the Delft University of Technology

Philippines

• National College of Public Administration and Governance at University of the Philippines, Diliman

Singapore

• Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore

United Kingdom

• MPA Programme at the London School of Economics
• Department of Politics at the University of York

Brazil

• Public Policy Management at the University of São Paulo

See also

• List of public administration schools