Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Public Policy, MPP


Colleges and Schools  > Hobby School of Public Affairs  > Public Policy, MPP

The Master of Public Policy prepares students to complete advanced analysis in public, private, and nonprofit sectors with an emphasis on developing higher-level quantitative and ethical decision-making skills to solve complex policy issues and problems.

Admission Requirements


Admissions decisions for the MPP program will be made on the totality of the student’s application. However, it is expected that the typical well-qualified student will have an undergraduate GPA above 3.0 with scores above 152 on the verbal, 150 on the quantitative, and 4.0 on the analytical writing sections of the GRE. 

Applicants must show through either their quantitative GRE score or their performance in previous coursework that they possess the ability to handle the quantitative elements of the curriculum. Students must have an undergraduate degree, although no particular major is required. Applicants to the MPP program are not required to have any professional experience, although such experience enhances their application.

GRE Waiver Option

The Hobby School’s GRE requirement is waived for applicants to the Hobby School’s Master of Public Policy who have at least one of the following from an institution accredited as specified in the UH Minimum Qualifications for Admission to Master’s and Doctoral Programs :

  • Overall undergraduate GPA of 3.3 and higher (on a 4-point scale)
    OR
  • Master’s or terminal degree

Application Information

For full information on application processing, required documents, and admissions deadlines, please visit the MPP Admissions page.

MPP Curriculum and Degree Requirements


Credit hours required for this degree: 39.0

The MPP degree requires a total of 39 credit hours of coursework, which includes an internship within the public, private, or nonprofit sector. The program is designed to be completed in two years, but program length will vary depending on full-time or part-time enrollment. In order to accommodate working students, required classes are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Specialization elective courses may be offered on different days/times and also online. Academic advising and career placement services will be coordinated by a dedicated Hobby School of Public Affairs staff member.

The MPP degree curriculum is interdisciplinary with a quantitative emphasis, incorporating political science, economics, computer science, business, and statistics. Other possible disciplines, depending on a student’s concentration, include sociology, psychology, and education. The MPP program shares some core courses with the Master of Public Administration program in the areas of administrative theory, policy analysis, and public finance.

Specialization Electives (2 courses required: 6 credit hours)


The specialization and elective courses are selected by the student and must be approved by the department. Some examples of specializations include Education Policy, Energy Policy, Environmental Policy, Health Policy, Quantitative Methods, and Public Relations.

Internship (1 course required: 3 credit hours)


Internships must be approved in advance by the department.

Global Energy, Development and Sustainability Certificate Option


MPP students can simultaneously earn a Graduate Certificate in Global Energy, Development, and Sustainability (GEDS) along with the MPP. The GEDS graduate certificate offers students a unique, multi-disciplinary curriculum focused teaching critical and timely theory, practice, and skill sets in global oil and gas history, economics, environmental impacts and policy, legal frameworks, community engagement, social justice, corporate social responsibility, human resource management, and risk analysis.

Accelerated Pathway Programs


The Hobby School currently offers accelerated pathway programs with the Honors College (BA in Liberal Studies/MPP and BS in Liberal Studies/MPP), Department of Philosophy (BA in Philosophy/MPP), and Department of Psychology (BA in Psychology/MPP and BS in Psychology/MPP).

Accelerated pathway dual degree programs provide academically outstanding students an accelerated pathway to complete an undergraduate and a master’s degree in a reduced period of time. Accelerated pathway dual degree programs provide senior students permission to take a specified number of master’s level courses as electives toward completion of their bachelor’s degree. The students then apply to the MPP program, and if accepted, the previously completed graduate coursework during the senior year is counted as transfer credit toward the completion of the master’s degree.  

Accelerated Pathway Program Course List


Courses taken during the final undergraduate year (12.0 credit hours):

Dual Degrees


The Hobby School currently has dual degrees with the Bauer College of Business (Bachelor of Business Administration/MPP), Department of Economics (Master of Arts in Applied Economics/MPP), Graduate College of Social Work (Master of Social Work/MPP), and the UH Law Center (Juris Doctorate/MPP).

Dual degree programs allow students to earn two graduate-level degrees in less time than it would take to complete them sequentially. Students interested in this option must be admitted separately to each of the programs and admission to one has no official bearing on admission to the other.

For more detailed information concerning these dual degree programs, please visit the Dual Degree Programs page.