Public Policy, MPP (Boston)

School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

CSSH Graduate Programs General Regulations

The Master of Public Policy is the recognized industry standard for those seeking careers in public policy analysis and design. The MPP degree emphasizes the analysis of data and other relevant information to enable graduates to assess public problems, develop appropriate policy responses, and evaluate program effectiveness. MPP graduates enter careers as policy analysts, researchers, consultants, program evaluators, and policymakers in a broad range of public and nonprofit settings, ranging from the local to the international, and in the private sector. At Northeastern University, the MPP joins the nationally accredited Master of Public Administration as well as our Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy, Master of Science in Urban Informatics, Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy, and Master of Arts in International Affairs. As such, MPP students are part of a larger School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs community of great intellectual and policy area diversity.

The MPP programs require all students to engage in an internship experience and offer an optional cooperative education experience to eligible students. Cooperative education is central to both the Northeastern experience and to the experiential liberal arts framework of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Northeastern’s signature co-op ecosystem provides qualified master's students with six-month work experiences in businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in Boston and across the United States.

Concentration in Healthcare Management and Policy 

This concentration is designed to enable students to develop a deeper understanding of the contemporary healthcare sector, including the intricacies of U.S. health policy, and competencies in healthcare management. The concentration is comprised of 12 semester hours, with courses taken from health management, health policy, and electives. 

Concentration in Sustainability and Climate Change Policy 

This graduate concentration is available to students in the MPP program in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. It is designed to enable MPP students to develop deeper insights into the policy dimensions of these intertwined but conceptually distinct realms of inquiry and action, in both domestic and international domains. The concentration is comprised of three courses.

Please review the tuition and fees page as credit costs differ depending on the college in which the course is located.

Academic Standing/Progress 

Students in the program are monitored for academic progress. Those students whose grade-point average falls below a 3.000 are notified by and meet with the director of academic programs. They are counseled that if their GPA does not rise to a 3.000 or higher, they run the risk of not graduating and are advised on strategies for improvement.

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Core Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Methods, Statistics, and Applications Core
INSH 6300	Research Methods in the Social Sciences	4
INSH 6500	Statistical Analysis	4
PPUA 6506	Techniques of Policy Analysis	4
or PPUA 6509	Techniques of Program Evaluation
Policy Frameworks and Practice Core
LPSC 7311	Strategizing Public Policy	4
PPUA 6502	Economic Analysis for Policy and Planning	4
PPUA 7673	Capstone in Public Policy and Urban Affairs	4
Methods and Statistics Elective
Complete 4 semester hours from the following:		4
INSH 7400	Quantitative Analysis
PPUA 5261	Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Decision Making
PPUA 5262	Big Data for Cities
PPUA 5263	Geographic Information Systems for Urban and Regional Policy

Internship Requirement

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
PPUA 6861	Internship	0

Concentration or Electives Option

A concentration is not required. Students may complete electives (from the elective list below) in lieu of a concentration.

• Healthcare Management and Policy Concentration
• Sustainability and Climate Change Policy Concentration
• Electives Option

Optional Co-op Experience

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Four-month co-ops require registration at 1 semester hour for one term. Longer co-ops require registration at 1 semester hour per term for two consecutive terms.		1–2
PPUA 6964 and INSH 6864	Co-op Work Experience and Experiential Integration

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

40 total semester hours required (41–42 with optional co-op)
Minimum 3.000 GPA required

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Concentration in Healthcare Management and Policy 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Health Management
Complete one of the following:		3-4
HRMG 6220	Health Organization Management
PPUA 5220	How Healthcare Works: Business and Policy Innovations
STRT 6220	Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations
Health Policy
Complete one of the following:		3-4
PHTH 5212	Public Health Administration and Policy
PHTH 5234	Economic Perspectives on Health Policy
PPUA 5240	Health Policy and Politics
Electives
Health Elective
Complete one of the following:		3
PHTH 5120	Race, Ethnicity, and Health in the United States
PHTH 5212	Public Health Administration and Policy
PHTH 5214	Environmental Health
PHTH 5222	Health Advocacy
PHTH 5230	Global Health
PHTH 6200	Principles and History of Urban Health
PHTH 6204	Society, Behavior, and Health
General Elective
Complete an additional course from the health elective list above or one of the following:		2
PPUA 6212	Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Project Management
PPUA 6216	Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Grant Writing

Concentration in Sustainability and Climate Change Policy 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following:		12
ENVR 6150	Food Security and Sustainability
LPSC 7312	Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change
PPUA 5100	Climate and Development
PPUA 5260	Ecological Economics
PPUA 5261	Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Decision Making
PPUA 5264	Energy Democracy and Climate Justice: Technology, Policy, and Social Change
PPUA 5267	Climate Policy and Justice
PPUA 5268	International Environmental Policy
PPUA 5270	Food Systems and Public Policy
PPUA 6101	Environmental Science and Policy Seminar 1
PPUA 6532	Building Resilience into Local Government

Electives Option

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following:		12
CRIM 5000 to CRIM 7999 (by advisement only)
ECON 5000 to ECON 7999 (by advisement only)
ENGL 5000 to ENGL 7999 (by advisement only)
HIST 5000 to HIST 7999 (by advisement only)
LPSC 5000 to LPSC 7999
POLS 5000 to POLS 7999 (by advisement only)
PPUA 5000 to PPUA 7999
SOCL 5000 to SOCL 7999 (by advisement only)