Our Master of Public Policy is a one-year program of online and in-person classes that allows you to move quickly and affordably toward pursuing your professional goals with the skills you need. You’ll take courses in policy analysis, research methods, economics, and other subjects. Electives include policy, management, and methods courses.
We offer two paths to the MPP: the regular One-Year MPP, open to all applicants with a bachelor's degree, or the 4+1 MPP, open to outstanding current juniors at UMass Amherst or Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, or Smith colleges, which allows you to begin earning credits toward your graduate degree while an undergrad.
Our Master of Public Policy and Administration is a two-year program that allows students to take more elective courses, at SPP or other UMass departments, and develop an area of specialization. You’ll take elective courses and complete a capstone — a culminating project in which you apply what you’ve learned in your core courses — either as an individual research project or as a team workshop project.
MPPA students can also opt to pursue a dual degree in Business Administration, Higher Education, Public Health, or Regional Planning.
Both the One-Year MPP and the MPPA are open to full- and part-time students. The GRE is not required for any of our graduate programs.
We review applications on a rolling basis beginning October 1. We do our utmost to return decisions within four weeks of receiving a completed application. The final deadline application is April 15. You can find more information of the admissions timelines for the MPPA and MPP here.
We are able to offer spring admission to the online MS in DACSS only. The application deadline for spring admission to the online MS in DACSS is November 30. You can find more information on the admissions timeline for the MS in DACSS here.
Our Master of Public Policy & Administration dual degree programs may have their own deadlines. See our Dual Degrees page for specifics.
MPPA/MPP applicants who wish to defer acceptance for one year must submit a written request to @email to do so.
MS in DACSS applicants who wish to defer acceptance for one year must submit a written request to @email to do so.
*Please note that the Graduate School allows for one deferral; second deferrals are only granted in unique circumstances and is at the discretion of the Graduate School.
Because applicants to our programs come from a wide variety of academic backgrounds and have taken courses that vary in difficulty and level, we do not have a minimum GPA requirement. The admissions committee will consider these factors when evaluating the candidate’s GPA, along with all of the other admissions criteria.
The GRE is optional for applicants to the MS in Data Analytics & Computational Social Science, the Master of Public Policy, and the Master of Public Policy & Administration programs.
Please note, however, that the GRE is required of applicants to the joint MPPA programs with Business Administration and Public Health.
Students can transfer up to six graduate credits into the Master of Public Policy, the Master of Public Policy & Administration, or the MS in Data Analytics & Computational Social Science. The credits must meet certain eligibility criteria set by the UMass Amherst Graduate School.
The Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Policy & Administration, and the MS in Data Analytics & Computational Social Science programs are open to full- and part-time students.
The School of Public Policy offers four online certificate options: the Basic Certificate or Advanced Certificate in DACSS, the Certificate in Public Policy and Management (PPM), and the Certificate in Public Interest Technology. Anyone may pursue any of the offered certificates by enrolling as a non-degree graduate student through UMass University+. These online certificate programs are designed as transitional certificates that are compatible with requirements for the master's degree. Online certificate recipients who are accepted into the full master’s degree programs through the normal application process will be able to apply all certificate courses towards completion of the 48-credit MPPA, 37-credit MPP, or 32-credit MS in DACSS.
If you intend to pursue one of the certificates, please inform us by emailing either @email or @email.
While you are not required to inform us in advance of your intention to complete the certificate program, it will help us stay in touch with you to let you know about possible internship or career opportunities, changes to course availability, and events online and on-campus that may be of interest.
Students who have completed the certificate requirements should submit a certificate eligibility form found here to the Graduate Programs Office. The graduation eligibility deadlines can be found here for obtaining your certificate in the mail. Submit the certificate eligibility form to the DACSS Document Submission Form.
Note that students may pursue either the 3-course basic certificate or the 5-course advanced certificate, but may not be awarded both certificates. If you have completed the basic certificate and then continue to pursue the advanced certificate by taking the two additional required courses, only the advanced certificate will appear on your transcript.
The UMass Amherst Office of Financial Aid provides detailed information on the options available to all prospective UMass graduate students. Applicants are strongly encouraged to research all areas of financial aid that may be available to them, including fellowship opportunities for international and domestic students.
Alumni of the School of Public Policy at UMass Amherst pursue a diverse range of career paths, serving as leaders in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors and creating meaningful social change. Some titles that our graduates have today include: Policy Analyst, Campaign Manager, Data Consultant, and Macroeconomic Analyst.
Visit our Alumni Profiles section to read some of their stories.