The UMass Amherst School of Public Policy (SPP) earned excellent results in the 2026 annual graduate school rankings of public affairs programs compiled by US News and World Report.
SPP ranks first among public affairs programs at public colleges and universities in Massachusetts and second overall in the Commonwealth. Throughout New England, the School ranks second among public affairs programs at public universities and is ranked third (tied) among all New England public affairs programs. Nationally, SPP ranks in the top 20% of graduate public affairs schools placing 55th out of 268 public affairs programs in the United States.
In 2025, the School incorporated the Department of Legal Studies, one of the nation’s top undergraduate programs in law and society, into the School. With more than 20 faculty members combining world-class research, judicial, and teaching experience, the Department of Legal Studies brings powerful legal insight to the School offering a growing undergraduate major.
Similarly, the recent addition of the Data Analytics and Computational Social Science (DACSS) program provides cutting-edge, intensive training for students and professionals seeking to manage complex information and to tell compelling stories with data with a skillset that is in high demand.
The School also includes exciting centers and programs such as the UMass Women Into Leadership (UWiL) program and the Center for Justice, Law and Societies. SPP now offers the Master of Public Policy program online and in person as well as new concentrations in the two-year Master of Public Policy and Administration in sustainability and environmental policy, public and nonprofit management and leadership, social policy and science and technology policy. The undergraduate major in public policy equips students for practical, professional roles across the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
The School of Public Policy has expanded in exciting ways during the past few years to include faculty, students and degree programs in data analytics, in legal studies and in public policy and management. The breadth of the School's excellence in areas including nonprofit management, immigration and migration, data analytics and technology, global policy, and sustainability are reflected in our national and international standing. — SPP Director Jane Fountain