MPPA Concentration Requirements:
Choosing a concentration enables students to focus on a particular area in order to develop specific skills and knowledge in accordance with their interests and career goals. Choosing a concentration is optional. Only MPPA students may complete a concentration and have it show on their transcript. The concentration requirement is three classes (of at least 3 credits each) taken in a thematic area to provide further depth to your degree. At least one class must be an SPP class, while the other two may be SPP or non-SPP classes. Only one concentration may be listed on your transcript. The same class may serve a a Policy, Management, or Methods distribution class AND a concentration class.
MPPA students can select one of the following concentrations:
- Social Policy
- Environmental and Sustainability Policy
- Public and Nonprofit Management and Leadership
- Science and Technology Policy
To complete their concentration, students take electives from among the wide array of courses offered at the University of Massachusetts.
MPPA students must declare a concentration, using this form, before year two of the program.
To complete concentration requirements, please fill out this form.
Environmental and Sustainability Policy
This concentration best fits students who are interested in environmental policy and contributing to the development of solutions to critical domestic and international environmental problems. This concentration equips students to address complex environmental challenges and advance sustainability plans and transformations. Students will examine topics such as climate change mitigation and adaptation policy, energy transitions, environmental justice, sustainable development, environmental economics, and the regulatory frameworks that guide environmental protection at local, national, and global levels.
Environmental and Sustainability policy courses may be double counted to satisfy both the policy/management/methods distribution requirement and the concentration requirements. Environmental and Sustainability policy courses taught regularly by Public Policy faculty include the following. Other courses may be added with permission from the Public Policy Graduate Program Director before course enrollment. Please request permission here (prior to course enrollment) for a non-SPP concentration course not listed below. Please note that some of the non-SPP courses have prerequisites, enrollment restrictions and may be offered only online.
- SPP 615 Environmental Economics & Policy Analysis
- SPP 690GE Governing the Energy Transition: Policy, Power & Comparative Methods
- SPP 690STK Local to Global Sustainability Transitions
- SPP 525 Governing the Commons
- SPP 585 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
- ENVIRSCI 561/NRC 561– Analytical Methods for Energy and Climate Policy
- GEOGRAPH 664 – Water Sustainability and Action
- LANDARCH 661/ REGIONPL 661 – Cultural Landscapes: Documentation, Values and Policy
- REGIONPL 585 – Planning for Climate Change
- ENVIRSCI 554/NRC 554 – Sustainable Food Systems
- ENVIRSCI 562/NRC 562 – Clean Energy and Climate Policy in Massachusetts
- GEOGRAPH 690STA – Rethinking US Environmental Policy
- ECO 609 – Sustainability Science Perspectives on the Field
- ECO 614 – Sustainability and Smart Growth Systems
- ECO 691E – Ecological Responses to Climate Change
- CEE547: Pipes and Pits: Water, Sanitation, and Global Development
- CEE/ECO 580: Drinking Water for All: A Community-Engaged Learning Class
Graduates of the MPPA program with an environmental policy concentration pursue careers in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, international organizations, and consulting firms. Alumni have worked in the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Tellus Institute, World Resources Institute, and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Public and Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Public and Nonprofit Management and Leadership equips students with knowledge and skills to lead mission-driven organizations and navigate the complexities of public and nonprofit organizational strategy, operations, delivery, and evaluation. Students will explore topics such as strategic management, organizational behavior, budgeting and financial management, equity considerations, collaborative governance, public and nonprofit leadership, and performance measurement. Students with a concentration in this area typically pursue careers as managers, advocates, and leaders in international, federal, state or local government and in nonprofit organizations that interact with governments and serve the public.
Public and nonprofit management and leadership courses may be double counted to satisfy both the policy/management/methods distribution requirement and the concentration requirements. Public and nonprofit management and leadership courses taught regularly by Public Policy faculty include the following. Other courses may be added with permission from the Public Policy Graduate Program Director before course enrollment. Please request permission here (prior to course enrollment) for a non-SPP concentration course not listed below. Please note that some of the non-SPP courses have prerequisites, enrollment restrictions and may be offered only online.
- SPP 604 Program & Policy Evaluation
- SPP 618 Negotiations
- SPP 630 Nonprofit Policy and Management
- SPP 632 Public Budgeting & Finance
- SPP 633 Performance Management
- SPP 690F Financial Management for Nonprofits
- SPP 690STG Leading Nonprofits: Strategic Management
- SPP 690STA Grant Writing
- RES-ECON 732 Industrial Organization
- SCH-MGMT 644 Economic Analysis for Managers
- ARTS-EXT 500 Introduction to Arts Management
- ARTS-EXT 501 Arts Fundraising
- ARTS-EXT 507 Board Development
- SCH-MGMT 706 Financial Management of Nonprofit Organizations
- EDUC 621 Managing Higher Education
- EDUC 769 Project Management and Implementation
- SCH-MGMT 689 Organizational Strategy
- EDUC 742 Leadership Skills That Matter
- REGIONPL 572 Scenario Planning
Graduates of the MPPA program with a concentration in public and nonprofit management and leadership can pursue career opportunities in federal, state or local government agencies, nonprofit organizations and international organizations. MPPA graduates have worked in a wide range of organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation; the Greater Worcester Community Foundation; the City of Chicago; the New England Medical Center; the Save the Children Federation; the Federal Transit Administration; Prince George's County, Md.; and many others.
Science and Technology Policy
Science and Technology Policy equips students to understand and shape the governance and the policy implications of scientific research, emerging technologies, and innovation systems in the U.S. and internationally. Students will examine topics such as science funding and innovation policy, artificial intelligence and data governance, public interest technology, the ethical and societal implications of technological change, comparative science and technology policy, digital equity, and participation rates in science and engineering education and professions. Students in this concentration area typically pursue careers in government agencies, advocacy organizations, consultancies, and research institutes dealing with specific areas of science and technology policy, regulation, and advocacy.
Science and technology policy courses may be double counted to satisfy both the policy/management/methods distribution requirement and the concentration requirements. Science and technology policy courses taught regularly by Public Policy faculty include the following. Other courses may be added with permission from the Public Policy Graduate Program Director before course enrollment. Please request permission here (prior to course enrollment) for a non-SPP concentration course not listed below. Please note that some of the non-SPP courses have prerequisites, enrollment restrictions and may be offered only online.
- SPP 525 Governing the Commons
- SPP 540 Internet Governance and Information Policy
- SPP 627 Fixing Social Media
- SPP 690STP The Future of Government
- SPP 585 Introduction to Geographical Information Systems
- SPP 590P Technology Policy & Innovation to Serve the Common Good
- SPP 690T Technology Design via a Public Interest Technology Values Lens
- SPP 690G Technology Law & Policy Governance
- COMPSCI 563 Internet Law and Policy
- COMPSCI 690PT Understanding Technology for Public Policy
- ARCH 621 – Environmental Technology
- COMM 891T – Information Technology and Society
- EDUC 615GR – Teaching and Learning in Technology
- SCH-MGMT 690S – Digital Media and Technology
MPPA graduates who specialize in science, technology and society will be prepared to pursue careers in a wide variety of government agencies and departments; nonprofits; consulting firms; and research institutions.
Social Policy
Social policy is a well-recognized subfield in public policy focused on plans or actions by governments (often working in partnership with other sectors) in the U.S. and internationally to improve or reform societal wellbeing.
Social Policy equips students to analyze, design, and advocate for policies that promote equity, well-being, accountability, transparency and justice across diverse populations. Students will gain knowledge and skill in topics such as poverty and income inequality, housing policy, education policy and reform, policing and criminal justice, with attention to how race, gender, ethnicity, disability and other inequalities and their structural dimensions shape policy development and outcomes.
Social policy courses may be double counted to satisfy both the policy/management/methods distribution requirement and the concentration requirements. Social policy courses taught regularly by Public Policy faculty include the following. Other courses may be added with permission from the Public Policy Graduate Program Director before course enrollment. Please request permission here (prior to course enrollment) for a non-SPP concentration course not listed below. Please note that some of the non-SPP courses have prerequisites, enrollment restrictions and may be offered only online.
- SPP 611 Comparative Social Policy
- SPP 621 Using the Past to Create Effective Policy
- SPP 622 Ethics and Public Policy
- SPP 624 Public Policy, Racism and Patriarchy
- SPP 650 U.S. Education Policy
- SPP 690STC An American Police State? Policing, Policy, and Politics
- SPP 590STC Topics in Disability Policy
- SPP 590STF Human Rights and Public Administration
- EDUC 880 Current Issues Facing Special Education Admin
- HPP 616 Health Policy in the United States
- HPP 642 Public Health Leadership
- HPP 660 Evidence-Based Policy: And Evaluative Scientist’s Tool Box
- SPHHS 606 Leading Change: Policy, Advocacy, and Ethics
- ECON 568 The Practice of Development Policy and International Cooperation
- EDUC 615S Language & Literacy Policy and Planning
- EDUC 674B Higher Education Policy
- EDUC 793D Seminar: Globalization, Neoliberalism, and Educational Policy
- EDUC 884 Social Policy and Disability
The social policy concentration prepares students for careers in government agencies, international organizations, consulting firms and research institutions. MPPA graduates have been placed in a variety of settings, including: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Social Security Administration; Massachusetts Division of Health Care, Finance and Policy; Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute; and Barnard-Columbia Center for Urban Policy.