Public Policy Undergraduate Programs

With your public policy degree, you can go on to work in government or nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and abroad. You may decide to start your own social enterprise, or you may continue on to graduate school. The public policy major also provides a solid foundation for law school, doctoral programs, and an array of professional masters programs in public policy and management, education, public health, and business.

To help you achieve your goals, the School of Public Policy provides career services, including a professional development seminar where you'll learn how to write a resume and cover letter and how to network. You'll also have support finding internships, jobs, and mentors through on-campus career fairs, networking trips to Boston, the Public Policy Student Association, and advising—group and individual. You will benefit from having an engaged alumni network and social events throughout your years that include our undergraduate and graduate students, offering ample opportunities to grow your network.

Policies have a real impact on people’s everyday lives. Take, for example, the problem of higher education affordability.  A public policy major would learn how the political environment and federal branches of government impact higher education policy passage and implementation, utilize economic concepts to understand public funding and market conditions that led to the rise in cost, and analyze data on race/ethnicity, gender, and class to fully understand the problem.

They would learn how to manage public programs, so they could work at the Department of Education implementing a loan forgiveness program. They would learn how to be effective leaders, so they could offer college debt counseling at a nonprofit. They would learn managerial skills, so they could start a social enterprise to provide emergency loans to students.  

Our students have dreams of social change, and we will help them build a toolbox to come up with creative solutions, assess their feasibility, and hone their writing and presentation skills to persuade others to join in support.  They are able to take management classes specifically designed for social mission organizations, so they are ready to make an impact no matter the policy area.

The major in public policy helps students understand and address complex policy issues from broadband access in rural areas to how to combat global climate change. The major requires foundational courses such as statistics and microeconomics. It also allows for 20-credits of electives based on a student’s interests within a range of public policy areas and contexts—public, nonprofit, and social enterprise management. 

In the senior capstone project, you will bring together your skills and knowledge to help solve real-world policy and management problems. There are an array of capstone options from a team consulting project for a government or nonprofit organization to collaborating with a School of Public Policy faculty member on a university research project to developing an independent project or thesis. Whichever you choose, it will help you bridge from college into your professional career.

Admission to the undergraduate degree program in public policy is granted by the University Undergraduate Admissions Office. Their website shares all requirements and application deadlines. Please note that students may study the major as first year students or as transfer students from another college or university. For particular questions about the major, please email us publicpolicyba@umass.edu. 

Want to learn more about the major or to declare it?

For Advising Care Unit, choose “Explore How to Declare or Change Majors.” Then, select “Explore Public Policy Major” as the Service.

You can find suggestions for getting started here, and the full list major requirements here. Email publicpolicyba@umass.edu with any questions.