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Academic Catalog 2021-2022

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  • Public Policy, MPP

Public Policy, MPP

2021-2022 Edition

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      • General Regulations
      • School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
      • Economics
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      • History
      • Political Science
      • School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs
        • Public Policy, PhD
        • International Affairs, MA
        • Public Administration, MPA
        • Public Policy, MPP
        • Engineering and Public Policy, MS
        • Environmental Science and Policy, MS
        • Urban Informatics, MS
        • Urban Planning and Policy, MS
        • Law, JD /​ Public Policy, MPP
        • Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change, Graduate Certificate
        • Public Policy Analysis, Graduate Certificate
        • Sustainability and Climate Change Policy, Graduate Certificate
        • Urban Analytics, Graduate Certificate
        • Urban Studies, Graduate Certificate
      • Sociology
      • Interdisciplinary
    • Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership
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    • Appendix
  • Course Descriptions
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  • Overview
  • Program Requirements

School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

CSSH Graduate Programs General Regulations

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) 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, the MPP joins the nationally accredited Master of Public Administration (MPA) as well as our Master of Science in Urban Planning and Policy (MUPP), 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 (co-op) 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.

Healthcare Management and Policy Concentration

This graduate concentration is available to students in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. It is designed to enable students in the MPP program 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 three courses, one from each of three focus areas, and an elective.

Sustainability and Climate Change Policy Concentration

This graduate concentration is available to students in the Master of Public Policy (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 the course is located in.

Academic Standing/Progress 

Students in the program are monitored for academic progress. Those students whose grade-point average (GPA) 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
PPUA 6509Techniques of Program Evaluation4
or PPUA 6506 Techniques of Policy Analysis
INSH 6300Research Methods in the Social Sciences4
INSH 6500Statistical Analysis4
Policy Frameworks and Practice Core
PPUA 6502Economic Analysis for Policy and Planning4
LPSC 7311Strategizing Public Policy4
PPUA 7673Capstone in Public Policy and Urban Affairs4
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

An approved internship or waiver is required.

Course List
Code Title Hours
Noncredit Internship
PPUA 6861Internship0

Concentration Options

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

Healthcare Management and Policy Concentration

Course List
Code Title Hours
Health Management
Complete one of the following:3-4
HRMG 6220
Health Organization Management
PPUA 6220
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:2-3
PPUA 6212
Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Project Management
PPUA 6213
Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Data Visualization
PPUA 6216
Research Toolkit for Urban and Regional Policy: Grant Writing
PHTH 6224
Social Epidemiology

Sustainability and Climate Change Policy Concentration

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 Resilience: Technology, Policy, and Social Change
PPUA 5268
International Environmental Policy
PPUA 5270
Food Systems and Public Policy
PPUA 6101
Environmental Science and Policy Seminar 1

Electives

Course List
Code Title Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following:12
LPSC 5000 to LPSC 7999
PPUA 5000 to PPUA 7999
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)
POLS 5000 to POLS 7999 (by advisement only)
SOCL 5000 to SOCL 7999 (by advisement only)

Optional Co-op Experience

Course List
Code Title Hours
Requires two consecutive semesters of Co-op Work Experience and Experiential Integration:2
PPUA 6964
and INSH 6864
Co-op Work Experience
and Experiential Integration

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

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

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