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MPP Degree Requirements

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The Master of Public Policy is a 39-hour advanced degree program consisting of a core interdisciplinary curriculum, an internship in the public, private or nonprofit sector, a capstone project culminating the student's coursework and experiences and electives chosen from the broader University of Houston classes to fulfill a specialization in respective fields of interest.

The program is designed to be completed in two years, but the length will vary depending on a student's full-time or part-time enrollment. Flexible scheduling is offered to accommodate professionals, with evening courses, Monday through Thursday, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Sample Degree Plans for the UH MPP Program

The MPP degree curriculum is interdisciplinary with a quantitative emphasis, incorporating political science, economics, computer science, business and statistics. The degree requires nine hours of quantitatively focused classes such as microeconomics, research methods, statistics, and advanced data analysis, six hours in philosophy and research ethics, and three hours for an internship.

In addition, students must complete a specialization through six hours of coursework. The Hobby School works with students to select graduate-level electives throughout the university that fit their interests. Examples of specializations include governmental affairs, health policy, higher education policy, nonprofit management and quantitative methods. The specialization will not appear on students' diplomas or transcripts. However, the Hobby School keeps a record, and students are encouraged to list their specialization on their resumes.

The UH MPP Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Fall Semester Start

The below table shows a sample degree plan for a full-time MPP student that begins the program in the fall semester:

Term: Fall, Year 1
Term: Fall, Year 2
Course
Credits
Course
Credits
POLC 6311 Leadership and Professional Development
3
POLC 6312 Public Finance
3
POLC 6313 Policy Analysis I: Microeconomics
3
POLC 6316 Policy Research Methods III: Advanced Quantitative Modeling
3
POLC 6314 Policy Research Methods I: Introduction to Statistics
3
POLC 6331 Philosophy and Public Policy II
3
TOTAL FALL, YEAR 1 CREDITS
9
TOTAL FALL, YEAR 2 CREDITS 9
Term: Spring, Year 1 Term: Spring, Year 2
Course
Credits
Course
Credits
POLC 6315 Policy Research Methods II: Multivariate Analysis
3
POLC 6317 Public Policy Capstone
3
POLC 6320 Policy Analysis II: Political Analysis
3
² Public Policy Elective 3
POLC 6330 Philosophy and Public Policy I
3
² Public Policy Elective 3
TOTAL SPRING, YEAR 1 CREDITS
9
TOTAL SPRING, YEAR 2 CREDITS 9
Term: Summer, Year 1
TOTAL REQUIRED CREDITS:
39
Course
Credits
¹ POLC 6391 Public Policy Internship
3
TOTAL SUMMER, YEAR 1 CREDITS
3

Spring Semester Start

The following table shows a sample degree plan for a full-time MPP student that begins in the spring semester:

Term: Spring, Year 1
Term: Spring, Year 2
Course
Credits
Course
Credits
POLC 6311 Leadership and Professional Development
3
POLC 6315 Policy Research Methods II: Multivariate Analysis
3
POLC 6330 Philosophy and Public Policy I 
3
POLC 6317 Public Policy Capstone
3
² Public Policy Elective
3
POLC 6320 Policy Analysis II: Political Analysis
3
TOTAL SPRING, YEAR 1 CREDITS
9
TOTAL SPRING, YEAR 2 CREDITS 9
Term: Summer, Year 1 Term: Fall, Year 2
Course
Credits
Course
Credits
¹ POLC 6391 Public Policy Internship
3
POLC 6312 Public Finance
3
POLC 6316 Policy Research Methods III: Advanced Quantitative Modeling 3
POLC 6331 Philosophy and Public Policy II 3
TOTAL SUMMER, YEAR 1 CREDITS
3
TOTAL FALL, YEAR 2 CREDITS 9
Term: Fall, Year 1
TOTAL REQUIRED CREDITS:
39
Course
Credits
POLC 6313 Policy Analysis I: Microeconomics
3
POLC 6314 Policy Research Methods I: Introduction to Statistics
3
² Public Policy Elective
3
TOTAL FALL, YEAR 1 CREDITS
9

¹ POLC 6391 Public Policy Internship is a required course. However, a student may use current employment to satisfy the internship requirement if the position is related to public policy and approved by the Hobby School. The course requirements will still need to be fulfilled.

² Two Public Policy Electives comprise the student specialization, and are chosen by the student and approved by the Hobby School.


MPP Course Rotation by Semester

The MPA degree requires 39 credits of graduate coursework, including ten core courses (30 hours), two elective courses (6 hours) and a public policy capstone course (3 hours).

The public policy capstone culminates the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the graduate program. Students analyze an actual public policy or organizational issue, examine effective solutions and procedures, and make specific recommendations to address the problem.

The below MPP courses are offered in the indicated respective semesters.

MPP Course Offerings by Semester   Fall    Spring  Summer
POLC 6311 Leadership and Professional Development 🗸 🗸
POLC 6312 Public Finance 🗸
POLC 6313 Policy Analysis I: Microeconomics 🗸
POLC 6314 Policy Research Methods I: Introduction to Statistics 🗸
POLC 6315 Policy Research Methods II: Multivariate Analysis 🗸
POLC 6316 Policy Research Methods III: Advanced Quantitative Modeling 🗸
POLC 6317 Public Policy Capstone 🗸
POLC 6320 Policy Analysis II: Political Analysis 🗸
POLC 6330 Philosophy and Public Policy I 🗸
POLC 6331 Philosophy and Public Policy II 🗸
POLC 6391 Public Policy Internship 🗸 🗸 🗸
MPP Electives (non-Hobby School/POLC courses) 🗸 🗸 🗸

Courses offered are subject to change.


  • Required Public Policy (POLC) Graduate Courses

  • Other POLC Graduate Courses