School of Public Policy

BA/MPP Program

The School of Public Policy's new BA/MPP program will allow students to obtain both BA and MPP degrees through an integrated five-year plan of study. This program prepares students for professional policy careers as well as for pursuing subsequent doctoral degrees in relevant disciplines. The BA/MPP program is open to UCR public policy undergraduates only, including double majors who have declared public policy as one of their majors and transfer students who have declared their major as public policy.

The program consists of the regular BA program in Public Policy, with MPP coursework, internship and capstone initiated during the fourth year and completed at the end of year five. Up to 12 units of coursework can be double-counted by students in the program, with the MPP elective courses being taken in lieu of upper-division public policy elective courses, which would allow for the MPP requirements to be met in a single additional year. The BA/MPP program will complement the existing two-year MPP program in the School of Public Policy.

The BA/MPP program will require students to do the full coursework and professional development colloquium required of the two-year MPP program during their senior (fourth) and fifth years in the BA/MPP program, including the 8-unit capstone project (PBPL 289a,b) during their fifth year. The space for the additional graduate coursework in their fourth year will come from the BA/MPP students being able to (i) double-count 12 units of coursework in the two programs (as per rules established by the Senate for combined programs), and (ii) substitute Master’s elective area courses for some of the upper-division elective courses that BA (Public Policy) students are required to take.