Help create the policies that shape people’s lives.
Join us for an online open house to get your questions answered about graduate programs and the admissions process. Meet admissions staff, financial aid professionals, faculty, and academic advisors from various graduate programs. Learn more about your journey at UMass Boston.
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Take advantage of Greater Boston’s dynamic public policy community while receiving personalized career support from faculty mentors and university career services. Through networking, internships, and career-focused projects, you’ll build the experience and professional network to pursue opportunities across government, nonprofit, healthcare, and other public service sectors.
Here’s where this degree can take you:
Deadlines:
Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.
Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the program-specific requirements.
Estimate Your Program Cost: Get a feel for your expected program costs using the Graduate Program Cost Calculator.
Program Cost Information: Significant on-campus tuition discounts are available to residents of Massachusetts, the other New England states, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For more detailed information on costs, visit the Bursar's website to learn more about Regular Session Tuition & Fees for in person courses and Special Price Tuition & Fees for online courses. Please refer to Financial Aid for more information.
Statement of Purpose
Write a 500-word essay on your reasons for considering the UMass Boston MPP program in relation to your academic background, professional work experience, and career goals, and a 1,000-word essay describing your personal qualities and development and how they have influenced your career choice.
Résumé or CV
Add a current résumé or CV noting your previous educational (a bachelor's degree is required) and working experience.
Official Transcripts
Submit official copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts from all colleges attended.
Writing Sample
Submit a writing sample consisting of 3-5 pages. It might be from your previous academic or professional work.
GRE Scores
The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required for the MPP program. If you wish to submit GRE scores that are less than five years old, please use the UMass Boston GRE code: 3924.
Letters of Recommendation
Please include three letters of recommendation. We prefer that one letter be from a former professor or individual who can address your intellectual aptitude for graduate study; others can be from a supervisor or other professional reference.
Year 1 - Fall (9 credits)
Year 1 - Spring (9 credits)
Year 1 - Summer (3 credits)
Year 2 - Fall (9 credits)
Year 2 - Spring (9 credits)
The program curriculum requires completion of at least four elective courses. At least two courses should be drawn from one concentration area, and at least two other courses should be drawn from another concentration area. In addition, students are required to complete an internship (after the first year of coursework) and a capstone research project (during the second year of study).
Students can choose two from three possible concentrations: Nonprofit Organization Policy and Management; Social Policy and Racial Equity; and Data Analytics and Policy Simulation.
For more information on curriculum, including course descriptions and degree requirements, visit the Academic Catalog.
Program Requirements
The program requires 39 credits of coursework including:
Students are expected to complete the 39-credit coursework, which includes ten three-credit courses, a three-credit internship (an elective can replace that), and a six-credit capstone project, within two years. All courses will be delivered in a synchronous format to foster real-time engagement and learning.
Capstone: Completion of a written paper and oral presentation.
Internship: There are multiple ways to satisfy the internship requirement. One is to complete the three-credit course PUBPOL 699 Internship in the summer after the first year. This will require students to coordinate with the Internship course instructor during the spring semester of the first year to choose an internship, to complete the internship during the summer after the first year, to attend PUBPOL 699 class sessions during the first summer session and to make a final internship presentation at the end of the second summer session. Alternatively, if students have sufficient and appropriate recent and/or current professional experience, they can request the MPP program director to waive this internship requirement. Finally, students may choose to take an additional three‐credit elective in place of internship.
Program Director Heather MacIndoe
Graduate Program Administrator, Outreach and Recruitment Jack Li
public.affairs@umb.edu
(617)287-6905
Expand your impact beyond the classroom. Build experience through the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy and the Center for Social Policy, where research, leadership development, mentorship, and community partnerships connect classroom learning to real policy challenges. Full- and part-time options make it easier to balance graduate study with your professional goals.
Explore the department and college that supports your journey in Public Policy.
