Master in Public Policy in Global Affairs (M.P.P.)
The Jackson School’s Master in Public Policy in Global Affairs prepares students to impact the global community through an academically rigorous and flexible interdisciplinary program.
Jackson continues the University’s tradition of attracting creative, intellectually curious individuals who come to Yale ready to define their own path to a career in global leadership and service.
The Jackson School’s M.P.P. occupies a unique place among international affairs graduate programs. The four-course interdisciplinary core curriculum provides students with a shared intellectual foundation focused on acquisition of the ideas, ways of thinking, and skills needed for leadership in global affairs. The small core both prepares students to identify and investigate solutions to the global issues they are most passionate about and gives students the unusual flexibility to design an individualized course of study around those issues by taking advantage of the extraordinary breadth of courses and resources at Jackson and across the University.
Jackson’s academic requirements are designed to prepare leaders for solving the most pressing problems in global affairs. This means exposing students to foundational ideas in economics, history, and political science as well as building skill as analysts, communicators, and leaders. We do this through the small core of four courses, an integrated professional writing program, a leadership and ethics training workshop, and a summer internship/project requirement.
M.P.P. Curriculum
The formal M.P.P. requirements are 16 credits, demonstrated proficiency in a modern language, and completion of a summer internship or project between their first and second years in the program. The 16 credits must include the four required core courses listed below (each course is worth one credit). Students must also maintain a grade average of High Pass with at least two Honors grades. All students must complete Jackson’s leadership and ethics training workshop, which will take place in August the week prior to the beginning of their second year.
In addition to the four core courses, leadership and ethics training workshop, summer internship, and language requirement, M.P.P. students enroll in courses from throughout Yale’s Graduate and Professional Schools to build their individualized program of study.
Each term, the Jackson School provides its M.P.P. students with a matrix of interesting and relevant courses from across the University. The list serves as a guide for students, but students are not limited to choosing courses from the list in building the curriculum that best matches their interests and goals. Students also meet with the assistant dean for graduate education and faculty to design their individual curriculum.
To review past matrices, visit https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/mpp/courses-and-curriculum.
CORE M.P.P. COURSES
| Course number | Course title | term | Course credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLBL 5010* | Economics for Global Affairs | (Spring, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5020† | Applied Methods of Analysis | (Fall, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5030 | History of Global Affairs | (Spring, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5040 | Comparative Politics for Global Affairs | (Fall, first or second year) | 1.0 |
*First-year students will be required to take GLBL 5005 in the fall, prior to enrolling in GLBL 5010 in the spring. During orientation, students may sit for a diagnostic economics exam to place out of the GLBL 5005 requirement.
†See Exemption from Core Courses in the chapter Academic Policies
Language Requirement
Native English speakers are required to leave Yale University with the equivalent of foreign language proficiency at the L4 level. To fulfill this requirement, there are three options:
- provide a transcript with a 3rd year language course listed during application,
- prior to arriving at Yale (July–August) take a placement test online, place into L3 language, and complete two terms of a second-year language course (L3 and L4) at Yale, or
- take a language proficiency exam at Yale and place into L5 (advanced level) thus satisfying the language requirement.
More information about placements can be found at https://cls.yale.edu/students/placement-testing
Note that students can choose to earn up to 4 credits (or two years) of language toward a Jackson degree if they would like to continue language study while joint-degree candidates, can earn up to two credits toward the Jackson degree requirements.
Students who have never studied a modern language (other than English) may elect to enroll in the accelerated language course at Middlebury College in the summer preceding their arrival at Yale. Jackson has established a streamlined application process with the Middlebury College Language School, and will fully fund the course, including tuition, room and board. For exigent academic reasons, the assistant dean for graduate education may exceptionally authorize other students to qualify for this funding opportunity.
Foundational Courses
Several courses at the Jackson School of Global Affairs address the development of skillsets that are applicable across all disciplines and topics within the public policy realm. These courses, deemed “foundational,” currently include writing (GLBL 5000), argumentation (GLBL 5001), communication (GLBL 5002), and negotiation (GLBL 5015). They are open to all graduate students in the Jackson School, are worth ½ credit each and are graded as SAT/UNSAT. Note that two such courses may be taken to provide, cumulatively, a full credit towards the degree requirements, but that doing so will (collectively) count as the one permitted course to be taken outside of the normal graduate grading mode*. Students are thus encouraged to take foundational courses outside of the sixteen courses otherwise required for the M.P.P. degree.
*See policy on Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grades under the Academic Policies section.
Professional Writing Program
The ability to communicate effectively is central to becoming an effective leader and problem solver. The Writing Program has two components. First, each of the core curriculum courses GLBL 5000 and GLBL 5001—in addition to their substantive topics—is designed to enhance students’ writing skills across a variety of professional contexts. These writing components have been designed by the primary instructors in collaboration to ensure a coherent and holistic professional writing program across the core courses. Second, all M.P.P. students will have access to the director of the Writing Program, who will be available to provide specific and detailed feedback on all student writing. Through the core writing program, students will develop the professional writing and communication skills necessary to advance their careers as leaders in global affairs.
Summer Experience
M.P.P. students further their academic and professional goals by engaging in an immersive summer experience. Taking place during the summer between the first and second year, the experience gives students the opportunity to intern or conduct research.
Leadership and Ethics Workshop
Core to the mission of the Jackson School is to prepare students to be responsible, thoughtful, and ethical leaders in global affairs. It is important that, as a part of their M.P.P. training and education, Jackson students are exposed to and understand their responsibilities and the professional ethics associated with a career in global affairs.
The week-long Leadership and Ethics Workshop is an experiential program designed to give Jackson M.P.P. students the tools and frameworks to think ethically about difficult choices, balance competing interests in global public policy, and to teach students how to integrate an ethical approach and moral reasoning into their leadership and management. Central to learning about methods and frameworks of leadership and ethics in a public policy setting is also an understanding of how to lead in a diverse world—across all dimensions of diversity—and how to lead communities around the world that are diverse. Integrated throughout this workshop will be practical engagement with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In a small, tight-knit program, the workshop also serves as a unique opportunity to bring the cohort together and build community in a concentrated and meaningful experience during the summer before their second year in the program.
Directed Reading
Sometimes a student may request that the assistant dean for graduate education approve a Directed Reading conducted by a faculty member (GLBL 9800) or a Senior Fellow (GLBL 8000). Usually limited to one per term, these courses may involve reading the literature on a topic, attending a lecture or seminar series, and writing a substantial research paper. It is your responsibility to make all of the arrangements before the term begins. To formally pursue a directed reading, the following conditions must be met:
- The student must submit a request to complete a Directed Study before the enrollment period for that term ends (see academic calendar for end of add/drop period).
- The material of the proposed course must be appropriate to the qualifications of the student.
- The student must secure not only the instructor’s approval of the work to be covered in the course, but also the approval of the assistant dean for graduate education.
- The student must provide a syllabus draft for review by the instructor and the assistant dean for graduate education.
- There must not be an existing graduate or undergraduate course to which the student has access in which the work proposed may be accomplished.
- The instructor must meet with the student regularly, normally between eight to ten hours per term.
- The student must produce a final paper at the end of the term.
The Jackson School has established limits on the number of directed readings that a student may take in any term (one) and, cumulatively, before the end of their second year in the M.P.P. program (four).
A student must petition the Committee on Academic Progress for permission to enroll in more than two such course credits in any one term. In the petition the student must give sound academic reasons for exceeding these limits and provide evidence that the additional work in a directed reading will not be done at the expense of the breadth and depth of study being pursued in regular courses at Jackson and elsewhere at the University.
Thesis
Students also have the option of writing a year-long two credit thesis, GLBL 9990 and GLBL 9991, under the supervision of a Jackson School of Global Affairs professor or senior lecturer.
The thesis is an optional research project that is completed in the final academic year of the M.P.P. degree. It is intended for students who wish to make a major policy-oriented research project the culmination of their educational experience in the program. M.P.P. theses involve independently performed research by the student under the supervision of a faculty adviser. Students work with faculty advisers in designing their project and in writing the thesis.
The final thesis is graded by the thesis adviser. No final defense or presentation is required. See the Appendix for additional details and timeline.
Certificate in Program Evaluation
Jackson offers the opportunity for M.P.P. students to earn a Certificate in Program Evaluation upon completion of six methods courses approved in advance by the assistant dean for graduate studies. The six courses may include GLBL 5020, Applied Methods of Analysis, or a substitute course that satisfies the core methods requirement. One of the six courses must be an advanced course in causal inference at least at the level of MGT 510 Data Analysis and Causal Inference or higher (e.g., PLSC 508 or ECON 559).
Other elective courses may include GLBL 5070, GLBL 5050, or GLBL 7250. Please contact the assistant dean for graduate education for more information about the certificate and to discuss your plans.
Master of Advanced Study (M.A.S.)
The Master of Advanced Study (M.A.S.) in Global Affairs is a one-year program for mid-career professionals.
Created in 2013, the program is small by design, with only a few admitted students each year. The M.A.S. is aimed at professionals with extensive experience in a field of global affairs such as, but not limited to, international security, diplomacy, and development.
M.A.S. Curriculum
The program of study is customized to a student’s individual academic and professional goals. Students take eight courses in one year of full-time study. Part time study is not permitted. Courses are chosen in consultation with the assistant dean for graduate education before the start of each term. Students select courses from the Jackson School’s regular offerings as well as courses from throughout the Graduate School and professional schools. M.A.S. candidates have access to all of the School’s services and are welcome to work with Jackson-affiliated faculty and Senior Fellows to design their program of study.
Joint Degree Programs with other Yale Schools
The Jackson School of Global Affairs offers the following joint-degree programs in collaboration with other Yale professional schools:
Environment M.F./M.P.P., M.F.S./M.P.P., M.E.Sc./M.P.P., M.E.M./M.P.P.
Law J.D./M.P.P.
Management M.B.A./M.P.P.
Public Health M.P.H./M.P.P.
Joint-degree candidates must apply to and be accepted by each school. Students should contact admissions offices at both schools to learn about admission requirements and deadlines. Joint-degree students must fulfill degree requirements for both programs. M.P.P. students are typically required to complete 12 course credits toward the M.P.P. degree. Advisers from the respective schools will assist students with mapping curriculum. For specific degree requirement information, students should contact the Jackson School of Global Affairs registrar at jackson.registrar@yale.edu
Yale College Programs
The Global Affairs Major
The Global Affairs major is designed to give students the social science research tools to solve today’s most pressing global challenges. It is a truly interdisciplinary program with courses in nearly all departments at Yale. The major includes about eighty students per class selected by competitive admissions.
In the fall of their senior year, global affairs majors complete the Capstone Course, a unique public policy project on behalf of a real client, supervised by a faculty member. Students often travel to the client’s location.
Global Health Studies MAP
The Global Health Studies Multidisciplinary Academic Program (GHS MAP) offers students at Yale College the opportunity to engage critically and analytically in global health from multiple disciplinary approaches and perspectives. The GHS MAP supports students in developing and balancing an appreciation for biomedical and technical issues related to diseases and their treatment and prevention, with an understanding of the historical, social, economic, and political concerns that are implicated in how health is determined and experienced in the twenty-first century.
The program also exposes students to relevant research methodologies to develop their understanding of how knowledge in global health is constructed and how these approaches could inform their academic pursuits and future careers. For more information, visit https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/global-health-studies.
Undergraduate Summer Fellowships
Many Jackson undergraduates spend their summers abroad. The School provides fellowships for student projects including internships and independent research projects related to international affairs. For more information, visit https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/the-global-affairs-major/summer-experience.
Five-Year B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. Program
The Five-year B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. gives Yale College students interested in the field of global affairs the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and an M.P.P. degree from the Jackson School of Global Affairs in a five-year joint program.
A total of 12 course credits are required for the M.P.P. degree. Several course requirements can be taken while a senior at Yale College, with the remaining requirements satisfied during the one-year enrollment at Jackson School of Global Affairs.
In their four years of Yale College enrollment, students complete a standard Yale College major, which consists of at least 36 course credits, 32 of which must be Yale College undergraduate approved courses credits. The remaining four Yale College courses may be counted as electives toward the M.P.P. degree requirements. These electives must be on the Jackson School matrix of approved courses.
Students in the B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. track must complete four core courses (as part of the 12 required credits), the language requirement, and the leadership and ethics workshop as well as an approved summer internship or project between their fourth and fifth years.
CORE COURSES
| Course number | Course title | term | Course credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLBL 5010* | Economics for Global Affairs | (Spring, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5020† | Applied Methods of Analysis | (Fall, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5030 | History of Global Affairs | (Spring, first year) | 1.0 |
| GLBL 5040 | Comparative Politics for Global Affairs | (Fall, first or second year) | 1.0 |
*First-year students will be required to take GLBL 5005 in the fall, prior to enrolling in GLBL 5010 in the spring. During orientation, students may sit for a diagnostic economics exam to place out of the GLBL 5005 requirement.
†See Exemption from Core Courses in the chapter Academic Policies