Course of Study

In addition core courses, which are required, students in the first year of the MPP program are required to take an additional 3 credits of an Applied Methods course (or combination of courses adding to 3 credits), and students in the second year are required to take at least one 3-credit or two 2-credit, program-approved, Applied Law course(s) from the William & Mary School of Law. Additional elective courses must be taken to complete the 46 hour credit requirement for the overall degree. Electives can come from among Public Policy’s offerings or, with program approval, from other graduate schools at William & Mary including the graduate schools of Business, Education, and Marine Science. Students choose electives based their interests or develop an alternative set of courses with the consent of the Director.

Core Requirements

First Year Fall:

PUBP 500 - 01: Mathematics for Public Policy (1 credit)
PUBP 590 - 01: Policy in Practice (1 credit)
PUBP 602 - 01: Quantitative Methods I (3 credits)
PUBP 604 - 01: Microeconomics for Public Policy (3 credits)
PUBP 607 - 01: Law and Public Policy (3 credits)

First Year Spring:

PUBP 590 - 01: Policy in Practice (1 credit)
PUBP 5XX or 6XX: Applied Methods (3 credits)
PUBP 603 - 01: Quantitative Methods II (3 credits)
PUBP 618 - 01: Policy Case Competition (2 credits)
Elective (3 credits)

Internship Requirement

Students are required to complete an internship (at least 10 weeks of full-time employment) in the summer after their first year of the program. Program staff, faculty, and mentors assist students in their internship search. Students may pursue internships across local, state, national, or international contexts in policy areas that interest them.

Second Year Fall

PUBP 590 - 02: Policy in Practice (1 credit)
PUBP 610 - 01: Policy Research Seminar (PRS) (4 credits)
PUBP 612 - 01: Leading Change (3 credits)
PUBP 614 - 01 : Applied Law Course (3 credits)

Second Year Spring

PUBP 609 - 01: Applied Ethics/Equality and Social Justice (3 credits)
PUBP 611 - 01: Evidence in the Policy Process (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits)
Elective (3 credits)

Elective Courses

Here is a sampling of Public Policy Elective course offerings - note that this is not an exhaustive list and electives may change based on faculty research and current events.

PUBP 608. Budget Policy Making
PUBP 614. Topics in Public Policy. The topics will vary. See the course schedule for the upcoming topics.
PUBP 615. Cross Section Econometrics
PUBP 616. Time Series Econometrics
PUBP 620. Regulation of Markets
PUBP 621. Administrative Law (cross listed with LAW453).
PUBP 622. Environmental Policy
PUBP 623. Health Care Policy
PUBP 624. Law and Medicine Seminar.
PUBP 626. Law and Resource Management. (cross listed with MS543).
PUBP 627. Law, Policy and Environment. (cross listed with LAW439).
PUBP 628. Environmental Law. (cross listed with LAW424).
PUBP 630. The Economics of Policy-Making at the State and Local Level
PUBP 631. State and Local Politics and Policy-Making
PUBP 632. Local Government Law (cross listed with LAW429).
PUBP 633. Land Use Control (cross listed with LAW425).
PUBP 635. Fundamentals of Environmental Science for Policy
PUBP 640. Labor Market Policy
PUBP 642. Legal Foundations of American Social Programs (cross listed with LAW430).
PUBP 643. Employment Discrimination (cross listed with LAW452).
PUBP 644. The Financing of Higher Education (cross listed with EPPL676).
PUBP 645. Higher Education and Public Policy (cross listed with EPPL713).
PUBP 646. Employment Law (cross listed with LAW456).
PUBP 650. International Trade: Theory and Policy
PUBP 651. International Development and Policy
PUBP 652. Public International Law (cross listed with LAW409)

Elective Courses (Not Cross Listed)

BUSINESS

BUAD6381 - International Financial Management
BUAD6561 - Human Resource Management
BUAD6311 - Forecasting
BUAD6831 - Non-Profit Organizations

EDUCATION

EPPL625 - Current Issues in Higher Education
EPPL628 - History of Higher Education

LAW

LAW339 - Natural Resource Law
LAW398 - Election Law
LAW411 - Antitrust
LAW454 - Economic Analysis of Law
LAW458 - Health Law and Policy
LAW481 - Bioethics/Medical Ethics and Law
LAW485 - Immigration & Citizenship
LAW496 - International Business Transactions
LAW497 - International Trade Law
LAW546 - Government Contracts
LAW552 - State and Local Government Finance
LAW562 - Legislative Advocacy Seminar

MATHEMATICS

MATH523 - Operations Research: Deterministic Models
MATH524 - Operations Research: Stochastic Models