Concurrent Degrees
- Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Master of International Affairs
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of International Affairs
- Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Public Policy
This concurrent degree program is offered in collaboration with the Department of Economics. The program is open only to Economic majors at UC San Diego.
The program incorporates graduate-level coursework into the final undergraduate year of study for a Bachelor of Arts in Economics-Public Policy. The Master of Public Policy is awarded upon completion of an additional year of coursework as a matriculated graduate student at the School of Global Policy and Strategy.
The curriculum is built around micro– and macro-economics and econometrics, economic policy analysis, public finance and taxation, the study of the politics of policymaking and implementation, law and regulation, institutional processes, the opportunity for the development of advanced training in hard skills such as GIS and remote sensing, and a full year of developing an expertise in at least one area of public policy.
In addition to the first year core classes, students must declare at least one Area of Specialization and complete a second year capstone course with a substantial research project.
In order for a student to be eligible for the BA/MPP, they must first be a declared Economics (EN25) major, have completed their undergraduate college breadth requirements, the lower division course work in math and economics as outlined below, and the upper-division sequences required for the major (ECON 100 A, B, C; ECON 110 A, B; and ECON 120, A, B, C). Admission requires a major GPA of 3.4. Applications to the program are taken in spring quarter of the junior year. Upon admission, the student must change their major to Economics-Public Policy (EN29). Only students admitted to the BA/MPP may declare the Economics-Public Policy major.
The required core curriculum for the BA/MPP is different than that for the two-year Master of Public Policy.
Policy Analysis and Public Welfare: The course explores the political and economic foundations of public policymaking, examining both the processes through which preferences of individuals are converted into public welfare policy and the public’s response. Included are an introduction to the concepts of rationality, individual decision making, cooperation, collective action, and market failures. The course is writing-intensive and includes cases on the U.S.
Market Failures and Policy Interventions: Applies economic reasoning to public issues, policies and programs. It considers incentives and organizations; models of economic behavior, including markets, the absence of markets and interventions; the price system; policy objectives and instruments.
Policy Making Processes: This course is designed to teach students how to “read” a country’s political and economic system. The course examines how the evolution of different institutional frameworks in the countries of the Pacific region influences the way in which political choices are made.
Public Finance and Taxation: This course introduces principles of taxation and expenditure analysis, public budgeting and assessment of budget priorities.
Policy Analysis and Decision Theory: This course introduces students to the methods of policy analysis and decision-making theory—methods to assemble panel data to capture the impact of new policy on observable data, decision-making theory, uncertainty, decision criteria, expected utility and risk.
Students take the Capstone in their second year and after the successful completion of all first year core courses.
Public Policy Capstone: The capstone is designed to test the hard skills of policy design and evaluation by using them in the analysis of a real-world problem. The course requires a research project that examines an existing pubic or nonprofit sector policy or managerial problem.
Students must complete at least one Area of Specialization. Each requires five courses (20 units), three of which are electives. The Areas of Specialization are intended to provide depth in an area of applied policy.
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Required Course
Must Choose One
Sample Electives Classes
Note: Course schedules are published on a quarterly basis and are subject to change without notice. Some elective courses that can be applied to meet career track requirements may not be offered in a given academic quarter or academic year. See the UC San Diego General Catalog.
While the MPP does not have a language requirement, students may decide that language proficiency is an important skill for their career goal. Students will be allowed to use up to 12 graded units of undergraduate or GPS language courses toward the 48 units required in the graduate year and must match a regional/country specialization as indicated with course work at GPS. Language courses taken as an undergraduate count only toward the BA. Language classes taken as a graduate student must be approved by petition prior to enrollment in the first quarter.
Country/Regional Specialization