If you’re driven to tackle today’s most urgent domestic and global challenges, the BA/MPP degree gives you the tools to do it. You’ll learn to analyze data, evaluate policy choices and turn evidence into actionable solutions. The program is open only to Economics majors at UC San Diego.
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 curriculum offers comprehensive training in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics, while also engaging students in the study of public finance and taxation, policy analysis, law and regulation, and the politics of policymaking and implementation.
In addition to this core foundation, students may pursue advanced methodological training in areas such as geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing.
In their final year, students choose a substantive policy specialization, allowing them to apply their training and build deep expertise in a specific domain 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.
The program is open only to Economics majors at UC San Diego.
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.
Applications to the program are accepted in spring quarter of the junior year.
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 public 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
*effective Fall 2026
**undergraduate course
Note: Course schedules are published quarterly and are subject to change without notice. Some elective courses that can be applied to meet the area of specialization 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 coursework 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
Applications open Jan. 3! Apply by April 10.
All required application documents must be on file by the posted deadline.
More detailed information can be found here.