Apr 02, 2025  
2024-2025 Academic Catalog 
    
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2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Public Policy (MPP)

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Master of Public Policy

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is triple accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA); the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA); and the International Commission on the Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training (ICAPA).  The degree is administered by the Public Policy and Administration Department (PPAD) in the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The program prepares students for leadership positions in public service and for careers as policy analysts. Graduates of the MPP program generally pursue careers in government, nonprofit organizations, international development agencies, academia, consulting firms, and the private sector.

Program objectives

The mission of the MPP Program is to prepare leaders for careers in policy-making in Egypt and the Middle East. The program prepares leaders with strong competencies in public governance, communication and the capability to develop, use and communicate evidence-based analysis in public policy with the highest ethical standards.

Admission

All applicants must satisfy the university’s graduate admission requirements. Candidates for the MPP or DPP should have adequate preparation in quantitative analytic methods. Relevant professional experience is desirable but not required.

Courses (36 credit hours)

Students seeking the degree of Master of Public Policy must complete 36 credit hours including a thesis preparation course (PPAD 5298 ) or 36 credit hours plus a comprehensive examination. The program core, required of all students, consists of 6 courses (18 credits). Students must complete a concentration of 5 courses (15 credits). Students writing a thesis, consistent with department and university guidelines, will enroll in Research Seminar (PPAD 5298 ) and subsequently in PPAD 5299  if they do not complete their thesis during their enrollment in PPAD 5298 . Students in the non-thesis track will need to complete 36 credit hours (not including PPAD 5298 ) and register for the Comprehensive Examination.

Core Requirement (18 credit hours)

Students must complete the following six courses:

       Group 1: Students must complete the following five courses:

Concentration Requirement (15 credit hours)

Students must complete 5 courses in one of the concentrations below. Students may substitute up to two courses for those shown in a concentration with permission of the department.

MPP Concentration 1: Policies for Sustainable Development - 5 courses (15 credits) required

Students should select concentration courses based on their chosen area of specialization, which may include health and social services policy, anti-poverty policy, environmental policy, or an area defined by the student.

Group 1: Complete three of the following courses

Group 2: Complete any two course in consultation with the Department advisor

MPP Concentration 2: Promotion and Regulation of the Private Sector Development – 5 courses (15 credits) required

Students should select concentration courses based on their chosen area of specialization, which may include financial markets; telecommunications, power, and water; private sector development; regional economic development, or a topic identified by the student.

Group 1: Complete three of the following courses

Group 2: Complete any two course in consultation with the Department advisor

MPP Concentration 3: Media Policy - 5 courses (15 credits) required

 

Group 1: Complete three of the following courses

Group 2: Complete any two course in consultation with the Department advisor

MPP Concentration 4: Data Analytics and program Evaluation - 5 courses (15 credits) required

Students should select concentration courses based on their chosen area of specialization, which may include program evaluation and data analysis and survey data analysis , or an area defined by the student.

Group 1: Complete three of the following courses

Students should select concentration courses based on their chosen area of specialization, which may include program evaluation and data analysis and survey data analysis, or an area defined by the student. Students can only declare this concentration upon the successful completion of  PPAD 5212 - Applied Quantitative Analysis (3 cr.)  

Group 2: Complete any two course in consultation with the Department advisor

Internship (PPAD 5198): 3 credits Graded Pass-Fail

Students are strongly encouraged to undertake an internship within their concentration, ideally in conjunction with their thesis work. This course is considered as one of the elective courses (Group 2).

Thesis

Students are required to write a thesis on some aspect of public policy relevant to their concentration. The preparation of the thesis and the thesis itself must comply with Departmental and AUC guidelines with regard to content, format, dates, and the review and supervision process. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these guidelines and meeting formal deadlines. Students preparing the thesis normally develop a preliminary thesis proposal during PPAD 5201 , a required core course, but may prepare an alternative thesis proposal if desired. Once the proposal is approved, students should enroll in PPAD 5298 , the thesis research seminar, in the first semester in which they are working on the research component and write-up of their thesis. Thereafter, if additional work is required to complete the thesis, students must enroll each semester in PPAD 5299 .

Non-Thesis Track

Students who do not wish to write a thesis can choose to substitute it with one additional PPAD 3-credit course (not including PPAD 5298 ), with the approval of the program director, and then sit for a comprehensive examination after completing all program course requirements. A comprehensive examination is usually offered in mid-December and mid-April. Students planning to sit for the comprehensive examination in any semester must register for comprehensives (PPAD 5288 ) in that semester.

Comprehensive examination may be repeated once. A student who fails the comprehensive examination a second time would be dismissed from the degree program after the end of the semester in which the examination was retaken.

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