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    • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
    • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
    • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
    • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
    • PhD in Social Welfare
    • PhD in Urban Planning
    • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
    • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
    • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
    • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
    • PhD in Social Welfare
    • PhD in Urban Planning
    Undergraduate Programs
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    • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
    • Minor in Gerontology
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    • Minor in Gerontology
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  • Research Centers
    • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

      Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

    • Berggruen Governance Index

      Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

    • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

      Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

    • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

      Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

    • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

      Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

    • Berggruen Governance Index

      Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

    • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

      Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

    • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

      Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

    • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

      A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

    • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

      Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

    • Latin American Cities Initiative

      Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

    • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

      Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

    • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

      A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

    • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

      Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

    • Latin American Cities Initiative

      Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

    • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

      Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

    • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

      Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

    • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

      Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

    • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

      Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

    • UCLA Voting Rights Project

      The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

    • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

      Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

    • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

      Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

    • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

      Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

    • UCLA Voting Rights Project

      The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

    All Research Centers
  • Outcomes
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Academic Department

Public Policy

Equipping policy leaders for the next generation.

  • Public Policy Home
  • Our Degrees
  • Admissions
  • Faculty
  • Tuition and Financial Aid
  • For Our Students
  • Public Policy Home
  • Our Degrees
  • Admissions
  • Faculty
  • Tuition and Financial Aid
  • For Our Students
Slide for more

Leadership in Policy Making

The UCLA Department of Public Policy offers a rigorous and challenging program that provides the analytical tools and strategic orientation that one needs to be a leader in identifying policy problems, designing new policies and organizations, advocating their adoption, managing their implementation, and evaluating their impact.

Our Master of Public Policy program combines the best of traditional policy education with a flexibility and responsiveness that enables our graduates to remain relevant and influential in a rapidly changing world. By setting the highest standards of excellence and giving students a diversified tool kit of quantitative and analytical skills, and the flexibility to design a program of study that incorporates the vast intellectual resources of one of the nation’s top research universities, we produce graduates who are equipped to become real leaders in policy making.

Academic Programs

Luskin students sit around a table in the Luskin Commons smiling and talking with laptops on the table.
Public Policy

Master of Public Policy (MPP)

Develop analytical skills and policy expertise to tackle complex societal challenges through evidence-based decision making.
Duration: 
2-Year
Format: 
Full-time
Learn More

Dual Degrees

The Department of Public Policy offers joint degrees with Law, Management, Medicine, Public Health, and Social Welfare. In each case, a joint degree applicant must apply to and meet the admissions criteria for each program separately.
20250527_UCLALuskin_4653
MSW / MPP (Public Policy)
White building which is the east entrance of the UCLA Luskin school of public affairs building at UCLA with stairs leading up to the entrance, back of a student is walking up the stairs to the building entrance.
MPP / MPH (Public Health)
20250527_UCLALuskin_5198
MPP / MD (Medicine)
Woman wearing a blue tank top smiles at a friend at the Luskin Block Party
MPP / MBA (Management)
Public policy students in class listening to a lecture
MPP / JD (Law)

By the Numbers

Students per entering MPP cohort

Community of Learning

Small enough to build a strong sense of community among students and faculty, yet large enough to encompass a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds — both domestic and international.

Annual MPP fellowship support
$ K+

Investing in Students

Roughly a half million dollars a year in fellowships, plus teaching and research assistant opportunities available to all admitted students, regardless of immigration status.

Required internship hours

Real-World Practice

MPP students are required to complete a 400-hour field internship with a government agency, nonprofit, private firm, or other approved organization.

Why UCLA?

World-Class Faculty & Specialized Curriculum

Our faculty members are extraordinary scholars in the applied social sciences, with doctorates from top universities, and include two Members of the National Academy of Sciences.

A Diverse Community in a Global Hub

UCLA is one of a handful of universities in the country with public policy programs that are also comprehensive campuses, with top-ranked schools of medicine, public health, business, law, education, and engineering all on the main Westwood campus.

Lifelong Professional Network

Join a diverse student community and gain lifelong access to UCLA’s global alumni network of more than 450,000 Bruins leading change and advancing social impact in communities and organizations around the world.

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Our Student Community

UCLA Luskin Public Policy students form a close-knit community shaped by a wide range of personal, academic and professional experiences. They come from across the United States and around the world, with academic backgrounds spanning the social sciences, humanities, business, science, technology and other fields. Many also bring experience in government, nonprofits, advocacy, education, research, community organizing and the private sector.

This breadth of perspectives strengthens classroom discussion, collaborative research and the broader student experience. United by a shared commitment to public service, students learn from one another while developing the analytical skills, practical knowledge and professional relationships needed to address complex policy challenges in Los Angeles and around the world.

Public Policy Events

Sep
21
2026
Fall Quarter Begins
Sep 21
Sep
24
2026
UCLA Luskin Block Party
Sep 24 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
More Events

Contacts

Department of Public Policy

Luskin School of Public Affairs
University of California, Los Angeles
3250 Public Affairs Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
Phone: (310) 825-7667

Wesley Yin

Department Chair
(301) 928-4308
wyin@luskin.ucla.edu

Emily Weisburst

Department Vice Chair
(310) 794-6075
weisburst@ucla.edu

Stacey Yukari Hirose

Manager (Faculty, AP, and Finance)
(310) 794-5050
stacey@luskin.ucla.edu

Ariana Rodriguez

Director of Recruitment and Student Success
(310) 206-3148
ariana@luskin.ucla.edu

Jake Maish

Director of Admissions and Student Affairs
(310) 825-0448
jake@luskin.ucla.edu

Ronaldo Avina

Academic Program Coordinator
(310) 825-7667
ronaldo@luskin.ucla.edu

Information & Resources

Message from the Chair

Welcome to UCLA's Public Policy Department!

Alumni

Learn more about our illustrious graduates.

Learn more about UCLA Luskin

Find contact information and get answers to your questions.

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337 Charles E. Young Drive East
Los Angeles, California 90095

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Academics
Departments
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Undergraduate Program
  • Urban Planning
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Undergraduate Program
  • Urban Planning
Graduate Programs
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Social Welfare (MSW)
  • Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)
  • PhD in Social Welfare
  • PhD in Urban Planning
Undergraduate Programs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
  • BA in Public Affairs
  • Minor in Urban and Regional Studies
  • Minor in Gerontology
  • Minor in Public Affairs
Professional Certificates
  • Data Analytics Certificate
  • Data Analytics Certificate
Admissions
Program Specific Admissions
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Urban Planning
  • Undergraduate Program
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Urban Planning
  • Undergraduate Program
Faculty
Our Faculty
  • All Faculty
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Urban Planning
  • All Faculty
  • Public Policy
  • Real Estate Development
  • Social Welfare
  • Urban Planning
Leadership
  • Our Dean
  • Board of Advisors
  • Faculty Executive Committee
  • Our Dean
  • Board of Advisors
  • Faculty Executive Committee
Research Centers
  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Agile Visual Analytics Lab (AVAL):

    Uses data visualization to improve decision-making for family and child services.

  • Berggruen Governance Index

    Evaluates the quality of political governance and democracy worldwide.

  • Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK)

    Specializes in spatial analysis of socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods.

  • Center for Policy Research on Aging (CPRA)

    Explores the societal and policy implications of an aging population.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)

    A national leader in transportation policy and mobility research.

  • Institute on Inequality and Democracy

    Advances scholarship addressing displacement and dispossession in Los Angeles and beyond.

  • Latin American Cities Initiative

    Connects urban planning and policy networks across the Americas.

  • Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI)

    Addresses policy challenges facing Latinos and communities of color.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

  • Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

    Researches housing, transportation, and economic development in Southern California.

  • Los Angeles Education Research Institute (LAERI)

    Collaborates with schools to improve educational outcomes for L.A. students.

  • Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI)

    Focuses on environmental policy, clean energy, and climate justice.

  • UCLA Voting Rights Project

    The flagship project for voting rights litigation and policy research.

All Research Centers
Outcomes
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