“My experience at Luskin is one that I would not trade for the world. I really feel like I made the best decision.”
— Tonya McClendon MPP ’22
The UCLA Department of Public Policy offers the Master of Public Policy (MPP). MPP students can pursue interdisciplinary Global Public Affairs and Leaders in Sustainability certificate programs. Joint degrees with Law, Management, Public Health, Medicine, and Social Welfare offer an even broader range of skill and expertise development. An undergraduate Minor in Public Affairs is also available.
We take people who are passionate about making a difference in the world and give them the tools they need to do so. Our master’s program combines the best of rigorous policy education with a flexibility and responsiveness that enables us to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world. A career in public service is no longer limited to working in government. By giving students a diversified tool kit of quantitative and analytical skills and the flexibility to design their own program of study— while drawing on all the resources of one of the world’s top research universities — we produce graduates who are equipped to become real leaders in policy making, wherever that process takes place.
Study Public Policy at Luskin. Training and experience that prepares one to transform the world to come.
Academic Programs
Our Master of Public Policy is a two-year program focused on problem identification, policy analysis, and policy influence. It seeks to enhance the range of ideas and knowledge about how to address public problems and improve the skills of those who deal with them professionally. Candidates conduct research directed to public issues, inform public policy professionals, and partner with public servants and the community to solve public problems.
Graduate students in the Global Public Affairs program pursue research, study, and collaborate with scholars and leaders in public policy from a global perspective. Four certificate programs allow students to explore deeper specializations in Global Environment and Resources, Global Health and Social Services, Global Processes and Institutions, and Global Urbanization and Regional Development.
Concurrent Degree Programs offer joint graduate degrees in law, management, medicine, public health, and social welfare.
Visitor Programs attract visiting faculty, scholars, and students from partner institutions abroad.

UC Grant Will Fund EV Research by UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation Team led by a Fielding School professor gets nearly $2 million to pursue an equitable model for electrical vehicle charger placement
Team led by a Fielding School professor gets nearly $2 million to pursue an equitable model for electrical vehicle charger placement.

The Heat Is Rising, and UCLA Luskin Research Is Helping L.A. Respond Environmental justice has been the cornerstone of Luskin School efforts related to the city’s hot weather policies
Environmental justice has been the cornerstone of Luskin School efforts related to the city’s hot weather policies.

‘Have the Courage to Create the World We All Deserve to Live In’ Commencement speaker Michael Tubbs challenges UCLA Luskin's Class of 2023 to use their education for the greater good
Commencement speaker Michael Tubbs challenges UCLA Luskin’s Class of 2023 to use their education for the greater good.
Why Get Your MPP at UCLA?
Why should UCLA be your choice for a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree? As with good policy analysis, turn to the evidence:
Professionals of all kinds – some of whom are years into their careers and others who are relatively fresh out of their undergraduate studies – come to study at UCLA from across the nation and around the world. Undergraduate majors include social science fields such as anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, but the MPP program also welcomes a wide range of Liberal Arts majors from areas like philosophy, English, comparative literature, foreign languages and even the classics. Also represented are those with degrees in astrophysics, biology, chemistry, computer science, and statistics.
Our MPP graduates have gone on to wide-ranging careers that include:
- U.S. departments such as Education, Homeland Security, and Transportation
- federal agencies such as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), USAID, and GAO
- U.S. State Department Foreign Service and international NGO’s like World Vision, Relief International, and Chemonics Inc.
- multiple California state departments and agencies
- positions in local city and county government in California, nationwide, and overseas
- nonprofits, from local community-based organizations to national groups such as Environmental Defense Fund, the Children’s Defense Fund, and the United Way
- major policy research institutions like California Public Policy Institute, Mathematica Policy Research, and the Urban Institute
- private firms like Booze Allen Hamilton, Boston Consulting Group, Nike, Google, Optima Health, and Harris Poll Interactive
Some of our graduates have run for and held elective office. In short, at UCLA we prepare you to take on the world.
The Office of Career Services and Alumni Relations, the Leadership Development Program, the Senior Fellows Program that connects students to current practitioner mentors, the Luskin Lecture Series that brings prominent social and political figures to campus, and Global Public Affairs with its international certificate programs are initiatives organized and supported by the Dean’s Office. Together they enrich the intellectual, analytical, professional, and networking experiences, alongside practical skills training, for our MPP students.
Contacts
Department of Public Policy
Luskin School of Public Affairs
University of California Los Angeles
3250 Public Affairs Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
(310) 825-7667
Robert Fairlie
Department Chair
PublicPolicyChair@luskin.ucla.edu
(310) 825-7667
Darin Christensen
Department Vice Chair
darinc@luskin.ucla.edu
310-825-7196
Stacey Yukari Hirose
Manager (Faculty, AP, and Finance)
stacey@luskin.ucla.edu
(310) 794-5050
Kevin Franco
Director of Student Affairs (Program Success & Retention)
Cristy Portlock
Assistant Director of Recruitment & Admissions
cristy@luskin.ucla.edu
Ronaldo Avina
Academic Program Coordinator
ronaldo@luskin.ucla.edu
(310) 825-7667