The MPP Program culminates in a mandatory three-quarter sequence of courses, led by faculty advisers, dedicated to the preparation and presentation of a major Applied Policy Project (APP) on behalf of a client agency, nonprofit organization, or firm working in the public interest. Projects span: Education, Health, Environment, Energy, Transportation, International Issues, Sustainability, Social Policy, Employment and Labor, Urban Poverty, Human Rights, Science and Technology, Regional Development, Aging, Crime and Drug Abuse, and Arts and Culture.
2024 APP Honorees:
Applied Policy Project Clients
Client organizations needed. Organizations with a policy question can have a team of UCLA MPP students consult on the issue. A brochure is available with details for prospective client organizations.
Spring 2025 Class Schedule
Winter 2025 Class Schedule
Fall 2025 Class Schedule
Student-Initiated Courses
Any group of seven or more students may petition any faculty member to organize a new course to be offered during a subsequent term. The petition must be countersigned by:
The petition should be submitted to the Department’s manager. Following faculty review, final approval of the course resides with the Department Chair. Such approval will take into account the demand for courses that the faculty member would otherwise teach.
Student initiated courses can be student-led under faculty supervision (and numbered PUB PLC 297D), or may lead to special topics courses taught by faculty or visitors, resources permitting. Students may complete a maximum of two and apply up to eight units of the student-initiated (PUB PLC 297D) courses for credit during their degree program. All PUB PLC 297D courses are graded S/U, while special topics courses may be taken for a letter grade or S/U.
Faculty agreeing to supervise a student-initiated course are responsible for determining that the readings, topics, and assignments are appropriate in scope and scale to a graduate course in Public Policy. Faculty are expected to attend each of the class meetings, except by special arrangement (as with other courses that they teach), and are responsible for overseeing and approving the grading of assignments and the assignment of final grades.
MPP students are required to participate in a 400-hour field internship with a government agency, nonprofit, private firm, or other organization approved by their faculty advisor. The internship is traditionally completed during the summer, but many students complete all or part of the 400 hours during the academic year, or split hours across multiple organizations.
Specialized internship pathways:
Internship documentation:
Funding Resources:
UCLA Graduate Education Database
UCLA Graduate Education – Fellowships, Scholarships & Grants for Entering Students
Fellowships for International Students
PDST Fees (in progress)
“Funding Your Studies” Reference Guide
Orientation Presentation – “Graduate Student Resources & Funding Your Studies”
Public Policy Department Fellowships:
Teaching and Research Assistantships
Available to registered graduate students who meet criteria; up to 50% time appointments at Regents-approved rates.
“Academic Apprentice Personnel” is the term applied to registered graduate students who have fulfilled the University’s established criteria for appointment (no more than 50% time) to teaching or research assistantships, and for which they are compensated at rates approved annually by the Regents of the University of California. These apprenticeships are intended to provide qualified students with relevant training experience for academic and academic-related careers in teaching and research and to augment limited resources from within the University for graduate student support. As a matter of University policy, apprentice personnel in both the teaching and research series are considered primarily as students being professionally trained. Graduate students who are recipients of teaching and research assistantships must meet all registration and enrollment criteria established by the Graduate Division and the department. They must also maintain satisfactory progress throughout their appointments. Teaching assistants are selected on the basis of scholarship and promise as teachers and serve an apprenticeship under the tutelage and supervision of regular faculty members who are responsible for curriculum and instruction in the University. Research assistants are appointed to the title graduate student researcher (GSR), and are selected on the basis of scholastic achievement and promise as creative scholars and serve an apprenticeship under the direction and supervision of a faculty member.
Academic Apprentice Personnel Manual
Academic Apprentice Salary Scales
Current salary scale tables for teaching & research series, readers & special readers, and remedial tutors.
Fee Remission Benefits & Statement of Understanding
Summary of benefits, requirements for maintaining benefits, and acknowledgment statement.
Consistent with the University policy on nondiscrimination in all University-sponsored programs, all students may participate in any of the described clubs and organizations.
The Public Policy Leadership Association (PPLA) is a student organization representing and advocating for the interests of public policy students. The PPLA advances the mission to foster an accommodating, inclusive, and equitable learning environment for all UCLA MPP students. To further promote the interest of the students, the PPLA incorporates Public Policy administration and student leaders from different Luskin Caucus organizations. Every UCLA MPP student is a member of PPLA and is invited to attend and participate in PPLA events.
2025-26 PPLA Leadership:
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