College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > School of Public Service > Combined Degree Programs > Public Policy BA/MPP

Bachelor's/Master's in Public Policy

Applied Diplomacy

​The combined Bachelor's + Master's degree programs allow students to complete 12 graduate credit hours while still undergraduates. These 12 graduate credit hours will count toward both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

​​​DePaul Undergraduate Degree + Public Policy (MPP)

The Masters in Public Policy (MPP) prepares students interested in public policy to serve the common good and advance a just society, in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul. The MPP degree develops effective leaders in nonprofit and government professions. Students will develop public policy and leadership skills through the School of Public Service curriculum, which stresses ethics, problem-solving and research skills, and the ability to implement public policy. 

The combined degree program option is intended for selected students for whom the master’s degree is the preferred preparation for their career goals, or is viewed as additional preparation before pursuing a doctoral or law degree. The combined Bachelors/MPP program shortens the time to completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees by and costs less in tuition than pursuing the two degrees sequentially.  

Combined program students take three MPP courses during their senior year, typically one per quarter, which double-count for both the bachelor’s and the master’s degrees. Placement of the successfully completed MPP courses either as open electives or as major field electives resides with the College hosting the specific Bachelor’s degree program. After the bachelor’s degree is awarded the three courses are credited toward the requirements of the MPP degree program as well.  

Participants in the combined MPP program pay the current tuition rate applicable to their undergraduate program for any courses counted toward the requirements of both their bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Participants will be eligible for the current Double Demon Discount for the remainder of their graduate coursework.

Through the combined Bachelors/MPP program, the student is responsible for working with both their undergraduate advisor to manage their undergraduate degree progress, while also working with the SPS academic advisor (SPSAdvising@depaul.edu) to plan a graduate program of study that includes the MPP courses as open electives or major field electives. Undergraduates are advised to meet a faculty member once per quarter during their senior year as an undergraduate to ensure that they are on track to graduate and transition into the master’s program. They also must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in their graduate-level courses in order to matriculate into the graduate program.

Click on DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for descriptions of the required MPP coursework.​​

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