The mission of the MPA program is to cultivate and elevate future global leaders to address pressing societal challenges. The program accomplishes this mission through a rigorous curriculum anchored in such areas as quantitative methods, management and leadership, and policy analysis. MPA students can pursue specializations in one of these areas or design a specialization of their own. Students may also participate in a bevy of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, such as research fellowships, professional development workshops, and talks on salient topics in international affairs and public leadership. The program prepares students to be public policy leaders, analysts, and advocates in government, the nonprofit, and private sectors in the U.S. and abroad. 

The MPA curriculum also requires students to complete The Policy-in-Action Project, a hands-on experience analyzing a policy issue with a client in the nonprofit, public, or private sector, resulting in a final professional deliverable. Overall, classes in the MPA curriculum help students develop core skills necessary for effective leadership in public affairs. These include: 

The MPA curriculum will equip students with skills that include:

• Quantitative analysis
• Inclusive leadership
• Strategic communication
• Policy analysis
• Global policy design and delivery
• Policy writing
• Data management
• Project management
• Public budgeting
• Negotiation