Building on the core MPA curriculum, students can tailor their Watson MPA program of study to their interests through their elective coursework. We offer several specialization routes aligned with key policy areas, and areas of particular strength at The Watson Institute. Four of these specializations are tracks that are notated on students' transcripts. If preferred, students may instead customize a specialization through a combination of electives drawn from across Brown, tailored to their policy interests, academic curiosity, or professional goals.
Named MPA Tracks
MPA students have the option to pursue one of four named MPA Tracks recognizing areas of particular strength at the Watson Institute which will be recognized on the students’ transcript on successful completion of their MPA degree.
Students will be required to complete at least three credits from among the MPA courses designated for each Track with a grade of “B” or higher in each completed course to qualify for notation of the specialization on their transcript. In each specialization, at least one required class counts toward this requirement. All courses contributing to recognized specializations will be MPA-coded courses, and the list may include some courses double-listed with other departments at Brown. Available classes may change on a year-to-year basis, and the academic advising staff of the MPA program will inform students of their options accordingly.
MPA Custom Specialization
Outside of the designed MPA Tracks below, students can utilize the flexibility of MPA elective choices to create and pursue their own custom specialization. This has historically been the most popular option and allows MPA students to use their elective coursework to assemble a wide array of combinations of subject-area knowledge and skills training to support their intended professional trajectories. Examples of ways in which MPA students have pursued the custom specialization approach include:
- To create a cross-functional toolkit for impactful leadership pathways in public affairs (e.g. by combining a leadership class, a budgeting class, and a stakeholder engagement or strategic communication class)
- To pursue deeper subject-area expertise in an intended area of public affairs practice (e.g. education policy, climate policy, economic policy)
- To combine research methods training in adjacent disciplines with subject matter knowledge or public affairs skills training (e.g. qualitative research and stakeholder engagement)
Custom specializations do not carry Transcript Notation and may include classes outside of the MPA, in consultation with students’ primary program advisor. Further guidance is laid out in our program handbook.