Tracks and Specializations

Choose from several specialization approaches through your elective coursework.

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. 

Four MPA Tracks:

How do we know when a public policy, government program, or a public organization is working? What data, information, or evidence can we leverage? What analytical methods, tools, languages, or software can we deploy to investigate correlations or identify causal relationships? When does it make sense to use one analytical tool or another? The Data and Policy Analysis specialization prepares MPA students to answer such important questions for government, nonprofit, or for-profit organizations. 


The courses below introduce students to a variety of programming languages, packages, and environments for analyzing data, such as R, Python, Stata, and SQL. Students also gain hands-on, practical experience with data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and reporting. Finally, students develop knowledge of multiple statistical and econometric tools, and the theoretical foundations of different model specifications. 
 

Courses that count toward this specialization: 

  • Statistics for Public Policy (0.5 credits)
  • Economics for Public Policy (0.5 credits)
  • Economics of Government Intervention (0.5 credits)
  • Statistics for Program Evaluation (0.5 credits)
  • Introduction to Data Science and Programming (1 credit)
  • GIS and Public Policy (1 credit)

Age. Caste. Disability. Education. Gender. Income. Race. Religion. Sexual Orientation. Let’s face it: inequity is a fact of life around the world today, along these and many other dimensions. How do we measure inequality? How do we explain it? How can we eradicate it? The courses in the Inequity and Public Policy specialization help MPA students identify inequity in its many forms and venues; determine how, when, and why inequity materializes; understand how public policy can contribute to inequities; and strategize ways to address inequality using the instruments of public policy where appropriate. 

Courses that count toward this specialization: 

  • Race and Public Policy (1 credit)
  • Women and Nations (1 credit)
  • Policy Problems of the 21st Century: Social Policy (1 credit)*
  • Policy Problems of the 21st Century: State Law, Policy, and Advocacy (1 credit)*

 

Peace and security are noble goals, but they are often elusive. What factors tend to promote peace and security? What factors tend to undermine them? What happens when the opposite of peace and security prevail? 

Courses in this specialization examine the foundations of and challenges to security in domestic and international contexts. They also examine how insecurity affects different political and social outcomes, including inequality, migration, and public health, and ways to foster peace and improve conditions that insecurity creates. Students who pursue this specialization will have the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s foremost academics and practitioners about topics like the use of digital technologies to achieve peace, how women leaders navigate conflict, the complicated history of humanitarian assistance, and leading practices for managing public health crises. 

Courses that count toward this specialization: 

  • Policy Problems of the 21st Century: Digital Peacebuilding (1 credit)
  • Women and Nations (1 credit)
  • Lessons (Un)Learned in Public Health and Humanitarian Response: A Historical Perspective (cross- or double-listing with School of Public Health) (1 credit)
  • Pandemic Game Changers: Preparing the Next Generation of Decision-Makers for Emerging Bio Threats (cross- or double-listing with School of Public Health) (1 credit)

The Public Leadership and Management specialization prepares MPA students to manage and lead complex organizations in government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors. Students are introduced to a variety of applied skills, including strategic communication, budget management, project management, inclusive leadership, and negotiation.

Courses that count toward this specialization: 

  • Public Budgeting and Management  (1 credit)
  • Principles and Practices of Stakeholder Engagement   (1 credit)
  • Leading for Impact  (1 credit)
  • Strategic Communication  (1 credit)
  • Management and Implementation in Public and Non-Profit Organizations  (1 credit)