April 22, 2005
Contact: Linda Valenty
Cal Poly Political Science
(805) 756-2919
Cal Poly’s New Master of Public Policy Program Accepting
Applications;
Informational Meeting Set for April 28
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The new Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo is currently accepting applications for fall quarter 2005.
An informational meeting will be held in San Luis Obispo from 4
to 5 p.m. Thursday,
April 28. Faculty members will be on hand to answer questions and
provide information.
The MPP program is designed for graduate students interested in acquiring skills in policy analysis, public management, policy research and research design. The program offers specializations in environmental policy, health policy, education, economics, agribusiness, technology and methodology, among others.
To accommodate working students, MPP courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening. The program is designed to be completed in two years, however, students may take courses at a pace suitable to their schedules, completing a degree in one-and-a-half to seven years. Class sizes will be small, with about 15-20 graduate students per seminar.
The MPP degree is becoming increasingly valuable to public, private and nonprofit employers, according to Linda Valenty, acting executive director of the new Institute of Policy Research at Cal Poly and director of the MPP program.
Core courses include policymaking, policy analysis, public finance, applied statistics, quantitative methodology, applied research design, the graduate research seminar, and the policy internship. Students choose their elective courses with the intent of developing a specific area of expertise. Cal Poly has a variety of excellent graduate level courses to choose from, including courses in business, science, education, environmental policy, city and regional planning, and economics, Valenty said.
Cal Poly MPP graduate students will have the chance to apply for internships through the university's new Institute for Public Policy Research. The institute funds faculty and student research on policy issues. "The internships will give students the chance to work on 'real world' policy formation, implementation and analysis," Valenty said.
"We are also looking forward to hiring graduate students from the Master of Public Policy program to serve as research interns and to join policy research teams within the Institute of Policy Research at Cal Poly. This is a unique opportunity to train graduate students and provide research services to local and state government." Valenty said.
For more information, plan to attend the April 28 information meeting in Suite 200 in the Morgan Stanley Building, 755 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo. Light refreshments will be served.
Those who can't attend the meeting may call the Political Science Department at (805) 756-2984 or Professor Valenty at 756-2919, or go online to www.cla.calpoly.edu/mpp for more information.
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