MPP/PhD in Psychology
Master in Public Policy/PhD in Psychology
The McCourt School and the Department of Psychology offer a dual MPP/PhD in Psychology through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This 48-credit program provides an interdisciplinary education in the sciences that concern themselves with the processes and contexts of development across the lifespan. It is explicitly designed to offer students rigorous training in the range of theories and methods that characterize the developmental sciences and enable them to place the study of development into the broader contexts – biological, familial, social, cultural, economic, historical, political – from which the field draws its societal applications. The program will prepare students for an array of post-degree positions in institutions of higher education, research institutes, government agencies and other policy settings, medical settings, and nonprofit organizations. Conducting high-quality empirical research that makes a contribution to both scientific understanding and human welfare is an overarching theme of this dual degree program.
Students interested in applying to the MPP/PhD in Psychology Program should complete and submit both the MPP and Psychology applications to the respective programs. For more information on the PhD in Psychology, please contact the Department of Psychology.
Although there is some flexibility in order to accommodate students’ specific professional and academic goals, students enrolled in the dual MPP/PhD in Psychology program typically pursue the following course of study:
Typical Course of Study
YEAR ONE
Fall Semester (12 credits)
- PPOL 5004, Intermediate Microeconomics
- PPOL 5000, Statistical Methods for Policy Analysis
- PPOL 5006/5007, The Politics of Policy-Making/Comparative Politics of Policy-Making
- PSYC 5001, Lifespan Development
- PPOL 5001, Regression Methods for Policy Analysis
- PPOL 5005, Microeconomics II
- PPOL 5008/5009, Public Management/Comparative Public Management
- PSYC 4810, Child & Fam Policy (3 credits) (or similar)
- PPOL 5002, Advanced Regression and Program Evaluation Methods
- PPOL 5011/5013, Policy Analysis Capstone I/Thesis Workshop I
- PSYC 5002, Human Development in Context (3 credits)
- Elective
- PPOL 5012/5014, Policy Analysis Capstone II/Thesis Workshop II
- PPOL 5010, Ethics, Values and Public Policy
- Electives (6 credits)
- Thesis Research
- Thesis Research
Spring Semester (12 credits)
YEAR TWO
Fall Semester (12 credits)
Spring Semester (12 credits)
YEAR THREE
Fall Semester (0 credits)
Spring Semester (0 credits)