The Master of Science in Data Science for Public Policy (DSPP) is a 39-credit degree program that combines the McCourt School’s renowned policy analysis curriculum with state-of-the-art, master’s-level data science courses. The program is designated STEM-eligible.
| Type of Degree | Format | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Master’s Degree | On-Campus, Full-time | 2 years |
Full-time Course Sequence
Full-time students complete the program in two years or 21 months by following this course sequence. Please note that all DSPP students must also fulfill an internship requirement.
Year 1
| Semester | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | McCourt Foundations | 0 |
| – | PPOL 5004 — Intermediate Microeconomics | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5006 / PPOL 5007 — The Politics of Policy-Making/Comparative Politics of Policy-Making | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5200 — Accelerated Stats for Public Policy I | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5203 — Data Science I: Foundations | 3 |
| Spring | PPOL 5201 — Accelerated Stats for Public Policy II | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5204 — Data Science II: Applied Statistical Learning | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5207 — Data Ethics | 1.5 |
| – | PPOL 5208 — Communication for Data Science | 1.5 |
Year 2
| Semester | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | PPOL 5202 — Data Visualization | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5205 — Data Science III: Advanced Modeling Techniques | 3 |
| – | Elective | 3 |
| Spring | PPOL 5008/5009 — Public Management/Mgmt. & Implementation in Dev. Countries | 3 |
| – | PPOL 5206 — Massive Data Fundamentals (or PPOL 6810, which is offered in Year Two: Fall Semester, then students can take an elective) | 3 |
| – | Elective | 3 |
Required Courses
Core Courses
The core courses emphasize analytical skills and core knowledge for designing and managing sound public policy.
Quantitative Social Sciences (6 credits)
- PPOL 5200 Accelerated Statistics for Public Policy I (3 credits)
- PPOL 5201 Accelerated Statistics for Public Policy II (3 credits)
Foundations of Public Policy (9 credits)
- PPOL 5004 Intermediate Microeconomics I (3 credits)
- PPOL 5006 The Politics of Policy-Making; or PPOL 5007 Comparative Politics of Policy-Making (3 credits)
- PPOL 5008 Public Management; or PPOL 5009 Mgmt. & Implementation in Dev. Countries (3 credits)
Civic Data Science (15 credits)
- PPOL 5202 Data Visualization (3 credits)
- PPOL 5203 Data Science I: Foundations (3 credits)
- PPOL 5204 Data Science II: Applied Statistical Learning (3 credits)
- PPOL 5205 Data Science III: Advanced Modeling Techniques (3 credits)
- PPOL 5206 Massive Data Fundamentals (3 credits) or PPOL 6810 Relational Database Sys & SQL (3 credits)
Ethics and Law (1.5 credits)
- PPOL 5207 Data Ethics (1.5 credits)
Communication (1.5 credits)
- PPOL 5208 Communication for Data Science (1.5 credits)
McCourt Foundations
McCourt Foundations is a mandatory course for all DSPP students that occurs prior to the start of their first fall semester. The course is designed to facilitate the transition to graduate school for incoming students by developing core leadership and communication skills and fostering equity-centered policy work. Led by McCourt faculty, staff and Leadership Fellows, the course builds the foundational skills and confidence necessary to design, implement and measure the effectiveness of policy, while introducing them to their new community. Students must attend all five days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with optional evening activities, and any student missing sessions will need to make up the course the following year.
Internship Requirement
All DSPP students are required to complete a formal internship with a minimum of 120 work hours. This can be completed at any point during the program. In the internship, you will:
- Increase your proficiency in specific public policy disciplines such as management, statistics, economics, data science, politics and policy-making.
- Apply quantitative, economic, data science and policy analysis concepts and theories to real-world decision-making.
- Develop and improve policy-making skills in communication, quantitative or qualitative reasoning, data or policy analysis and teamwork.
Students can waive the internship requirement based on prior work or internship experience. For more questions, please contact Assistant Director of Academic Affairs Alora Hasson
Electives
DSPP students will take the remaining six credits of elective coursework from any course offered within the McCourt School or the Graduate School’s Master of Science in Data Science & Analytics program. If you have prior coursework equivalent to core courses, you may be allowed to test out of or waive these courses and take electives in their place. Note that the total number of credits required for graduation does not change for students who test out of core courses. With permission, you can take electives in other Georgetown graduate programs and through the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Please contact Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Nirmala Fernandes at nf168@georgetown.edu for more information.
You may take additional electives, subject to the following Graduate School rules.
- Graduating students must have a 3.5 GPA or higher to be eligible to take additional credits in their final semester.
- Additional credits will be charged per credit to the student’s account.
Sample Elective Offerings
Please note that this is just a sample of recent elective offerings. This list is not exhaustive and the availability of courses varies.
U.S. Domestic Economic Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6206: Macroeconomics
- PPOL 6358: Poverty & The Social Safety Net
- PPOL 6212: Antitrust & Public Policy
Methods including courses such as:
- PPOL 6821: Applied Neural Networks
- PPOL 6805: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Applications in Program R
- PPOL 6801: Text As Data: Computational Linguistics
Technology Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6617: Innovation in Public Policy
- PPOL 6707: Disruption, Innovation & Technology
- PPOL 6814: Policy Issues of Big Data & AI
International Economic Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6250: International Financial Institutions
- PPOL 6251: International Trade Negotiations
- PPOL 6708: Global Hotspots
Development Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6252: Money/Finance in the Developing/Globalized World
- PPOL 6002: International Social Development Policy
- PPOL 6009: Monitoring & Evaluation for Development Programs
Political Strategy and Governance including courses such as:
- PPOL 6620: Politics Is a Contact Sport: Practical Policy Making
- PPOL 6600: The Press & the Presidency
- PPOL 6605: Policy, Politics & the Media
Racial Equity and Social Justice including courses such as:
- PPOL 6612: Philanthropy, Power & Impact
- PPOL 4901: Faith, Race & Politics
- PPOL 6355: Race & US Criminal Legal Policy
Education Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6304: Current Topics in Education Policy
- PPOL 6301: Education Finance Policy
- PPOL 6302: K-12 Ed Policy Implementation
Environmental & Regulatory Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6621: Emergency Disaster Management in the US
- PPOL 6403: Natural Resources & Energy Policy
- PPOL 6404: Climate Change Policy
Health Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6501: Health Policy & Politics
- PPOL 6351: The Policy And Politics Of Entitlements
- PPOL 6500: Health Care Quality: Recent Policy Issues
Homeland Security Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6705: National Sec. Policy: Strat. & Dec. Making
- PPOL 6703: Capacity Building/Counter-terrorism
- PPOL 6704: Cyber Conflict and National Security Policy
Management & Leadership including courses such as:
- PPOL 6619: Leadership and Problem Solving in the Digital Age
- PPOL 6603: Women and Leadership
- PPOL 6612: Philanthropy: Power, Politics, Impact
Public Management including courses such as:
- PPOL 6621: Emergency Disaster Management in the US
- PPOL 5312: Public Leadership
- PPOL 6608: Risk Management
Social Policy including courses such as:
- PPOL 6361: Disability, Justice, Equity & Policy
- PPOL 6351: Policy/Politics of Entitlements
- PPOL 6354: The War on Drugs: Causes, Consequences and Alternatives
McCourt’s Foundational Skill Set
McCourt’s Curriculum Innovation Committee has developed a set of core competencies based on extensive research and outreach for all of our degree programs. By integrating these core competencies across our academic offerings, all McCourt students graduate with these foundational skills:
- Collaboration
- Critical Thinking
- Economic Analysis
- Engaging with Bias
- Ethical Leadership and Management
- Evaluation
- Policy Analysis
- Political Analysis
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Strategic Communication
Data Science in Action Seminars
The DSPP program offers extensive extracurricular learning opportunities, such as our Data Science in Action seminars, which are held approximately once per month. These sessions allow students to interact with leading experts applying data science to policy challenges. Past speakers include:
- Katie Kaufman, Senior Data Architect, Palantir
- Elaine Sedenberg, Manager of Global Affairs at Meta
- Dan Rosenbaum, Supervisory Economist, IRS and former Senior Director Analytics for the Detroit Pistons
- Maximilian Hell, Senior Data Scientist, Code for America
- Ben Jaques-Leslie, Program Evaluator, US Office of Personnel Management