Joint Master’s degree programs enable students to complete two degrees simultaneously. A dual degree expands career opportunities, often providing a unique set of skills and experiences.
Within the public policy program, the Bloustein School offers joint degrees with both the urban planning and public informatics master’s programs, as well as an accelerated option for exemplary undergraduates. Dual degree programs are also offered in conjunction with other schools and departments at Rutgers University, including business, law, social work, global affairs, and public health.
The scheduled time frame for the completion of a joint Master’s degree is usually shorter than what it would be to complete both degrees individually. In almost all cases, students must apply and be accepted to each degree program independently. Typically, dual degree programs are completed as part of full-time study.
Allied with Public Policy is the school-wide PhD program, which focuses on the preparation of planning- and policy-focused scholars who will teach and conduct research.
In addition, the following dual degrees are offered:
Combining the Bloustein School’s Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) leads to a three-year dual degree option. Students are accepted independently to both graduate programs after providing a separate application to each, but share concentrations, course electives, and requirements.
The three year, 72 credit dual degree program is a saving of 24 credits compared to earning the 48-credit MCRP and the 48-credit MPP degrees separately. Students are required to take four methods courses, spanning the core courses in both programs. The required methods courses are Basic Quantitative Methods, Research Design, Planning Methods, and Applied Multivariate Methods. If a student places out of Basic Quantitative Methods, they must take another methods course to complete the 12 credits. Methods courses beyond the 12 minimum credits are permitted and count as electives or concentration courses.
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Combining the Bloustein School’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Public Informatics (MPI) leads to a three-year dual degree option for program and potential applicants. Admission to the dual MPP/MPI degree program is highly selective and requires simultaneous, separate applications to and acceptance by each program. A total of 60 credits must be completed in a minimum of two and a half years of full-time study.
The MPP degree requires a set of core, concentration and elective courses. The list of core, concentration, and elective courses for the MPP degree may be found here. Dual degree students starting in the MPP must complete 12 MPI-eligible credits beyond their 48-credit requirement for the MPP, totaling 60 credits.
The MPI degree requires 30 credits of core courses and 6 credits of electives. Dual degree students starting in the MPI must complete 24 MPP-eligible credits beyond their 36-credit requirement for the MPI degree, totaling 60 credits.
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The dual degree program MSW/MPP offers students the opportunity to develop advanced policy practice skills with a focus on social justice and social welfare policy. It complements and enhances both the School of Social Work’s MSW program and the Bloustein School’s MPP program by contributing to specialized knowledge and practice skills and supporting expanded career opportunities for students. The program strongly matches the overall mission of Rutgers University in meeting the educational and training needs of NJ citizens.
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The Rutgers Law Schools at Camden and Newark and the Bloustein School offer a dual-degree program designed for students who are interested in law, politics, and public policy.
The three and one-half year program leads to a dual master of public affairs and politics/Juris Doctor (MPAP/JD) degree. This program includes two and one-half years in Camden or Newark studying law and one year at the Bloustein School on the New Brunswick Campus studying politics and public policy.
Students usually begin the program with the law school curriculum, completing two years of law school and one year in public policy before returning for one-half year in law school. This plan requires students to apply to the public policy program in February of their second year of law school.
Courses required during the year at the Bloustein School include public policy formation, methods, and economics. The law school will transfer 12 credits or four required courses in the public policy program toward the J.D. degree.
Students are eligible for financial aid for the year they are in residence at the Bloustein School. Awarded on a competitive basis and according to a student’s needs, financial aid can include tuition, tuition and stipends, or just a stipend.
To be considered for the dual degree program, students must apply to the Bloustein School’s Public Policy Program in New Brunswick and be accepted to the School of Law at Camden or Newark. Students should submit their full applications by January 15 (for financial support consideration). The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) will be accepted in place of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
A total of 60 credits are needed for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and 48 credits* for the MPP. However, since each program accepts 12 credits from the other toward its degree, students only take 48 credits with RBS and 36 credits with the Bloustein School.
MPP Core Courses
- Marketing Research (RBS) (22:630:604) – 3 credits
- Public Policy Formation (34:833:510) – 3 credits
- Applied Multivariate Methods (34:833:525) – 3 credits
- Policy Research Practicum (34:833:640) – 6 credits
- Applied Field Experience (34:833:673) – 3 credits
* An approved economics, budgeting, and management course at RBS must each be taken (3, 3, 3 credits)
Dual-degree students take 18 credits (or 21) in the core, and complete another 15 (or 12) credits of electives (depending on how Regression Analysis is completed). Nine of these remaining credits must constitute a substantive specialization in public policy, selected from among the following options:
- Community Development
- Economics
- Education
- Environment
- Health
- Labor and Workforce
- Management
- Methods
- Political Processes and Institutions
- Social Policy and Women’s Issues
Courses applied to the specialization are chosen with the consultation of the student’s adviser, who directs that specialization, and the program director.
MPP Concentrations
Students must demonstrate basic competency in the concentration by achieving a B+ average or better. Courses offered toward the concentration may be drawn from offerings within the public policy program or Rutgers generally, with the permission of the adviser and the program director. Students may also perform an independent study, usually with the adviser for the concentration, as part of the concentration. Note: the MPP concentrations in applied economics and policy analysis or management are not permitted for the dual degrees.
Schedule
- Year 1: Full-time study with RBS
- Summer 1: RBS internship (private sector)
- Year 2: Full-time study with the Bloustein School
- Summer 2: Public Policy Applied Field Experience (public sector)
- Year 3: Mix of courses in the Business School and Bloustein as needed
Students may reduce the third year load by taking additional classes in year two or by taking additional summer courses.
Individually, a total of 40 credits are needed for the Master of Science and 48 credits for the MPP. Students are able to complete the dual degree MPP/MS with 70 total credits—a minimum of 34 credits offered by the Graduate School-Newark, Division of Global Affairs (DGA) towards the MS degree and a minimum of 36 credits offered by the Bloustein School towards the MPP degree—and a language requirement. This dual degree program may be completed in six full-time semesters.
The Bloustein School would accept the DGA internship as its Applied Field Experience and the specialization courses to fulfill the concentration requirement for the MPP. DGA would accept the Bloustein methodology course to fulfill its Methods requirement and give credit for one Bloustein elective. Students would be required to take all other courses required for the MPP and for the MS in Global Affairs.
Required for MS—40 credits
Language requirement—Students must demonstrate both reading and writing knowledge of at least one modern language other than English.
MS Core Courses—18 credits—One course in six of the following nine areas:
- 26:478:537 Global Governance—3 credits
- 26:478:541 / 26:553:607 Global Political Economy—3 credits
- 26:478:572 / 26:510:543 Evolution of the Global System—3 credits
- 26:220:518 International Economics I—3 credits or
26:220:512 / 26:478:510 Fundamentals of Economics in Global Affairs—3 credits or
34:833:543 Economics and Public Policy—3 credits
(DGA will accept a Bloustein course for this core) - 26:478:598 / 26:070:598 Genocide—3 credits or
26:478:585 / 26:920:585 Social Movements and Globalization—3 credits - 26:478:504 International Law—3 credits or
26:478:525 International Legitimacy and Global Justice—3 credits or
26:600:638 International Law and World Order—3 credits - 26:478:538 Global Environmental Issues—3 credits or
34:970:618 Environmental Planning & Management—3 credits or
34:833:619 Environmental Economics and Policy—3 credits
(DGA will accept Bloustein courses for this core) - 26:533:602 / 26:478:597 International Business—3 credits or
26:478:589 / 26:533:601 History of International Business - 26:478:514 Ethics and Global Affairs
Colloquium—2,2 credits—26:478:570, 571 Two semesters are required; however students are encouraged to attend additional colloquia on a noncredit, non-registered basis.
Methods—(3 credits)—Qualitative or quantitative courses may apply. Masters students are encouraged, but not required, to take additional methodology courses within their elective credits; this will be accomplished through this dual degree program. (DGA will accept Bloustein Methodology courses)
Specialization—9 credits—At least 3 approved graduate courses in one of the five areas listed below:
- Conflict and Human Rights
- Global Business and Economics
- Global Governance
- Human and Environmental Security
- Global Policy
Electives—6 credits—These credits must be fulfilled by:
- Internship—3 credits—must be approved by Director of DGA but Bloustein applied field experience will be accepted
- Courses require departmental approval—3 credits—DGA will accept a Bloustein course
Required for MPP—48 credits
MPP Core Courses—12 credits—At least one course in each of the following areas:
- 34:833:510 Public Policy Formation—3 credits
- 34:833:543 Economics for Public Policy—3 credits
- 34:833:570 Non-profit Management—3 credits or
34:833:571 Public Management—3 credits or
34:833:681 Managing People and Organizations - 34:833:540 State and Local Public Finance—3 credits or
34:833:567 Budgeting and Public Policy—3 credits or
34:833:xxx Non-Profit and Community Development Finance
Methods—9 credits
- 34:833:530 Methods I: Research Design—3 credits
- 34:833:521 Basic Quantitative Methods—3 credits
- 34:833:525 Applied Multivariate Methods—3 credits
Applied Field Experience—3 credits—34:833:673 Applied Field Experience
Policy Research Practicum I, II—6 credits (3 credits each)—34:833:640, 641
Concentration—9 credits—At least 3 approved graduate courses in one of the four areas listed below:
- Budget and Finance
- Community Development
- Economics
- Education
- Environment
- Health
- Labor and Workforce
- Management
- Methods
- Non-Profit Management
- Political Processes and Institutions
- Social Policy and Women’s Issues
Electives—9 credits—Courses require departmental approval
Combining the MPP at the Bloustein School and the Master of Public Health (MPH) at the Rutgers School of Public Health leads to a three-year, 69-credit dual-degree option. Note that this is a savings of 24 credits compared to earning the 48 credit MPP and the 45 credit MPH degrees separately.
Students are accepted independently to both graduate programs after providing a separate application to each, but share concentrations, course electives, and requirements.
Required for MPH—33 credits
For the MPH degree, students are required to complete 15 credits of Rutgers School of Public Health core courses, 15 credits of Department of Health Systems and Policy required courses, 3 credits of electives, and 6 credits of Fieldwork. Up to 6 credits of MPP courses will fulfill Rutgers School of Public Health electives. MPP courses must have a grade of B or better in order to transfer. The student’s Department of Health Systems and Policy faculty advisor serves as a co-advisor with the Bloustein School faculty advisor for Fieldwork. Visit the MPH degree webpage or the Department of Health Systems and Policy’s webpage for more information about the MPH curriculum.
Required for MPP—39 credits
For the MPP degree, students are required to complete 21 credits of required coursework and 18 elective credits. The Bloustein School accepts two MPH courses, Introduction to Biostatistics and Health Services Research and Evaluation in lieu of the required Research Design and Basic Quantitative Methods courses (6 credits) for the MPP. The Bloustein School also accepts 3 credits of Fieldwork II in lieu of the Applied Field Experience course required for the MPP. However, the student needs to meet all of the requirements of the Applied Field Experience when completing the Rutgers School of Public Health Fieldwork course.
Electives
Students are required to take elective courses approved by both their Bloustein School and Rutgers School of Public Health faculty advisors. For the MPP, students are required to take 18 credits of electives. (A minimum of 9 credits of electives must be fulfilled with Bloustein courses; if more than 9 credits of electives are taken at Bloustein then the total number of credits for this dual-degree program may be more than the minimum of 69 credits.). For the MPH, students are required to take 9 credits of electives (6 of these 9 credits may be fulfilled with Bloustein courses approved by the Rutgers School of Public Health faculty advisor).
BA or BS / Master of Public Policy (3-1-1) Program Dual-Degree Program
The Bloustein School, in cooperation with the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, offers a joint program that enables students to earn the bachelor of arts or science and the Master of Public Policy degrees in five years of full-time enrollment rather than the normal six. This (3-1-1) five-year program gives exemplary students the opportunity to complete their liberal arts education while preparing for a career in public policy.
During the first three years of their undergraduate education, students will complete most of their major and general studies requirements. They may apply for admission to the joint program in February of their third year. Admitted students will be allowed to take up to 18 graduate credits in the Public Policy Program over the course of their senior year of undergraduate study. The graduate credits will be applied toward both the bachelor’s and MPP degrees. Upon completion of the BA or BS degree, students will automatically matriculate into the graduate program with advanced standing.
In the summer after graduation, students must participate in an applied field experience (internship) at a public agency, nonprofit organization, or private firm working on public issues. Students receive three (3) graduate credits for the internship. During their fifth year, students will complete their graduate studies and, upon fulfilling all requirements, receive the MPP degree.
Advantages of the Five Year Program
During their senior year, students receive the benefit of undergraduate tuition rates while taking graduate courses, thus reducing the cost of the two degrees. Graduates with MPP degrees work in important and varied positions in the field of public policy, including the staffs of several governors, members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate, state legislatures, and federal and state executive agencies. Many graduates also work in the private sector, including policy think tanks, business, finance, and non-profit organizations.
Admission
The joint program is competitive and highly selective. Successful applicants for admission will have a GPA of 3.5 or more, strong GRE scores, a dedication to public service, and outstanding recommendations. Interested students who fulfill the above qualifications should contact the Office of Student and Academic Services to discuss the program and the application process.
The application requires transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, GRE scores and a résumé. Your online application should indicate the BA or BS / MPP Program.