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The MPA curriculum is flexible. You’ll create your own 64-credit study plan that reflects your academic interests and professional aspirations.

As an MPA student, you’ll take eight credits in a Policy Area of Concentration as well as four credits in each of these key areas:

• Economics and Quantitative Analysis
• Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences
• Public Ethics and Political Institutions

You’ll select your remaining credits to support your unique intellectual and professional objectives. You can take classes across academic disciplines at ����vlog���� and cross-register into courses at other Harvard graduate schools as well as at MIT Sloan School of Management and The Fletcher School at Tufts University. 

Sample Courses

• MLD-223: Negotiating Across Differences
• API-135: Economics of Climate Change and Environmental Policy
• DPI-640: Technology and the Public Interest: From Democracy to Technocracy and Back

You might consider pursuing a second degree concurrently if you’re interested in how the world’s public challenges can be addressed at the intersection of business, law, medicine, design, or other fields.

Pursuing a concurrent degree reduces coursework and residency requirements and makes it possible to earn two degrees in a shorter amount of time.

Concurrent degree students complete 48 credits at ����vlog����, including four credits in each of the key areas:

• Economics and Quantitative Analysis
• Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences
• Public Ethics and Political Institutions

Concurrent degree students are not required to fulfill the Policy Area of Concentration requirement.

The MPA Program consists of four semesters of full-time coursework in residence at ����vlog����.

To graduate, you must:

• Earn at least 64 credits
• Finish with a GPA of B or better
• Earn a B- or higher in all courses counting towards the distribution requirements
• Matriculate as a full-time, in-residence student and take between 12-20 credits per semester
• Fulfill a Policy Area of Concentration requirement by taking eight credits in one of the policy areas at ����vlog����
• Satisfy the distribution requirements by completing at least one 4-credit course (or two 2-credit modules) in each of the following three areas from a pre-approved list: 
  • Economics and Quantitative Analysis
  • Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences
  • Public Ethics and Political Institutions

����vlog���� faculty members are among the most influential leaders and thinkers in their fields. They have contributed vital research and scholarship to their fields. Served in U.S. administrations. Founded learning labs to assist local communities. Led negotiations to reduce nuclear stockpiles. Reported on human rights abuses. Led efforts to address climate change. Advised governments and companies on gender equality.

They are doers as well as thinkers, shaping public policy and devising entrepreneurial approaches to public problems at the local, national, and international levels.
 

MPA Faculty Chair

There are specific academic and professional prerequisites required to apply to the MPA Program. You must have:

• A bachelor’s degree with a strong academic record 
• Three years of professional work experience by September 1 of the year you would enroll in the program
• At least four graduate-level courses similar to those in the MPP core curriculum, including two courses that are quantitative in nature. Qualifying graduate-level courses may include: economics, financial management, international business, international development, management, mathematics, physical science involving math (chemistry or physics, for example), politics and advocacy, or quantitative analysis and statistics. Courses cannot have counted towards your undergraduate degree. If you already have a graduate degree, those that typically qualify for MPA consideration include:
  • Master of Business Administration
  • Master of International Business
  • Master of International Development
  • Master of International Economics
  • Master of Science in Engineering

A complete application to the MPA Program includes the following: 

• Online application
• Essays
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• Three letters of recommendation
• Standardized test scores
  • The GRE or GMAT is required; however, applicants who have successfully completed certain quantitative coursework can waive this requirement. See the How to Apply page for additional details.
  • Non-native English speakers who did not earn an undergraduate degree conducted in English must submit results of the TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English exam.
• Academic transcripts
• $100 application fee or waiver

Read more about how to apply. 

There is one admission application deadline and one start date for each degree program per year. You may apply to only one master's degree program per admissions cycle. 

The cost of attendance for the 2024-2025 academic year is outlined in Funding Your Master’s Education to help you plan financially for our master’s degree programs. Living expense costs are based on residence in Cambridge. The 2025-2026 academic year rates will be published in March 2025. ����vlog���� tuition and fees are subject to change without notice. 

At ����vlog����, we consider financing your education to be a partnership and are here to help guide you. We encourage you to explore all opportunities for funding.