Acquire the Tools You Need to Make an Impact
Heinz College is a public policy school like no other. That’s because we're so much more than a policy school.
To tackle society’s most complex problems, you need a firm understanding of policy, but also the technological and analytical foundations to create the right solutions—and the management prowess to deploy those solutions for maximum impact. The Master of Science in Public Policy & Management (MSPPM) program at Heinz College gives you skills that simply cannot be matched by any other school of public policy, school of management, or school offering purely technical training.
Policy. Technology. Management. Heinz College is the only place to get all three.
Heinz skills you in these areas by expanding your education outside the confines of the classroom. Many of our classes feature an experiential component. Team-based Capstone projects challenge you to solve a problem for a real-world client. And only at Heinz can you find opportunities like the Policy Innovation Lab and Hacking for Homeland Security.
The MSPPM program is available in four distinct pathways—our flagship two-year and three-semester programs in Pittsburgh, our award-winning Data Analytics program, and our Washington D.C. option for those seeking an immersion in policy analysis in our nation’s capital. Regardless of the path you choose, our MSPPM program builds well-rounded thinkers prepared to change the world at the nexus of people, policy, and technology. You will emerge a leader with the ability to convert data into evidence-based action for a better world.
Read our articles and stories about Heinz College's impact in public policy and policy analytics
Some of the world’s greatest challenges that our faculty and students are working to solve include:
Clarissa Paz fell in love with Geographic Information Systems upon arriving at Heinz College and cherished the opportunity to work with Professor Kristen Kurland, a GIS expert.
Maria Ibarra is from the Rio Grande Valley. As a "Dreamer" from a low-income single-parent household, she knows how policy impacts people and is fighting for change.
Our faculty are innovators who solve emerging problems at the nexus of technology and society.
Our flagship two-year public policy and management program
Our flagship two-year public policy and management program in Pittsburgh. The traditional two-year MSPPM experience offers you a challenging policy, management, and technical curriculum.
An intensive public policy analytics curriculum, training you to turn raw data into solutions for society's most pressing problems (STEM)
This Pittsburgh-based program is our most quantitatively intensive MSPPM pathway. Solve complex policy issues with the leading edge in analytic skills. MSPPM: Data Analytics is a STEM-designated degree program.
Experience that earns you a seat at the table, completing your second year while working in Washington, D.C.
For students with their sights set on public service roles in D.C. Spend the second year of your MSPPM living and working in our nation’s capital, building your network and mastering policy analysis.
A faster, three-semester MSPPM path for experienced professionals
This Pittsburgh-based pathway includes most elements from our standard MSPPM: Pittsburgh program in a shortened three-semester format for students with significant work experience.
Explore dual degree partnerships
Explore dual degree options with Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
Earn your bachelor's and MSPPM in five years instead of six
Students in undergraduate programs at Carnegie Mellon, Allegheny College, Bethany College, Chatham University, and Messiah College can earn their bachelor’s and MSPPM degrees together in five years instead of six.
Spend a semester abroad in Italy, Mexico, or the Netherlands
The MSPPM program has exchange partnerships with the University of Bocconi School of Management (Milan), CIDE (Mexico City), and Delft University of Technology.
