General Guidelines

Since MPP students' backgrounds, goals, and life circumstances differ so widely, no one course roadmap is ideal for everyone. There are, however, several important guidelines for structuring your course schedules over time:

For many reasons, students should take their core courses (610/611, 620, 640, 641/670, 650/698x/698x, 711) as soon as possible. Many of these courses serve as formal prerequisites, or provide helpful tools, for the other courses! . You also don't want to find yourself unable to graduate on schedule because you still need to take a core course at the only time a required specialization course is offered. Finally, to provide a common ground for comparison, second year (and later) fellowship and graduate assistantship decisions are heavily weighted toward students' performance in their core courses, including the number of core courses completed.

1. Within the core courses, most students will be better off taking 610/611, 620, 640 and 650/698x/698x first since they tend to underpin more of the later courses. Students with an international focus though may want to give higher priority to 641, while students in one of the MFL specializations may want to give higher priority to 670 and 711.
   
2. Since many students are more comfortable with either the more quantitative (610/611, 640, 641/670) or more qualitative (620, 650, 698x/698x, 711) courses, it is often wise to keep a balance of such courses. Otherwise, you may find yourself forced in later semesters to take a preponderance of whatever type of courses you find most difficult.
   
3. After the core courses, the required courses in your specialization should be your next priority. Again, many of the required specialization courses serve as formal prerequisites, or provide helpful tools, for the other specialization courses, and you don't want to find yourself unable to graduate on schedule because you still need to take a required specialized course that isn't being offered in what you hoped would be your last semester.
   
4. Other than the core courses and a few required specialization courses, most courses in the School are only offered once a year. It is thus wise to note which of your classes will have to be taken in specific semesters, and then schedule courses offered in multiple semesters around them.
   
5. Since instructors take sabbaticals and other forms of leave, try to take any courses from preferred instructors as soon as possible.

Below is a roadmap for a number of the specializations in the School that reflect (a) these guidelines for a full-time student entering in the fall with no other time constraints, and (b) the School's current expected course offerings. Because course offerings change and you may have your own constraints, preferred instructors, etc., you should not mindlessly follow these roadmaps! Please consult with your faculty advisor and with the Academic Affairs staff as needed.

Environmental Policy

International Development

International Security and Economic Policy

Leadership & Management

Public Sector Financial Management

Social Policy

Environmental Policy (ENV)

International Development (IDEV)

International Development Roadmap

International Security and Economic Policy (ISEP)

International Security Policy Roadmap

Leadership and Management (L&M)

Leadership and Management Roadmap

Public Sector Financial Management (PSFM)

Public Sector Financial Management Roadmap

Social Policy (SOC)

Social Policy Roadmap