Master of Public Policy | Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Master of Public Policy

Master of Public Policy

Master of Public Policy

 

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a full-time two-year degree offered by HBKU’s new college, CPP. The program features a distinctive combination of interdisciplinarity, strong ethical foundations, entrepreneurship in public management, and innovation in policy making and design.

Qatar has a strategic geographical position at the global crossroads of culture, business, and geopolitics. The country is located at the center of a region that requires leaders who can manage multi-faceted relationships that span different public policy making dynamics and command a wide range of skills.

The MPP provides training to graduate students from a range of disciplines in the skills needed to understand and enrich policy making in Qatar and the region. The program will offer world-class academic and professional training in public policy analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and management; as well as specializations in social policy, and in energy and the environment.
 


Program Focus

The program builds on the four pillars of public policy: politics, economics, public management ethics, and research methodology. It is designed to integrate analysis, research, and practical application of knowledge, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Other distinctive features include a strong focus on ethics in program design, and on real-world experiences. The specializations will complement and deepen the core training, and encourage students to work with clients in addressing current policy problems. The program’s ambition is to create thinkers who can do, and doers who can think.

Graduates of this program will be equipped to:

  • Engage with themes and ideas that cut across disciplines, with an emphasis on the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policy in context, particularly in areas in which there are pressing societal needs.
  • Undertake various methods of research; and produce and test case studies at the frontier of the public policy and social sciences.
  • Demonstrate expertise in multiple fields within public policy and social sciences, including the theory, methodology, and understanding of public policy implementation processes.
  • Acquire knowledge of the approaches for advancing research towards having a social impact and producing original interdisciplinary research and case studies.

Curriculum:

A 36-credit program, taught in English, over two years that includes:

  • Core courses (24 credits)

    • Policy Analysis and Design
    • Economics for Public Policy
    • Ethics, Law, and Public Policy
    • Research Methods for Public Policy
    • Public Management: Innovations and Challenges
    • Global Political Economy
    • Comparative Public Policy
    • Analytical Methods for Policy Evaluation
       
  • Specialization in one of two areas (6 credits)

    • Social Policy (Education, Family and Health)
    • Sustainability and Climate Policy
  • MPP Capstone Project (6 credits)

    • In consultation with a faculty advisor and a partner organization, students (working in small teams) will be required to develop a capstone project within one of the two designated specializations. The chosen case will be relevant for Qatar, the Middle East, and the world. The capstone project concludes with presentations and a policy brief.
  • Up to five zero-credit courses will allow students to further develop their communication, analytical, and organizational skills in:

    • Written and Oral Communication
    • Leadership
    • Negotiation
    • Data Management 
    • Research Techniques