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JDP_GSB-MBA_PUBPO-MPP - Business Administration (MBA) & Public Policy (MPP)

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Graduate School of BusinessPublic PolicyMBA-MPP - Master of Business Administration - Master of Public Policy

Program Overview

The Joint MPP/MBA Degree Program enables students to concurrently pursue a Master of Business Administration at the Graduate School of Business and a Master of Public Policy through the Public Policy Program in the School of Humanities and Sciences. This integrated program allows students to combine a strong foundation in business with rigorous training in public policy, preparing them to be more insightful consumers and responsible decision-makers of policy analysis. Graduates are well equipped for leadership roles as professional managers, particularly in the public sector and not-for-profit organizations.

Admissions Information

The MPP/MBA joint degree program allows you to simultaneously pursue an MBA from Stanford GSB and an MPP degree from the Public Policy Program at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences.

You may be interested in this degree if you wish to pursue a career in public policy or at the intersection of business and government.

You will spend your first year taking MBA courses; you may take MPP courses once you begin your second year. During autumn and winter quarters of the third year, you will participate in the MPP’s two-quarter practicum course, in which interdisciplinary teams of the MPP cohort analyze and report on real-world policy issues for an outside client.

How to Apply

You may apply in any round for this joint degree program.

We will forward your application and personal statement to the Stanford Public Policy Program in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. You do not need to apply separately to the public policy program. If you are admitted to the MBA program, you will receive notification of your MPP decision at the same time as your MBA admission.

As an alternative, you may apply to the MPP/MBA program during the winter quarter of your first year of the MBA program.

If you are applying for deferred enrollment, you may apply to this joint degree program during your first year of the MBA program.

If you are not admitted to the MBA program, it is not possible to enroll solely in the MPP.

Minimum Units in the Program

145

Degree Requirements

Completion requirement

Students must successfully complete 84 unduplicated units of instruction, 80 of which must be at the GSB, which includes successful completion of the Core and Distribution area requirements. Additionally, at least 70 GSB units for the MBA must be completed for a letter grade (not on a Pass/Fail basis). Rules concerning independent study, grade point average, the GER, the EDR, and so forth, will match those set for students in the regular MBA Program, as specified annually on the Policies and Standards tab on the MyGSB website.

Completion requirement
Fulfill ALL of the following requirements:
Fulfill ALL of the following requirements:
Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:
  • 2090781
  • 2187401
  • 2198841
  • 2163961
AND
Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:
  • 1007341
  • 2055791
  • 1008611
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2126151
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2078711
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2114861
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1008131
AND
Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:
  • 1007711
  • 2078881
  • 2187191
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1008071
AND
Fulfill ALL of the following requirements:
Complete at least 1 of the following Courses:
  • 2186451
  • 2186471
  • 2137231
AND
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1007251
  • 2003881
  • 2248051

Complete coursework from below for a total of 15 units

Fulfill ANY of the following requirements:
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 2198831
  • 2139601
  • 2226901
  • 2230231
  • 2089371
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 2172951
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 2187971
  • 2248041
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1008241
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 2016241
  • 2238461
  • 2079761
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1007691
  • 2171721
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1008001
  • 2248061
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 2230661
  • 2211791
  • 2220521
  • 2236091
OR
Complete ANY of the following Courses:
  • 1007581

Only GSB courses allowed to count for this requirement.

Complete 52 Units of GSB Elective Courses
MBA students may only count up to 4 units of Independent Study towards their degree.
MBA students may only count up to 10 Non-GSB units towards their degree. 0 to 10 units required.
To be completed by 2nd Year Winter Quarter
Completion requirement
  1. The university regards a joint degree as distinct from either of its component degrees and requirements for the joint degree differ from the sum of the requirements for the individual degrees.

  2. Up to a maximum of 45 units, or one year, of the university residency requirement can be credited toward both graduate degree programs (i.e., the joint degree requirements may contain up to 45 units less than the sum of each program separately). For example, a J.D./M.P.P. has a four-year residency requirement, one year less than the sum of the requirements for the separate degrees. This recognizes a subject matter overlap between the fields comprising the joint degree.

  3. The Public Policy Program encourages an intellectual, professional, and social community among its students. For this reason, joint degree students are strongly encouraged to devote one year of full-time study at Stanford entirely to the Public Policy Program rather than spacing out Public Policy courses throughout their graduate careers. For joint degree PhD students, the core requirements of the MPP should be completed over two contiguous years of study, during which students may also be enrolled in courses from their PhD program. Exceptions to this structure must be approved in advance by petition.

  4. Joint degree students are expected to have and consult regularly with an academic advisor. The advisor is generally a member of the faculty of both degree programs and must be a member of the Academic Council. The program director and staff are available to make advisor recommendations.

  5. To take advantage of the reduced residency requirement, joint MPP students must define their concentration area from courses offered in their non-Public Policy program. Students wishing to concentrate in another field should apply for a dual, rather than a joint, MPP degree.

Completion requirement
Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 1132801
  • 2098131
    OR
    2249471
    OR
    1133291
  • 2076451
  • 2076461
  • 2076371
    OR
    2218294
    OR
    2199551
    OR
    2204531
    OR
    2204571
    OR
    2097651
    OR
    2135291
    OR
    2192921
    OR
    2159551
    OR
    2096171
    OR
    2194181
    OR
    2225491
    OR
    2096621
    OR
    2097741
  • 2139231
  • 2076541
  • 2147301
  • 2225971

All core courses listed above must be taken for a letter grade (except course Public Policy Colloquium, which only offers S/NC). Students must maintain a 3.0 (B) grade point average overall in courses applicable to the degree. Note: CR grades are only accepted for those enrollments from Spring 2020 through Summer 2021.

All Public Policy graduate students must enroll in and attend two quarters of course Public Policy Colloquium (2 units) during their first year of the program. The course grading is only offered as S/NC. Attendance and participation are mandatory.

Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2104061

Completion of Practicum (10 units, Autumn and Winter quarters), and presentation of a report in which interdisciplinary student teams analyze real world policy issues for outside clients.

Complete ALL of the following Courses:
  • 2076551