The Masters in Public Policy (MPP) program is a two-year, full-time, cohort-based program involving approximately 30 to 35 students in each cohort.

The first two semesters of the program consist of core courses in political science, economics, quantitative and qualitative methods, and public policy analysis.  

All students then complete a Co-op work term in the summer semester. This is a nationally accredited Co-op program, affiliated with SFU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Co-op Education program.

The final two semesters of the program are comprised of a major policy research project – the capstone, and elective courses in a wide variety of policy fields that students take from the School or other graduate departments at SFU or universities such as UBC through the Western Deans Agreement. 

The elective courses are open to graduate students in other disciplines and, if space is available, so are first-year MPP core courses. 

Electives that are offered each year may include:

health policy, regulation, environmental policy, multiple account cost-benefit analysis, social policy, law and conflict resolution, Indigenous policy, advanced quantitative and qualitative analysis, and other topics depending on teaching resources.

The capstone project is a major piece of independent research overseen by a supervisor and discussed in weekly seminar groups. 

The capstone must be on a relevant public policy problem, where the student must apply the research methodologies taught in the program to develop viable policy recommendations. 

The capstone synthesizes the cross-disciplinary teaching in the program and yields high-quality substantive reports, some of which have been published and earned major national awards.

Harbour Centre's Belzberg Library is an excellent resource for Public Policy students.

• Official transcripts
• Letters of Reference
• Letter of Intent
• Resume/CV
• GRE scores
• English proficiency test scores
• Passport

A prospective MPP student must have a bachelor's degree from a recognized university, normally in an Arts or Social Sciences discipline. 

Students admitted with other credentials or those with Arts degrees who in the judgement of the Program Director are without adequate foundation in the social sciences, may be required to make up any deficiency without graduate credit.

The normal minimum undergraduate grade point average required for admission is 3.0 (or equivalent), although the Admissions Committee and Program Director may take relevant work experience into account in determining eligibility for admission to the program.