MPhil in Public Policy

The MPhil in Public Policy provides an interdisciplinary grounding in public policy theory and practice, with courses spanning from economics and statistics to policy debates and professional skills. 

The course is aimed at students who wish to have a leading role in government, companies or NGOs. The blend of theory and practice will help students to understand the mix of hard and soft skills they will need to be effective policy entrepreneurs and students will leave the course having expanded and strengthened their policy analysis and implementation skills.

The MPhil in Public Policy is primarily a professional Master's course.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will be expected to have:

• an appreciation of the political and legal context of policymaking.
• an understanding of the economic and evidence aspects of policymaking; and
• a solid grounding in the theory, practical tools and skills required for the implementation of policies.

Continuing

Those who hope to read for a PhD at Cambridge immediately after the MPhil will need to obtain support from a potential supervisor. In view of the early deadlines, you will need to ensure that your potential PhD supervisor is able to see substantial work that you have written, in addition to your draft thesis proposal, at an early stage in the academic year.

Once you have applied for the PhD a definite decision will only be taken once your performance in the MPhil can be fully assessed. The Committee will set conditions for you related to the entry requirements of the PhD – one of which is that you obtain a distinction in the MPhil. You will need to attain these targets to continue towards a PhD at POLIS

Open Days

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the start of November. It’s a fantastic opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the Postgraduate Open Day page for more details.

See further the Postgraduate Admissions Events pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits, and international events.