MPhil in Public Policy

The MPhil in Public Policy provides an interdisciplinary grounding in public policy theory and practice, with courses encompassing everything from economics and statistics through to the politics of policymaking and beyond. 

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 policy-making;
• 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 work extra hard to let the potential PhD supervisor 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. That is to say, the Committee will set conditions for you related to the entry requirements of the PhD – one of which is a distinction in the MPhil. If you do not achieve these targets, it is unlikely that you can continue to read towards a PhD at POLIS.

Open Days

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the beginning of November. It’s a great 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.