Master of Public Policy
Dublin, Ireland
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 22,600 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full time non-EU fee per year - € 22600; EU fee per year - € 9330 | part time non-EU fee per year - € 11300; EU fee per year - € 5600
Introduction
Public policymaking has become more challenging in recent years in the context of the increasing complexity of clients’ needs, growing expectations regarding appropriate service quality, and diminishing public spending in many countries. The Master of Public Policy is specifically designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to meet these challenges.
We examine the socioeconomic changes and political issues which influence policy-making, the challenges associated with effective regulation and administration of public services, and ensuring that policy decisions are evidence-based. If you are interested in public policy research you can take a number of specialist modules on this issue. We also provide a number of optional streams which will enable you to examine different policy fields in depth.
The Master of Public Policy is a 90-credit program. The duration is one year full-time or two years part-time. A 60-credit version of the program is available as a Graduate Diploma without a thesis.
Public policymaking has become more challenging in recent years in the context of the increasing complexity of clients’ needs, growing expectations regarding appropriate service quality, and diminishing public spending in many countries. The Master of Public Policy is specifically designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to meet these challenges.
Vision and Values Statement
We examine the socioeconomic changes and political issues which influence policy-making, the challenges associated with effective regulation and administration of public services, and ensuring that policy decisions are evidence-based. If you are interested in public policy research you can take a number of specialist modules on this issue. We also provide a number of optional streams which will enable you to examine different policy fields in depth.
Ideal Students
Who should apply?
Full-Time option suitable for:
- Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
- International (Non-EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes
Part-Time option suitable for:
- Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
- International (Non-EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please contact our Admissions team!
Curriculum
What modules can I take?
Stage 1 - Core
- SPOL40450 Evidence-Based Policy Making
- SPOL41020 Data & Methods for Policy Analysis
- SPOL41060 Public Administration & Policy
Stage 1 - Option
- ECON41820 Econometrics
- ECON41840 Microeconomics
- ECON42190 Health and Welfare Economics
- ECON42360 Energy Economics and Policy
- ECON42600 Development Economics
- ECON42650 Experiments in Economics
- ECON42660 Behavioural Economics
- ENVP40040 Tools for Sust Development
- ENVP40100 Environmental Economics & Climate Policy
- ENVP40180 European Environmental Policy
- EQUL40390 Critical Political Economy
- GEOG40450 Critical Geopolitics and Diplomacy
- GEOG40860 Practical Environmental Assessment
- GEOG40970 Critical Geographies: Specialising Power and Inequalities
- GS40030 Gender, Inequality, and Public Policy
- HRMHRM40770 International
- IS40840 Data & Society
- LAW40120 Foundations of Environmental Law
- LAW40360 Advanced Issues in European Competition Law
- LAW40620 Punishment, Prisons & Public Policy
- LAW40640 Advanced Criminological Theory
- LAW40760 NGOs: Law, Governance and Social Change
- ECHRLAW40780 Law
- EULAW41040 Law and Governance
- LAW41090 Climate Change Law and Policy
- LAW41150 Online Regulation
- LAW42010 Financial Regulation
- PHPS40040 Public Health Practice and Policy
- PHPS40300 Health Promotion
- PLAN40020 Placemaking: Urban and Rural Design
- PLAN40030 Planning, Society, and Diversity
- PLAN40050 Transport, Environment & Sustainability
- PLAN40060 Urban and Regional Development
- PLAN40070 Housing Policy and Planning
- PLAN40080 Economic and Property Markets
- PLAN40220 Geographical Information Systems for Policy and Planning
- PLAN40340 Planning, Environ & Public Pol
- PLAN40390 Sustainable Cities
- POL40140 Theories of Global Justice
- POL40160 Comparative Public Policy
- POL40370 International Political Economy
- POL40540 Comparative European Politics
- POL40950 Introduction to Statistics
- POL40970 Politics of European Governance
- POL41020 Politics of Human Rights
- POL41030 Theory of Human Rights
- POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science
- POL41650 The Global Political Economy of Europe
- POL41780 The Politics of Inequality
- POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis
- SOC40080 Policing & Social Conflict
- SOC40330 Workshop in Qualitative Research
- SOC40640 Social Simulation: Methods and Models
- SOC41120 Developmental Challenges in the Global South
- SOC41160 Exploring Global Solutions
- SPOL40440 Housing and Social Cohesion
- SPOL40470 Comparing Healthcare Systems
- SPOL41040 MPP Thesis
- SPOL41050 MPP Internship
- SPOL41110 Ideas, Ideology in Public Pol.
- SPOL41120 Sustainable Futures and Public Policy
- SPOL41130 Drugs & Drug Policy
- STAT40150 Multivariate Analysis
Program Outcome
- Understand the political, ethical, social, and economic factors that influence policymaking, along with the challenges associated with effective policy implementation and regulation
- Take a critical view of policy analysis, recognizing the variety of considerations that shape policy outcomes and the variety of ideas, expectations, and norms that shape debates about appropriate policy solutions and the assessment of policy outcomes
- Demonstrate advanced theoretical and conceptual knowledge of public policy and governance
- Develop an understanding of current debates within public policy and governance
- Critically appraise and reflect on the role of the policy analyst within the democratic and policy-making process
- Apply advanced theory to problem-solving and public policy challenges, drawing on a range of disciplinary approaches and analytical tools
- Systematically analyze public policies comparatively in an international, national, and subnational context, to apply the latest in public policy research
- Critically appraise and reflect on the role of the policy analyst within the democratic and policy-making process
- Articulate concepts, knowledge, debates, and research to peers, specialist, and non-specialist audiences from an inter-disciplinary perspective, contributing to evidence-based policy-making
- Exercise effective group and team-based approaches to learning, research, and presentation
- Articulate concepts, knowledge, debates, and research to peers, specialist, and non-specialist audiences, from an interdisciplinary perspective
- Contribute to evidence-based policy-making
- Source and synthesize different kinds of data, textual and source material
- Engage in independent research and analysis
- Write to a good academic standard