School of Public Policy

Filling an Important Need in our Community and our State

The UC Riverside School of Public Policy will bring together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines to:

• Train students in rigorous policy analysis skills, allowing them to pursue careers in government and the not-for-profit sector
  
• Facilitate research by multidisciplinary teams at UCR on policy problems affecting the region, state, nation and the world
  
• Initiate and maintain a policy dialog with regional, state and national policy makers

Academic Degrees to be Offered

• Masters of Public Policy (MPP)
• Ph.D. in Public Policy
• Doctorate degrees in cooperation with a number of existing programs, departments and schools at UCR
  

Areas of Specialization

In its MPP and Ph.D. programs, the School will offer four areas of specialization:

• Environmental and Sustainable Development Policy
• Immigration and Population Policy
• Health Policy, with a special focus on access and diversity
• Higher Education Policy, with a special focus on access and diversity

What Makes Us Unique

Two cross-cutting themes will define the School's intellectual character and distinguish it from policy schools at other universities around the country:

• Intersection of social and environmental policies
  Emphasis on a range of social policy issues, particularly those associated with population growth and movement, as they affect -- and are affected by -- environmental policy.
  

• Importance of regional policy-making
  Emphasis on critical policy issues that transcend traditional administrative units (cities, counties, and states), such as air and water pollution and immigration.

Addressing the Issues Facing Inland Southern California

Our region is a 'living laboratory' to study the interactions among rapid population growth, urban sprawl, stresses on the natural and social environment, and rising social and economic disparities - problems that are common to many other rapidly-growing mega-regions around the world. The School will emphasize the commonalities between policy problems facing the Inland region and those confronting other world regions.