Social Work, Social Policy, & Social Administration

Learn how to address some of society's key social service and public policy issues by combining your knowledge of social service organizations with an understanding of public policy.

This joint degree program is intended for people who are interested or working in social welfare and/or social policy and want to address the broader systemic issues related to their fields. Upon completion, graduates will be awarded both a Master of Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy and a Master of Arts in Social Work, Social Policy, & Social Administration from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and be ready to tackle the issues at the root of their fields' challenges.

Program Details

Curriculum

27 courses (2700 units of credit) to earn a MPP and MA in social service administration in a total of three years.   

At Harris Public Policy:

  • Students in this program take the six required Harris School core courses, plus eight electives for a total of 14 courses (1400 units of credit), instead of the usual 18, with Harris Public Policy. Ten of the 14 courses must be public policy (PPHA) courses; up to four electives can be taken in other divisions.
  • The Harris core provides a foundation in critical analysis, reflecting Harris's belief that mastering quantitative and analytical skills prepares students to be effective public policy leaders:

    • Analytical Politics I:

      • PPHA 30800 Analytical Politics I: Strategic Foundations, or

      • PPHA 41501 - PhD Game Theory (instructor approval required).

    • Analytical Politics II:

      • PPHA 31610 Analytical Politics II: Political Institutions 

    • Statistics Sequence I:

      • PPHA 31002 Statistics for Data Analysis I, or

      • PPHA 31202 Advanced Statistics for Data Analysis I, or

      • Any course in the PhD econometrics sequence (instructor approval required): PPHA 42000 or PPHA 42100, or PPHA 42200

    • Statistics Sequence II: 

      • PPHA 31102 Statistics for Data Analysis II: Regressions, or

      • PPHA 31302 Advanced Statistics for Data Analysis II, or

      • Any course in the PhD econometrics sequence (instructor approval required): PPHA 42000 or PPHA 42100, or PPHA 42200

    • Microeconomics Sequence I:

      • PPHA 32300 Principles of Microeconomics and Public Policy I, or

      • PPHA 44100 PhD Advanced Microeconomics for Policy Analysis I (PhD sequence - instructor approval required)

    • Microeconomics Sequence II:

      • PPHA 32400 Principles of Microeconomics and Public Policy II, or

      • PPHA 44200 PhD Advanced Microeconomics for Policy Analysis II (PhD sequence - instructor approval required)

At the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice:

  • Students also take 13 courses (1300 units of credit) with the Crown Family School for a total of 27 courses, thereby enabling students to earn both degrees in a total of three years.
Other Requirements

Students who wish to participate in this program must be admitted to both Harris and the Crown Family School. A student who is already enrolled in one of the schools may apply during their first year for admission to the other school.

  • A cumulative GPA of 2.7 for all courses, based on a 4.0 scale, for all courses used toward the MPP degree

  • A grade of C- or better for the 6 core courses

  • Completion of the math requirement (support available)

  • No more than 2 reading/research, independent study, or internship courses

  • No more than 1 course taken Pass/Fail (core courses cannot be taken pass/fail)

  • Courses with grades of F, I, W, or with no reported grade do not apply toward course requirement for the program.

  • Policies on the the results of not meeting these requirements can be found on the Harris policies page.

  • Any questions about these requirements can be sent to the Harris Dean of Students Office at harrisdeanofstudents@uchicago.edu.
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