This survey course that introduces students to the history, politics, and economic and social significance of the major challenges facing 21st century U.S. policymakers. Examples of topics that may be explored include: the federal deficit and debt, the rise of China and India, health care costs, climate policy, energy security, economic opportunity in an era of globalization, the future of public higher education, and U.S. foreign policy.

Leading in the public context requires an understanding of one's own & others' thoughts, feelings, & motivations; & tools for working toward mutually valued outcomes. Course uses behavioral science to develop this understanding & build a toolkit. Through exercises, lectures, discussion, readings, & projects, students will learn general behavioral principles that they can leverage to work toward valued communal goals within public institutions.

The Applied Policy Project (APP) is the capstone event of the MPP program, an independent analytical project for each student. Divided over two semesters, APP I provides students with the opportunity for a semester of research and information gathering in the policy field of the student's external client.

In this course students will learn how to create change in the public policy arena by understanding political actors, their interests, and the institutions they inhabit. Students will learn how issues move through the policy process, at which points they are most amenable to influence, and how to create and use professional work products to influence them.

This experiential course pairs students from the Schools of Law, Engineering, and Public Policy with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) problem sponsors to address real-world national security challenges. Through student research, stakeholder interviews, and engagements with outside experts, each team develops policy recommendations for its sponsor's organization. Recent sponsors include the National Security Agency, U.S. Strategic Command, and the U.S. Air Force's Office of Operational Energy.

You will learn some of the world's most powerful predictive models. We cover a variety of machine learning algorithms and survival models. We have a hands-on approach, working on real case studies to deepen our understanding of how machine learning solves business problems. You will be exposed to Python and learn to write Python code. In teams, you will compete with peers to develop the best predictive models using machine learning algorithms.

Nonprofits -- from refugee advocacy groups to homeless shelters to world-class museums and universities -- along with political campaigns and social movements share a common problem: they need money. Fundraising is fuel for action and a marketable skill. This experiential learning class will help you to understand the different types of fundraising and the essentials of designing and executing a development plan by actively raising money.

Covers the fundamentals of probability theory & stochastic processes. Become conversant in the tools of probability. Clearly describe & implement concepts related to random variables, properties of probability, distributions, expectations, moments, transformations, model fit, basic inference, sampling distributions, discrete & continuous time Markov chains, & Brownian motion. Illustrate most topics with both analytic & computational solutions.

Course builds students' skills in "the art of getting things done". Students will establish the critical leadership & team-building competencies that distinguish highly effective leaders. We will introduce frameworks that will enhance student's: resilience; team leadership skills; capacity for thriving in times of adversity; emotional intelligence; interpersonal skills (including conflict resolution & negotiation skills) & decision making.

This course uses basic models from microeconomics to understand how these decision makers will respond to policies and when voluntary actions in private markets may be expected to lead to suboptimal outcomes and hence the circumstances under which a collective decision to control or influence behavior might produce better outcomes than private choices.