MPP Public Policy at University of Illinois Chicago

Programme overview

The MPP is a coursework-only programme of 53 hours with a policy area specialization in health, educational, environmental policy, urban planning, housing and community development, or an approved specialization.

Faculty: College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs | Duration: 53 semester hours | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

25 hours of foundational core, 16-hour MPP core (Intermediate Data Management and Analysis, Bureaucracy and the Policy Process, Public Program Evaluation, Advanced Data Analysis I), 8 hours of specialization and 4 hours of electives.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Programme: no field restriction; at least 2.75/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours; personal statement of professional goals; resume; writing sample and up to three letters optional. International applicants: minimum English scores TOEFL iBT 80 (reading 19, listening 17, speaking 20, writing 21) for exams before 21 Jan 2026 or 4.5 overall on the new scale, IELTS Academic 6.5 (6.0 each section), PTE Academic 54, Duolingo 130.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate and professional programmes admit for Fall, Spring and Summer terms depending on the programme; applications for Fall 2027, Spring 2028 and Summer 2028 are expected to open on August 1, 2026.

Graduate and professional application deadlines are set per programme, with separate deadlines for domestic and international applicants for most non-online programmes; optional earlier priority, recommended or fellowship dates apply to both. Applications are made through the UIC graduate application or a centralized application service for some professional programmes.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.uic.edu/admissions/

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