Christina Brown and Jeewoon Rim

U.Va. now to offer master's in public policy

The University's five-year Bachelor of Arts and master's of public policy (MPP) program was approved by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia Tuesday. The program will begin fall 2007 with the vision of preparing students for occupations in the field of public policy. "Until now, students interested in public policy have not been able to get the opportunity for higher education in that field [at the University], which is ironic at Mr. Jefferson's University," said Eric Patashnik, associate director for the MPP program. Modeled after the Curry School of Education's Bachelor of Arts and master's of teaching program, the MPP program will allow students to receive a master's degree in five years, with graduate work beginning in their fourth year of undergraduate study. Students are eligible to apply for admission in the their third year and would spend half of their fourth year taking the graduate public policy courses and complete their remaining degree requirements with the other half, Patashnik said.