Between MPP and MPA for Ed Policy

[onedayslp]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to grad cafe and I really appreciate any help that you all can give regarding my options....

I am interested in eventually working in education policy research/analysis. My ideal work would be at a think tank, dept of ed, or a public policy organization where I can work to evaluate programs, do research on possible policies for the future, etc.

I have been looking at MPA and MPP programs with a focus on education policy. However, I haven't seen that much of a difference between the two. Can anyone point out what some of the differences in these two degrees are? Which would be better suited to a research/analysis track?

On the same lines....are there differences between schools in terms of the way they approach policy analysis? I would like to gain a strong quant/statistics foundation to build upon. Are there certain schools that are well known for Education Policy?

I'm still pretty new to all this, so any input is greatly appreciated!

[ZacharyObama]

I would say that generally an MPP program is more policy focus than an MPA which is more application focused.

Are you presently in a Masters of Education Program?

Here are the US News Rankings for Masters of Ed - Policy: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/education-policy-rankings

There are no rankings for Ed Policy focus for Public Affairs programs: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools

[Jess C]

Try this link as well. http://www.scribd.com/doc/78654038/The-GovLoop-Guide-To-Earning-a-Masters-of-Public-Policy-2011 It helped me a great deal when differentiating between the MPP and MPA. Vanderbilt is highly ranked for Educational Policy. If you want a strong quant. background the programs that come to mind are University of Michigan-Ford, University of Minnesota-Humphries, Duke-Sanford, and Georgetown Institute of Public Policy. This is based on my research though. Hope it helps a little.