With demand for evidence-based social policy growing rapidly, Rice University is proud to offer a full-time Master of Social Policy Evaluation (MSPE).
Housed in the School of Social Sciences in collaboration with the Texas Policy Lab and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, the 13-month, 30-credit-hour program is an interdisciplinary program that draws its course content from the fields of political science, economics and sociology.
Students learn to conduct independent policy evaluations using various statistical methods. The curriculum gives students the chance to develop and refine their analytical skills by studying different methodological and empirical approaches. Students learn the skills they need to design and conduct policy evaluations personalized for specific situations and institutions with varying degrees of available data.
“The MSPE is designed to engage students in unparalleled classroom experiences offered by leading experts and to provide the opportunity to put learned skills into practice,” said Margaret Beier, Faculty Director for the program. “We are confident that our graduates will have the skills needed to positively affect how government, non-profits, and corporate entities work through effective policy evaluation.”
The program also provides students a unique hands-on experience by drawing upon real-world policy evaluations conducted at the Texas Policy Lab and research centers at Rice, including the Houston Education Research Consortium. Policy study areas include criminal justice, public health, early childhood development and education, and labor markets, among others.
Graduates of the program are sought by government organizations, corporations, non-profits and foundations for their data analytic, data visualization and knowekdge of applied theory to design, analyze and evaluate existing policies and make recommendations for future considerations.
Applicants for the program are encouraged to apply Early Decision by February 1st or Regular Decision by April 30th.
For more information, visit socialpolicy.rice.edu.