About the College of Public Policy

CPP is a unique and exciting environment, with cutting-edge research on policy challenges that face Qatar, the region, and the world. It aims to be one of the leading public policy schools in the region and the world, acting as a bridge and a hub for innovative policy solutions across a range of issues.

Students 

Students in CPP come from a variety of academic backgrounds, bringing different experiences to share and develop in their programs of study. Students are encouraged to participate in College governance, suggest ideas for events and activities, and help shape the teaching and research environment in the College.

Graduates from CPP’s programs are currently employed in government agencies, the health and social service sectors, and the private sector. Internship opportunities give students experience with a variety of external partners.

CPP values diversity of backgrounds and experiences, and aims to build a rich culture and community with a student body that hails from the region and the rest of the world.

Faculty

The College of Public Policy (CPP) has highly qualified faculty with strong track records in policy research and public management. The college also emphasizes effective and engaged teaching and a rich experience for its students. Faculty are conducting research on sustainable development, global governance, international migration, science policy, family policy, and demographic change in Qatar and the MENA region, energy economics, trade, food security, and values and ethics as foundations for public policy.

CPP faculty

Master of Public Policy

The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a full-time two-year degree offered by the College of Public Policy. The program features a distinctive combination of interdisciplinarity, strong ethical foundations, entrepreneurship in public management, and innovation in policy-making and design. The MPP provides training to graduate students from a range of disciplines in the skills needed to understand and enrich policy-making in Qatar and the region.

The program offers world-class academic and professional training in public policy analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and management, as well as specializations in social policy, and in energy and the environment.

Program Focus

The MPP program builds on the four pillars of public policy: politics, economics, public management ethics, and research methodology. It is designed to integrate analysis, research, and the practical application of knowledge, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Other distinctive features include a strong focus on ethics in the program design and real-world experiences. The specializations will complement and deepen the core training, and encourage students to work with clients in addressing current policy challenges. The program’s ambition is to create thinkers who can do, and doers who can think.

Graduates of this program will be equipped to:

• Engage with themes and ideas that cut across disciplines, with an emphasis on the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policy in context, particularly in areas in which there are pressing societal needs.
• Undertake various methods of research; and produce and test case studies at the frontier of public policy and the social sciences.
• Demonstrate expertise in multiple fields within public policy and the social sciences, including the theory, methodology, and understanding of public policy implementation processes.
• Acquire knowledge of the approaches for advancing research towards having a social impact and producing original interdisciplinary research and case studies.

Program overview

Master of Social Policy and Program Evaluation 

The Master of Social Policy and Program Evaluation (MSPPE) is a full-time two- year degree offered by the College of Public Policy at HBKU. The program provides advanced analytic and substantive knowledge of social policy and program evaluation to educate professionals for careers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors on issues of local and global importance.

The program also supports Qatar’s national development by providing evidence-based and ethically informed social policies, supporting policy, and program evaluation and building national capacity in social policy and evaluation.

The MSPPE offers students a unique opportunity to develop the evaluation skills needed to inform programs and policies with reliable evidence, support communities and drive organizational change across a range of sectors and activities. The program aims to prepare graduates to shape the strategic direction of social policy and program evaluation in Qatar and beyond.

Program Focus

The MSPPE offers a combination of theory, social policy analysis, and policy research and evaluation methods courses using a variety of analytical methods, as well as the opportunity to gain real-world, practical experience. Since the objective of social policy is ultimately human and societal well-being, students will be challenged to reflect on and assess the ethical foundations of social policy interventions. This interdisciplinary degree draws from multiple fields of study, including economics, political science, sociology, psychology, education, law, applied ethics, and public health. Classroom learning for the MSPPE is supplemented by applied social policy and evaluation research through lab and internship opportunities in public policy.

Graduates of the program will be equipped to:

• Function effectively as leading practitioners or senior managers, policymakers, policy analysts, and policy and program evaluators in government, private sector, NGOs, and international organizations, who design, improve, lead, and implement efficient social policies.
• Provide solutions to social problems that account for economic, ethical, and societal considerations as well as professional standards, by applying acquired social policy knowledge.
• Apply their broad social policy and program evaluation education to effectively evaluate policies and programs to improve outcomes and impact.
• Acquire knowledge of the approaches for advancing research towards having a social impact and producing original interdisciplinary research and case studies.

Program overview