- Program length: One additional year after completing baccalaureate's degree
- UVA undergraduate students from any major outside of Batten who will have earned 90 credit hours by the time of matriculation. Students will have successfully completed and earned a C or higher in prerequisites by August 1, 2026.
Priority Deadline: January 16, 2027
Second Deadline: rolling until class is filled
- Anne Carter MulliganSenior Director of Admissions
Accelerated Impact
The UVA Batten Accelerated Master of Public Policy program’s core curriculum builds a strong foundation in the concepts, methods and strategies of policy analysis, while electives give students the opportunity to gain substantive experience in their areas of passion.
In the Accelerated MPP program, you will:
- Gain a strong, lasting foundation in the concepts, methods, and strategies of policy analysis with a curriculum built for real-world impact
- Examine how effective leadership works, why context shapes decision-making, and which strategies produce measurable results
- Develop the analytical and leadership capabilities to deliver tangible solutions through rigorous cost-benefit analysis, data-driven decision-making, and hands-on policy experience
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Join a thriving alumni network of public policy professionals, dedicated to collaboratively addressing the most complex and consequential policy issues of our time.
Solve Real Problems for Real Clients
The capstone experience of the UVA Batten Accelerated MPP is the Applied Policy Project, where students produce a professional-grade policy report for an actual client organization. This immersive, high-stakes project bridges academic rigor with professional practice — and for many graduates, it serves as a direct pathway to post-graduation employment opportunities in public policy.
Admissions & Degree Requirements
- When to apply: Students typically apply for admission in their third year.
- Credits required for entry: At least 90 undergraduate credits before the start of their fourth year. Second-year students who anticipate having 90 undergraduate credits before the start of their third year may also be eligible to apply.
- To graduate: To earn the MPP degree, a student must complete 49 credits.
Prior to enrollment in the program, applicants are required to have completed and earned at least 90 undergraduate credits and a C or higher in two (2) prerequisite courses:
- ECON 2010 or equivalent
- One of the following calculus math courses: MATH 1190: A Survey of Calculus 1 with Algebra; MATH 1210: A Survey of Calculus 1; MATH 1310: Calculus 1; APMA 1090: Single Variable Calculus 1; or any more advanced calculus course. The math prerequisite can be fulfilled through either equivalent coursework or AP credit.
Students begin taking UVA Batten graduate coursework during their final undergraduate year. To earn the MPP degree, a student must complete 49 credits, as well as a 400-hour, policy-based summer internship between the first and second year.
11 three-credit core courses:
- Four analytics courses
- Three leadership courses
- Three experiential courses
- One context course
A one-credit Foundation Skills Workshop
15 elective credits, including:
- Three-credit electives
- Two-credit policy clinics
- One-credit short courses
All elective credits can be taken at UVA Batten and across the university, pending approval from Batten’s Director of Academic Program.
The capstone of the program is an Applied Policy Project in which students perform a professional-quality study for a real-world client under faculty supervision.
In order to apply to the UVA Batten Accelerated Master in Public Policy, you will be required to submit the following materials by 11:59 p.m. ET on the date of the official deadline:
- Resume (as either a Word Document or a PDF)
- Please ensure that this document includes, but is not limited to, the following information: leadership roles held, employment history, relevant internships and jobs and your role(s) in those positions, and roles in relevant school- and community-based organizations. If you have questions about crafting a resume, we recommend you utilize the UVA Career Center resume resources!
- Two Required Essays
- What is the motivation behind your decision to pursue public policy and leadership? Please indicate your interest in addressing one or more policy areas or societal issues. What work, activity, or educational experiences have best equipped you for graduate studies in this field? (Please limit your answer to 500 words.)
- One of our aims is to enhance students’ abilities to lead in a diverse and divided world. Tell us about a time you had to work across lines of difference to navigate a challenge or improve some outcome. What did you learn from the experience? How can those lessons inform your future success, especially professionally? (Please limit your answer to 250 words.)
- Two Recommendations
- Recommendations for the Accelerated MPP will be submitted using a form evaluating your candidacy along a set of criteria addressing your potential for success in the program. If your recommender has prepared a traditional letter of recommendation, they will have the option to include it. Consider asking for one academic reference at the collegiate level, and the other from an employer, mentor, research supervisor, coach, or other person who knows your work outside of the classroom. If you ask for a recommendation from your time prior to UVA, be sure to balance that with information about your activities and aptitude now.
- Unofficial Transcripts
- Your UVA coursework will be pulled directly from SIS into your application. Unofficial transcripts from any other post-secondary institution where you received college credit (including dual enrollment credits) can be uploaded directly to your online application.
- Optional Application Addendum
- There is no penalty for not submitting an application addendum. However, some applicants may wish to provide additional information to the admissions committee. Feel free to amplify the positive dimensions of your background that are not covered in other parts of this application. Similarly, you may wish to put some seemingly negative information in your application into context. Please format this application addendum as a letter to the admissions committee, not to exceed one page.
Your application may be completed online and submitted electronically once you have answered all the required questions. You do not have to complete the online application in one sitting – you may access your application and change your answers as many times as you like. There is no application fee for this program.
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