School of Public Policy at UMass Amherst

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School of Public Policy at UMass Amherst

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The UMass Amherst School of Public Policy prepares students to solve problems for the common good and become leaders in public service.

The UMass Amherst School of Public Policy offers one- and two-year graduate degrees in public policy and administration, as well as dual-degree programs in higher education, regional planning, public health, and business administration.

10/16/2026

A HUGE thank you to all of the students, programs, and organizations who attended last week's Legal Studies and Public Policy Resource Fair and Major's Meeting! It was tremendous to see everyone in one place sharing what their organizations do!

10/09/2026

Wait a minute... *checks calendar* ...it's already October? If you're anything like us, you can't believe that we've already ticked over from September. Either way, check out some of the headlines that came out of SPP from last month!

10/06/2026

This past Friday, students from the MS in DACSS, MPP, and MPPA programs traveled to the Charles River Campus in Boston for a career exploration and networking event! It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn directly from SPP's alumni working in the field. A huge thank you to the alumni who shared their valuable experience, wisdom, and advice - we appreciate you making this event so special!

10/05/2026

In a new article in the journal Cities, Thad Miller and coauthors employ "public value mapping" to weigh the benefits of emerging technologies against risks to collective values. With Flock cameras at the center of the national dialogue, Miller and his coauthors provide a possible pathway for communities to engage in challenging conversations and better understand who technology truly serves.

Read more here: https://www.umass.edu/news/article/flock-cameras-put-cities-crossroads-new-research-offers-roadmap

09/21/2026

Last Friday, the School of Public Policy began the 2026 academic year with our annual kickoff! The event brought together incoming graduate and undergraduate students across our Data Analytics and Computational Social Science (DACSS), Legal Studies, and Public Policy programs. We were honored to hear from State Senator Jo Comerford, Chancellor Javier Reyes, and SBS Dean Karl Rethemeyer, who spoke on this year’s theme of Democracy at Work: Policy, Law, and Data and its importance at this time. We were also thrilled to welcome a group of outstanding alumni – Ayla Thorntona, MPP, Debora Ferreira, Theresa Szczepanski, and Maxwell Solie – who touched on both the event’s theme and their career journeys.

Thank you to everyone for contributing to a strong start to the 2026 school year! We ran out of food, so it must have been good 😊

09/11/2026

Mark your calendars for next Friday, 9/18 for SPP's Fall 2026 Kickoff! We'll be welcoming MA State Senator Jo Comerford as our keynote speaker as well as an expert alumni panel consisting of Ayla Thorntona (Legislative Director for
MA State Senator DiDomenico), Maxwell Solie (Lead Tax Attorney for MassMutual), Theresa Szczepanski (Academic Dean at Rising Tide Charter Public School), and Debora Ferreira, (Associate Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, UMass Amherst). The theme of the kickoff will be Making Democracy Work: Policy, Law, and Data.

This event is open to entire SPP community - see you there!

09/04/2026

Yesterday we welcomed our newest MS in DACSS, MPP, and MPPA students to campus! During our tour, led by the amazing School of Public Policy’s Graduate Student Council, we stopped by the always helpful UMass Amherst Libraries to meet with some of the librarians who are always doing their best to help students be successful no matter how big the challenge.

So, to summarize:
1) Welcome to SPP, students! Whether you’re in-person, online, brand new or returning, we’re so happy that you’re here!
2) Libraries are great and anyone who says otherwise needs to cool right out.

09/02/2026

With the new academic year approaching fast, there's no better time to take a look at what our faculty have been up to this August.

Check out these articles and more at https://www.umass.edu/public-policy/news

08/24/2026

Congratulations to Michael Borowski, Public Policy '28, on his election to the role of Segmental Advisor to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education! In the role, he will advocate on behalf of students across the entire UMass system.

When asked what he hoped to accomplish during his time serving, Borowski said that, "I would like to expand student protections like the Wellman Document, which enshrine students’ right to self-governance and collaborative campus policy at other public institutions in Massachusetts, as well as advocate for student-first issues like the cost, accessibility, and importance of higher education."

Congrats, Michael!

08/14/2026

We're feeling a little nostalgic this with fall classes still a month away, so we decided to take a trip down memory lane through the UMass Library's historic image collection! Take a look at some familiar (and maybe not so familiar) pictures of places where the SPP community has spent quite a bit of time over the years!

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Thompson Hall, 200 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA
01003

Website

http://umass.edu/spp

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