Specializations and variants
Program Requirements Master of Public Policy and Administration (7.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy and Administration (advanced entry - 5.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy and Administration with Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change (7.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy and Administration with Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change (advanced entry, 5.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy and Administration with Collaborative Specialization in Data Science (7.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy and Administration with Collaborative Specialization in Data Science (advanced entry, 5.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy - Sustainable Energy and the Environment (5.0 credits)
Master of Public Policy - Sustainable Energy and the Environment with Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change (6.0 credits)
Ph.D. Public Policy (4.5 credits)
Ph.D. Public Policy with Collaborative Specialization in Political Economy (4.5 credits)
Program pathways and conditions
These tables reproduce the source requirements for the indicated period. Official interpretation is the responsibility of the university.
Pathway 1
| Requirements - coursework pathway (standard admission, 7.0 credits) | ||
| 1. 4.5 credits in core courses: | 4.5 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 2. 2.5 credits in approved electives (see School website for details) | 2.5 | |
| Total Credits | 7.0 |
Pathway 2
| Requirements - coursework pathway (advanced entry, 5.0 credits)(See Note, below) | ||
| 1. 2.5 credits in core courses from: | 2.5 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 2. 2.5 credits in approved electives (see School website for details) | 2.5 | |
| Note: | ||
| Additional credits may be required, as specified on offer of admission. | ||
| Total Credits | 5.0 |
Pathway 3
| Requirements - coursework pathway (7.0 credits) | ||
| 1. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
| CLIM 5000 [1.0] | Climate Collaboration | |
| 2. 0.0 credit in: | 0.0 | |
| CLIM 5800 [0.0] | Climate Seminar Series | |
| 3. 4.5 credits in core courses: | 4.5 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 4. 1.0 credits in approved climate change electives (see School website for details) | 1.0 | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in approved electives (see School website for details) | 0.5 | |
| Total Credits | 7.0 |
Pathway 4
| Requirements - coursework pathway (5.0 credits) | ||
| 1. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
| CLIM 5000 [1.0] | Climate Collaboration | |
| 2. 0.0 credit in: | 0.0 | |
| CLIM 5800 [0.0] | Climate Seminar Series | |
| 3. 2.5 credits from core courses: | 2.5 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 4. 1.0 credits in approved climate change electives (see School website for details) | 1.0 | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in approved electives (see School website for details) | 0.5 | |
| Note | ||
| Additional credits may be required, as specified upon admission. | ||
| Total Credits | 5.0 |
Pathway 5
| Requirements - coursework pathway (standard admission, 7.0 credits) | ||
| 1. 4.0 credits in core courses: | 4.0 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 2. 1.5 credits in data science core courses: | 1.5 | |
| DATA 5000 [0.5] | Introduction to Data Science | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5218 [0.5] | Analysis of Socio-economic Data | |
| 3. 0.5 credit from data science electives: | 0.5 | |
| COMP 5111 [0.5] | Data Management for Business Intelligence | |
| COMP 5209 [0.5] | Visual Analytics | |
| COMP 5305 [0.5] | Advanced Database Systems | |
| COMP 5306 [0.5] | Data Integration | |
| PADM 5372 [0.5] | Policy Seminar (Data Science Specialization) | |
| PADM 5391 [0.5] | Directed Studies (Data Science Specialization) | |
| 4. 1.0 credit in approved electives (see School website for details) | 1.0 | |
| Total Credits | 7.0 |
Pathway 6
| Requirements - coursework pathway (advanced entry, 5.0 credits) | ||
| 1. 2.5 credits from core courses: | 2.5 | |
| PADM 5120 [0.5] | Modern Challenges to Governance | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| PADM 5122 [0.5] | Public Management: Principles and Approaches | |
| PADM 5123 [0.5] | Public Management in Practice | |
| PADM 5125 [0.5] | Qualitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5127 [0.5] | Microeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5128 [0.5] | Macroeconomics for Policy Analysis | |
| PADM 5129 [0.5] | Capstone Course | |
| 2. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| DATA 5000 [0.5] | Introduction to Data Science | |
| 3. 0.5 credit from: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5126 [0.5] | Quantitative Methods for Public Policy | |
| PADM 5218 [0.5] | Analysis of Socio-economic Data | |
| 4. 0.5 credit from data science electives: | 0.5 | |
| COMP 5111 [0.5] | Data Management for Business Intelligence | |
| COMP 5209 [0.5] | Visual Analytics | |
| COMP 5305 [0.5] | Advanced Database Systems | |
| COMP 5306 [0.5] | Data Integration | |
| PADM 5372 [0.5] | Policy Seminar (Data Science Specialization) | |
| PADM 5391 [0.5] | Directed Studies (Data Science Specialization) | |
| 5. 1.0 credit in approved electives (see School website for details) | 1.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 |
Pathway 7
| Requirements - Coursework pathway: | ||
| 1. 1.5 credits in: | 1.5 | |
| SERG 5002 [0.5] | Sustainable Energy Engineering for Policy Students | |
| SERG 5003 [0.5] | Energy Evaluation and Assessment Tools | |
| SERG 5005 [0.5] | Applied Interdisciplinary Project | |
| 2. Participation in the Sustainable Energy seminar series | ||
| 3. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5510 [0.5] | Energy Economics | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5515 [0.5] | Sustainable Energy Policy | |
| or PADM 5615 [0.5] | Politics and Policy of Energy in Canada | |
| 6. 2.0 credits from Sustainable Energy Policy courses listed below or other courses as approved by the MA supervisor | 2.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 |
Pathway 8
| Requirements - coursework pathway: | ||
| 1. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
| CLIM 5000 [1.0] | Climate Collaboration | |
| 2. 0.0 credit in: | ||
| CLIM 5800 [0.0] | Climate Seminar Series | |
| 3. 1.5 credits in: | 1.5 | |
| SERG 5002 [0.5] | Sustainable Energy Engineering for Policy Students | |
| SERG 5003 [0.5] | Energy Evaluation and Assessment Tools | |
| SERG 5005 [0.5] | Applied Interdisciplinary Project | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5121 [0.5] | Policy Analysis: The Practical Art of Change | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5510 [0.5] | Energy Economics | |
| 6. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 5515 [0.5] | Sustainable Energy Policy | |
| or PADM 5615 [0.5] | Politics and Policy of Energy in Canada | |
| 7. 2.0 credits from Sustainable Energy Policy courses listed below or other courses as approved by the MA supervisor | 2.0 | |
| Total Credits | 6.0 |
Pathway 9
| Requirements: | ||
| 1. 2.0 credits in: | 2.0 | |
| PADM 6010 [0.5] | Current Issues in Public Policy | |
| PADM 6011 [0.5] | Theoretical Foundations of Public Policy | |
| PADM 6012 [0.5] | Policy Process and Institutions | |
| PADM 6013 [0.5] | Research Design for Public Policy | |
| 2. 0.5 credit in 5000- or 6000-level research methods, approved by thesis supervisor and PhD program supervisor | 0.5 | |
| 3. 1.0 credit in an area of specialization, approved by thesis supervisor and PhD program supervisor | 1.0 | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 6900 [0.5] | Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 6201 [0.5] | Doctoral Research Seminar | |
| 6. 0.0 credit in: | ||
| PADM 6911 [0.0] | Ph.D. Proposal (includes public defence of written proposal) | |
| 7. 0.0 credit in: | 0.0 | |
| PADM 6909 [0.0] | Ph.D. Thesis (includes oral defence after completion of all other program requirements) | |
| 8. Language requirement (Reading knowledge of French. Another language may substitute, if relevant to thesis) | ||
| Total Credits | 4.5 |
Pathway 10
| Requirements: | ||
| 1. 2.0 credits in: | 2.0 | |
| PADM 6010 [0.5] | Current Issues in Public Policy | |
| PADM 6011 [0.5] | Theoretical Foundations of Public Policy | |
| PADM 6012 [0.5] | Policy Process and Institutions | |
| PADM 6013 [0.5] | Research Design for Public Policy | |
| 2. 0.5 credit in research methods, such as PADM 5218 or another research methods course at the 5000 or 6000 level (See Note 1, below) | 0.5 | |
| 3. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PECO 6000 [0.5] | Political Economy: Core Concepts | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| A relevant political economy course from the approved list. | ||
| 5. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 6900 [0.5] | Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination (See Note 2, below) | |
| 6. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| PADM 6201 [0.5] | Doctoral Research Seminar (See Note 3, below) | |
| 7. Public defence of a written thesis proposal | ||
| 8. 0.0 credits in: | 0.0 | |
| PADM 6909 [0.0] | Ph.D. Thesis (in the specialization) | |
| 9. Language requirement (See Note 5, below) | ||
| Total Credits | 4.5 |
Courses
These courses were identified on the program source page. Their presence does not mean they are all required in every pathway.
Sources and references
Reference year : 2026-27
Dates and sources are retained to help you verify the information. Translations are provided to facilitate reading; the official source governs conditions and requirements.
Source reference : https://calendar.carleton.ca/grad/gradprograms/publicpolicyandadministration/