MASTER OF SCIENCE IN
SOCIAL Policy
Create policy solutions that increase equality, promote equity, and forge enduring social change.
The Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) Program empowers you to evaluate, create, and execute critically oriented, evidence-informed policy solutions in government and non-government settings. You’ll experience an innovative curriculum, gain access to expert faculty, and engage in intensive real-world experiences that will prepare you to drive meaningful change in health, housing, education, immigration, and beyond.
For students interested in enhancing their studies with a certificate that prepares them to leverage data analytics for social policy, SP2 also offers the MSSP+Data Analytics (MSSP+DA) program.
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Director’s Welcome
“You will become part of a vibrant and diverse community of scholars who share your passion for social change.”
World-Class Faculty
The MSSP program faculty are here to help you shape your own area of policy expertise, drawing on decades of scholarship, teaching, and experience in areas including education and social policy, homelessness, integrated database systems, the labor market, and global culture.
The SP2 Difference
Complete your degree full time (11 months) or part time (2.5 years)
Gain hands-on, career-focused experience through a 250-hour policy internship
Tailor your studies through interdisciplinary electives throughout Penn
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Acquire skills in research and evaluation, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, and policy communication
Receive highly individualized advising and attention
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Become part of a diverse global alumni network
Curriculum
Through the coursework, you’ll learn a combination of theory, policy analysis, policy research, and evaluation methods using a variety of analytical tools. You’ll also gain real-world, practical experience through a 250-hour policy internship. Through the MSSP Program, you’ll become a socially minded and justice-oriented policy professional able to instill effective, positive change.
You may choose three elective courses to maximize breadth in multiple substantive policy areas or to specialize your degree in an area of social policy analysis and conduct further research. One of your three electives must be an MSSP Theory Elective, which enhances your critical thinking and analysis skills and enables you to apply critical theory within the realm of social policy analysis.
The remaining elective courses may be taken either at the School of Social Policy or at any of the 12 graduate schools at Penn. For more information on selecting elective courses, please visit the Resources Page.
Full-Time
The course grid reflects the 10-course unit required course of study for MSSP students to ensure on-time graduation. Occasional scheduling alterations may be made on an individual basis with the approval of an academic advisor. Dual degree students should reference the course outline listed on the dual degree webpage.
1st Semester (Fall)
- MSSP 6280: Policy: Analysis of Issues, Strategy and Process (1 CU)
- MSSP 6290: Research & Evaluation Design (1 CU)*
- MSSP 6300: Quantitative Reasoning (1 CU)
- MSSP 6680: Economics for Social Policy (1 CU)
- SP2 Elective 1 or MSSP Theory Elective (1 CU)*
- MSSP 6370: MSSP Policy Internship Seminar (0CU)
*May be taken in spring or fall
5 CU
2nd Semester (Spring)
- MSSP 6310: Law and Social Policy or MSSP 7805: Law and Social Policy: Foundations (1 CU)
- MSSP 8970:
- Applied Linear Modeling (1 CU)
- SP2 Elective 1 or MSSP Theory Elective (1 CU)*
- SP2 Elective 2 (1 CU)
- MSSP 6360: MSSP Capstone Seminar: Policy Communications (1 CU)
- MSSP 6370: MSSP Policy Internship Seminar (0CU)
*May be taken in spring or fall
5 CU
Students are required to take MSSP 6290, one approved MSSP Theory Elective, and two approved elective courses. These courses can be distributed across the fall and spring semesters as noted by the course grid.
Part-Time
This course grid reflects the 10 course unit required course of study for MSSP students. The part-time configuration can be completed in 2-3 years. Occasional scheduling alterations may be made on an individual basis with the approval of an academic advisor. Dual degree students should reference the course outline listed on the dual degree webpage.
1st Semester (Fall)
- MSSP 6280: Policy: Analysis of Issues, Strategy & Process (1 CU)
- MSSP 6300: Quantitative Reasoning (1 CU)
2 CU
2nd Semester (Spring)
- MSSP 6310: Law and Social Policy (1 CU)
- MSSP 8970: Applied Linear Modeling (1 CU)
2 CU
3rd Semester (Summer)
- SP2 Elective 1 (1 CU)
- SP2 Elective 2 (1 CU)
2 CU
4th Semester (Fall)
- MSSP 6290: Research and Evaluation Design (1 CU)
- MSSP 6680: Economics for Social Policy (1 CU)
- MSSP 6370: MSSP Policy Internship Seminar (0 CU)
2 CU
5th Semester (Spring)
- MSSP Theory Elective (1 CU)
- MSSP 6360: MSSP Capstone Seminar: Policy Communications (1 CU)
- MSSP 6370: MSSP Policy Internship Seminar (0CU)
2 CU
Social Policy Internship
You’ll hone your policy analysis skills and gain valuable work experience by completing a required 250-hour policy internship throughout the academic year. This internship is tailored to your interests and past social policy experiences and can be completed in-person or remotely. You may even be able to complete the internship at your current place of employment.
Ready to join the MSSP community?
FEATURED ALUMNI
Ayesha Amin
“What I appreciated most about my experience at SP2 was the space it gave me to explore. I didn’t come in with a clear roadmap, but I was met with openness, flexibility, and the freedom to learn across disciplines… I also valued how many professors encouraged us to question systems, power structures, and our own positionality. One of the key takeaways for me was learning how to hold complexity to understand that social change doesn’t have a single path, and that meaningful work takes time, reflection, and openness.”
Related News
Student Life
06/05
SP2 master’s programs celebrate partnerships & student impact
On Thursday, May 15, Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) hosted its second annual Celebrating Partnerships and Student Impact event. The event brought together SP2 master’s programs and their community partners from Greater Philadelphia area schools, faith-based organizations, charitable foundations, and more.
Alumni
05/21
SP2 honors five accomplished alumni at 2025 hall of fame ceremony
Five distinguished alumni of Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) were celebrated at the 2025 SP2 Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, May 16. The evening event marked the seventh year that the School has honored alumni through the SP2 Hall of Fame. The event began with remarks from SP2 Dean Sara S. Bachman.
Faculty & Research
02/07
Improving lives through data: SP2’s Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy boosts national impact through students and alumni
Like a number of SP2 students and alumni, Sharon Zanti, PhD in Social Welfare ’24, has taken a path that is interwoven with SP2’s Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP). An initiative co-founded by Professor Dennis Culhane, AISP has paved the way for state and local governments to better support residents by responsibly connecting data.
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MSSP Program