The Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy is known for more than its prestigious reputation. It’s also known for its distinct ability to equip students to solve pressing global policy challenges, providing rigorous training for the next generation of policy leaders, and encouraging students to engage in global policymaking.
Within the Brooks School, the residential Master of Public Affairs program offers seven concentrations that prepare students to work across disciplines in careers that serve the greater good, whether in management, leadership, private, or nonprofit sectors.
When considering a public policy master’s program, deciding where to pursue your degree can feel overwhelming with countless options at hand. We want to simplify your decision by narrowing your focus to one key question: “Why Brooks?”.
Below, we’ll explore just a few reasons why earning your MPA from the Brooks School is an exceptional choice that is sure to help propel your career forward.
The Cornell Brooks MPA is an Ivy League experience, but how does that translate to tangible benefits?
Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, senior lecturer in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and 2024 Kaplan Fellowship recipient focuses her research on managed retreat and equity, environmental justice, bridging policy with science, and building disaster resilience with vulnerable communities. She collaborates domestically and internationally to foster innovative approaches that address and improve social and environmental conditions. From electrical grid training in New York to disaster planning with FEMA, she works on developing sustainable, community-focused strategies to promote recovery in the face of environmental challenges. Professor Morgenstern Brenner teaches courses on environmental policy, environmental justice, vulnerability and resilience, disaster policy, project management, and ethics.
These benefits are just the beginning. At the Cornell Brooks School, students go beyond theory and engage with real-world challenges from the start.
Making an impact is often a long-term goal, but at the Cornell Brooks School, students have opportunities for engaged learning that allow them to dive in immediately.
For example, in PUBPOL 4960: State Policy and Advocacy Clinic, Alexandra Dufresne teaches students how to design and advocate for specific state-level public policies by researching and proposing actual policies before the legislative and administrative branches of the state of New York.
The Brooks School understands that real-world policy problems do not slow down. They demand action even as you learn, and students engage in this work throughout their studies as they train to solve public policy challenges at the community, state, and global levels.
Executive Director of Public Affairs Programming, Tom O’Toole, puts it best:
“Wicked public policy problems don’t wait for the sharpest minds in the field to finish graduate programs; that’s why the Brooks School encourages students to spend one semester of their degree careers off-campus living, working, and studying as part of a rigorous externship semester. These programs immerse students in environments where they are working to solve problems in real-time.”
This signature MPA experience places students in leading organizations and pairs them with alumni mentors working within those organizations. Through this fully immersive semester living off campus, students contribute to meaningful projects, gain real-world insight, and build their résumés long before graduation.
The Brooks MPA Capstone is where academic knowledge meets sustainable impact. This final project allows students to collaborate with government agencies, nonprofits, and international organizations.
Through the capstone, students take on meaningful projects that result in new programs, policy assessments, business plans, and actionable strategies. It is a chance to deliver tangible outcomes for clients while sharpening leadership, research, and project management skills.
The program’s established relationships with leading organizations ensure students work on impactful initiatives. Previous partners have included:
Recent student teams have contributed to projects such as:
The capstone experience is a sustainable approach to public policy education, helping organizations advance their missions while allowing students to find their passion and professional focus in the field.
Ultimately, you need a school that prepares you with the expertise to enter the field and enact change via policy. You need a school that will equip you to take on any industry with confidence and drive. Policy work demands resilience, stamina, determination, and the expertise to stand firm in defense of your mission. An interdisciplinary Ivy League education from Cornell has the credentials to ensure you have the qualifications.
With immersive, hands-on learning opportunities, expert faculty, and powerful connections in the field, the Brooks MPA positions you to make an immediate and lasting impact. From engaged coursework to externships and the capstone project, every step of the program is designed to help you build the skills and experience needed to solve today’s complex policy challenges.
Explore our resource—An Educational Guide for Future Leaders in Public Affairs—to learn more about the Brooks School of Public Policy, the advantages of earning an MPA, and where this degree can take you.
Your future in public policy starts here.