Complementary Policy Area (9 Credits)
One of the MPP's greatest strengths is its flexibility. Rather than locking students into a fixed concentration, the program allows you to build your own policy specialization by choosing three graduate electives from anywhere across UNM's campus — guided by your professional goals and in consultation with your faculty advisor.
There are no required courses in this component and no formal concentrations. The three electives you choose are yours to shape. Students have built complementary policy areas in fields including:
Environmental Policy — drawing on courses in economics, geography, law, and community and regional planning.
Health Policy — drawing on courses in public health, medicine, economics, and sociology.
Education Policy — drawing on courses in education, sociology, economics, and public administration.
Native American Policy and Governance — drawing on courses in Native American studies, law, political science, and public administration.
Crime and Justice Policy — drawing on courses in criminology, sociology, law, and public administration.
Economic Development — drawing on courses in economics, geography, community and regional planning, and public administration.
Immigration Policy — drawing on courses in political science, sociology, law, and Latin American studies.
Politics and Elections — drawing on courses in political science, communications, and sociology.
International Security and Foreign Relations — drawing on courses in political science, international studies, and economics.
Methods of Policy Analysis — drawing on courses in statistics, research methods, and evaluation across multiple departments.
This is not an exhaustive list. If your policy interest isn't represented here, talk to your faculty advisor — UNM's graduate offerings are extensive and the right set of courses for your goals almost certainly exists somewhere on campus.
