Applied Statistics / Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy

This dual-degree program offers students interested in contributing to public policy the opportunity to develop both their quantitative skills and their policy analysis and public management expertise by completing both an MS in Applied Statistics at NYU Steinhardt and an MPA in Public & Nonprofit Management & Policy at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in two years. The MS program focuses on understanding and applying advanced statistical techniques critical to policy issues across the social, behavioral, and health sciences. The MPA program, with its Public Policy Analysis specialization, provides students with key frameworks from economics and political science alongside important skills in management and finance, and sets them up to play a leading role in designing, implementing, and evaluating policy that better serves the public good. This dual degree allows for 24 credits of course work to apply to both degrees, so students can complete their MS and MPA in only two years of continuous, full-time study resulting in considerable financial savings.

Students enroll full-time, taking courses within the MPA, Public Policy Analysis specialization (30 credits) and MS, Applied Statistics in Social Science Research (34 credits) programs concurrently. Students who waive a required course will take an advanced elective in its place. NYU Wagner electives may be from the school or from an approved NYU graduate course. Students graduate and receive a diploma from each school after successful completion of the dual-degree requirements for both degrees.

Students in this program enjoy the benefits of being members of two leading professional schools at NYU. At Wagner, they will be part of a vibrant community of students, practitioners, and scholars focused on public policy and public service. They will learn context and implementation, along with key frameworks of policy analysis. At Steinhardt, students will be inculcated in the foundations of probability and statistics and will learn how and when to implement a variety of methods appropriate for evidence-based policy and practice.  Students in both programs will have access to student groups, symposia, special events, individualized advising, and career support services.

Careers in public policy increasingly rely on a combination of data analytic skills and substantive policy knowledge. Government and nonprofit organizations are interested in tapping into their treasure trove of data to inform public policy debates. Major for-profit enterprises also increasingly have to contend with the public policy implications of their business activities. It is no longer sufficient to be only a generalist statistician or a policy specialist. Many professional opportunities benefit from and require the combination of both skill sets.  We expect graduates from this dual-degree program to be well prepared for jobs at all levels of government, in non-governmental organizations and not-for-profits, at evaluation firms, and at research and advocacy institutions.