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Program Overview:

The MS in Social Policy is an 11-month program spanning

three semesters o study. In some cases, students may

elect to extend the program over a longer period o time.

Courses in the ull-time MS in Social Policy program beginin September and continue through July.

The Master o Science in Social Policy Program (MSSP)

prepares proessionals or policy leadership positions

in government, philanthropic oundations, research

institutes, nonprot and non-governmental organizations,

and other related settings, through:

Understanding the world views, assumptions, and

philosophies underlying all policy solutions;

Understanding how decisions about social policy

issues are made, shaped and inuenced at local,state, national and global levels;

Formulating a social reform agenda that is

evidence-based and aims at improving the equity,

eectiveness and efciency o policy creation and

implementation; and

Generating and considering a wide array of policy

options to address social problems.

The program is designed or:

Early and mid-career professionals engaged in

policy work in a wide variety of organizationalsettings;

Recent recipients of a bachelors degree in the

social sciences who wish to develop policy skills;

and

Students pursuing other advanced degrees at Penn

who wish a graduate degree in social policy may

be able to combine the MSSP with the following

degrees: Master of Social Work (MSW), Master

o Public Administration (MPA), Master o Public

Health (MPH), and Juris Doctor (JD).In every case, the students progress in meeting the

programs requirements will be guided by a written

Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) developed jointly by

the student and the students academic advisor.

Admission Requirements:

Applicants to the MSSP Program must have:

A demonstrated record of academic achievement

in undergraduate education;

Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate

Management Admission Test (GMAT), or Law

School Admission Test (LSAT) scores that indicate

the requisite analytic ability;

Test of English as a Second Language (TOEFL) or

International English Language Testing System

(ILETS) scores are required for international or

resident students whose rst language is other

than English;

Three references (two academic and one

proessional); and A writing sample that demonstrates potential for

policy analysis work.

Application Deadline:

The MSSP program oers a rolling admission process until

the class is lled. Financial aid is allocated on a preferred

basis to those whose applications are completed by or

beore April 15.

For more details visit our website:

www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/mssp. Or contact

Caroline Wong, MSW, Senior Associate Director, at

cwong@sp2.upenn.edu; (215) 573-4977.

PENNS MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SOCIAL POLICY (MSSP)leadership in policy... changing laws

www.sp2.upenn.edu

Partial list o our graduates post-MSSPemployment sites:

American Institutes for Research

Brookings

Center for Social Responsibility, Jewish Federationof Greater Philadelphia

Community First Fund (CDFI), Pennsylvania

Common Ground, New York

Department o Homeland Security, Washington,

DC

Goodwill Industries International, Rockville, MD

Impact Services o Philadelphia

National Conference of State Legislatures

National League of Cities, Washington, DC

Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia

The Hatcher Group

The Mural Arts Program o Philadelphia

Reach for College, Washington, DC

United Way, Philadelphia and New York

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The MSSP Program prepared

me to think critically about

which practices and policies will

catalyze student achievement inurban school districts.

Alisha Scruggs, MSSP07,

Management and ProgramAnalyst, U.S. Department oEducation

The MSSP Program gave me the needed tools

and skills to pursue a career in ex-oender

services and prison policy. Undoubtedly, I am

prepared to be a great leader, innovator and

researcher in my eld o expertise.

Herbert Whren, MSSP11, Ex-oenderServices, Impact Services, Inc.

I am a Contract Specialist in the

Oce of Procurement Operationsor the Department o Homeland

Security. My ofce supports

the Secretary o DHS, (Janet

Napolitano) and the Oce of the

Undersecretary for Management.

Specic customers include the

Chief Financial Ocer (CFO), the

Chief Procurement Ocer (CPO),

the Chief Administrative Ocer (CAO), the Chief

Human Capital Ocer (CHCO) and the Chief SecurityOcer (CSO). Acquisitions conducted in this division

include perormance-based products and services.

I work on a team which handles multi-million dollar

special projects to support agency-wide initiatives for

the Department o Homeland Security.

Tanisha Walcott, MSSP09, Contract Specialist,Ofce o Procurement Operations, The Department

o Homeland Security

The MSSP Program prepared me for the growing demand

for accountability in grant making, how to develop program

metrics and evaluation criteria, and understanding o the

complex relationship government has with the nonprot sector.

Brian Gralnick, MSSP07, Director, Center or SocialResponsibility, Jewish Federation o Greater Philadelphia

The MSSP Program gave me the tools and condence to

pursue a career in international development/policy work.

I am grateul or the time my proessors invested in me

and or the relationships I developed through my time at

SP2 and beyond.

Emily Wengrovius, MSSP08, Policy Specialist, State-Federal Relations, National Conerence o StateLegislatures

I loved that each student could choose their ownpersonal emphasis; not only did this allow me to focus

on my own interest in Criminal Justice but our classes

were lled with enriching dialog. The conversations, the

connections with students and faculty and the wide

range o classes have thoroughly prepared me or my

career in policy and research.

Ashley Chapman, MSSP08, Virginia StatewideAdvocacy Manager, National Multiple Sclerosis Society