The MS program prepares students with science and engineering backgrounds and the MPP-STEP program prepares students with any undergraduate background to assume roles in public policy development, implementation, management, and leadership. For example, students are taught to analyze and design policies for appropriate promotion and oversight of science and technology regionally, nationally, and internationally. They explore the interactions between science & technology and society in interdisciplinary ways, with a problem-oriented (e.g. climate change) approach.
To complement HHH courses, students are able to take additional coursework from a wide range of departments across the University of Minnesota, such as Natural Resources and Management, Conservation Biology, Management of Technology, Environmental Policy, Applied Economics, and Bioethics. MS and MPP-STEP graduates have a wealth of job opportunities available to them, and graduates end up in state and federal government (e.g. Department of Commerce, Energy policy analyst), business (e.g. 3M regulatory affairs), and non-profit (e.g. Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development policy analyst) policy positions.