National Law School of India University, Bangalore announces Master of Public Policy course.

Overview of Master of Public Policy (MPP) Course

Public sector in India, recently, has witnessed expansion of a wide range of services such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Food, Right to Information, Forest Rights, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Right to education, National Rural Health Mission, Rashtriya Swasthya Bhima Yojana and others. Interestingly, these initiatives have been legitimized and supported by legal framework. While they have brought some changes, there are huge gaps in achieving the goals set by these programmes. This is largely due to lack of trained personnel in different stages of policy making, policy designing and implementation. Therefore, there is a compelling need to prepare professionals who would be able to address these development issues.

Being a premier Law University, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), celebrating its 25th year, has once again taken the lead in launching Master of Public Policy, a multi-disciplinary programme with a special thrust on law as an interface between development and public policy, to meet the above challenges.

Graduates of MPP will be able to serve both in public sector and private sector. Job opportunities are open in public sector organisations, such as various government departments of state and central ministries, regulatory bodies such as NABARD, RBI, TRAI, IRDA, SEBI etc and planning bodies such as Planning Commission, state/district planning boards and quasi-judicial commissions. NGOs, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) bodies, public-private partnership ventures and private consultancy firms engaged in implementing government programmes are also looking for professionals with training in public policy. The course also enables students to enter into public life through civil service, leadership in political and civil society, and the course also provides additional qualification for further career advancements.

Opportunities also could be found in multilateral organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, other national/international funding agencies. The programme also aims to create intellectuals and policy advocates who will champion the cause of an inclusive society through initiating public debates on policy issues.

With the emerging multidisciplinary nature of academic and research programmes, the participants will have opportunities to pursue higher studies and work in different capacities in India and abroad.

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) continuously collects data globally on where the graduates of MPP programmes have taken up jobs. The trends show that opportunities are tremendous in public sector, private sector, and advocacy organizations. Few graduates also enter into higher education and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Eligibility

The candidate should have completed a graduation course (10+2+3 or 10+2+4 or 10 + 2 +5) in Social Sciences (anthropology, commerce, cultural studies, development studies, economics, education, fine arts, international relations, psychology, political science, sociology, women studies), Humanities (cultural studies, history, law, literature, mathematics, media studies, philosophy, public administration, theology, statistics), Professional courses (archaeology, environmental science, management, health care, urban planning, rural development/management, social work), Science (natural sciences, agricultural science, engineering, medicine, pharmacology),  or similar interdisciplinary degrees from an Indian university or equivalent degree from a foreign university.

The course is also open to people preparing for a career in civil services, politics and governance, social activists and opinion makers, planners and service providers, lawyers and judges who want to serve in Family Courts, Labour Courts, Juvenile Courts, Lokayukta and so on, who fulfil the above criteria.  The course is also open to officers on deputation from public sector and government agencies.

All India Competitive Examination and Interviews

After the scrutiny of the application forms, candidates will be invited for a Policy Aptitude Test (to be held in four cities – Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai – on 10 May 2014). Details of the structure of the Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) can be found here. Based on the score of the Policy Aptitude Test, interviews will be held in NLSIU campus in Bangalore during 9-11 June 2014. List of the admitted candidates would be prepared based on the score obtained in PAT and interviews.

Intake

The class size of MPP programme is 40 for the batch of 2014-16. Following is the break up:

General Category: 30 seats

Scheduled Castes: 6 seats (15%)

Scheduled Tribes: 3 seats (7.5%)

Persons with Disability: 1 seat (2.5%)

Foreign Nationals

Seats available for foreign nationals: 05. Admission for a candidate belonging to foreign national category is based on the mark/grade of graduation, aptitude exhibited in the application form and work experience.

Fee and Cost-

1st Year fee-  Rs. 1,76,200/-

2nd Year fee- Rs. 1,59,000/-

Application Deadlines

Last date to receive filled-in application forms: 15 April 2014

Entrance Examination (Policy Aptitude Test): 10 May 2014

Announcement of shortlisted candidates for personal interviews on the website: 20 May 2014

Personal Interviews in Bangalore NLSIU campus: 9-11 June 2014

Announcement of selection on the website: 13 June 2014

Last date to accept admission and to pay the fee: 20 June 2014

Course start date: 09 July 2014

Application form Download click here

For more details and enquiries click here

Contact via email at ‘ admission4publicpolicy@nls.ac.in’

Tel. +91 80 23213531

Mob. +91 9986098655

 Simar Pal Singh is a  4th year  Law student at Amity Law School