Online Public Policy Leadership Certificate | Pepperdine University Online

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Pepperdine University is accredited by the WASC Senior Colleges and Universities Commission (WSCUC). This certificate has been reviewed and approved by WSCUC.

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MPPL 600: Leading Across Differences: Styles, Worldviews, and Connections

This course explores the human dimension of leadership, focusing on how various personal leadership styles and perspectives shape not only the leader’s perspectives and actions, but also how they interact with those of other actors and individuals. The course will include a personal inventory of the individual’s worldview and leadership styles and provide exercises and opportunities to explore the advantages and limitations of that style. It will build on a survey of the range of possible worldviews and styles to help students not only understand their unique dimensions, but also to facilitate their understanding of ways to connect with them. Students will also actively engage with how their personal worldviews shape the ways they connect and communicate with others. Leadership is a decidedly human experience and this course will explore how to effectively connect with others to engage them, enlist them, and mobilize them to common purposes and goals.

Strategic Leadership with a Moral Foundation

The School of Public Policy's online certificate in Public Policy Leadership is a comprehensive program that incorporates emerging technologies and centers on data-driven analysis, multidisciplinary knowledge, and a deep emphasis on moral decision-making. It prepares you to tackle important issues of public interest and serve society in meaningful ways, whether in education, local government, communications, nonprofit or faith-based organizations, think tanks, or business.

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National Education Leader with Proven Success

Pepperdine University is one of the top 50 universities in the country, connecting students with current debates in public policy along with an influential network of leaders. Its DC presence provides ongoing insights into national policy development from the epicenter of national governance while its main campus in Southern California provides an important policy laboratory for state and local government policy.

Ranked #49 nationally and a Top 10 Policy Program in the West by U.S. News & World Report
1000+ School of Public Policy graduates employed on Capitol Hill and in local government, major think tanks, consulting firms, and more
Home to The Davenport Institute, a nonprofit organization working to engage citizens in policy decisions that affect their everyday lives (affiliated with the School of Public Policy)

Created for Impact and Innovation

The innovative online curricula incorporate emerging technologies, community engagement, data-informed decision-making, and readiness for future challenges. The online certificate in Public Policy Leadership takes a forward-thinking, multidisciplinary approach to prepare leaders with the most relevant skills for making a difference in whichever career they pursue.

Leadership-focused using quantitative and qualitative analysis skills to make public institutions more efficient and responsive to the public
Suitable for public, nonprofit, and private organizations or governmental roles

Based on Servant Leadership

The online certificate in Public Policy Leadership is rooted in philosophy, history, liberal arts, and viewpoint diversity, bringing a sense of humanity to policy leadership. Coursework holistically approaches public policy through foundations in philosophy and history, Christian values, and an emphasis on moral sense and service to others.

Founded in the Churches of Christ tradition, with the belief that the formation, evaluation, and practice of public policy is a sacred calling devoted to service
Welcomes all faith backgrounds and celebrates a culture of diversity
Pepperdine University is named as #13 Best Christian College in America and one of the Top 100 Private Universities by Niche.com

Online Public Policy and Leadership Foundations Course Descriptions

Fast Facts

5 courses
15 credit hours
Tuition: $1,730 per credit hour*
3 intakes per year

*This is the current rate and may be subject to change annually.

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MPPL 601: Prudence in Public Leadership: Case Studies in Leadership and Decision Making

This course examines how leaders make decisions. It surveys the landscape of decision-making models for leaders and positions the student in a laboratory to learn from some of the most effective and ineffective leaders in history. It teaches systems-based strategies to map alternative approaches to solving problems, explores the role that individual creativity plays in leadership, and demonstrates ways that collaboration with others can both hinder and facilitate good policy outcomes. While there is a historical focus on learning from the lessons of others, there is a forward-looking emphasis on building collaborative solutions to problems that require nuance and cooperation to address. The fundamentals of decision theory and systems analysis will be combined with tools for addressing conflict to help students develop solid heuristics for making decisions in complex and often divided policy environments.

Admission Requirements

MPPL 602: Collaboration, Conflict Resolution, and Negotiations in Public Policy

The theory and practice of alternative dispute resolution—negotiation, mediation, and arbitration—have burgeoned in the realm of United States domestic law. This salutary development has significantly reduced the time and cost of resolving many disputes, often mitigated their severity, and sometimes fostered genuine cooperation and reconciliation. Mediation and arbitration have a far more ambiguous record for resolving international disputes. This course will examine the role of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the realm of public policy from domestic issues to international politics.

MPPL 603: Using Data, Analytics, Information, and Budgets to Lead

For leaders to make prudent decisions, they must understand the full array of the information available to them. This course is designed to provide a sophisticated understanding of how to (1) manage today’s exploding volume of information; (2) intelligently comprehend, consume, and use statistical research and data; (3) use the various data analysis techniques to derive insight from data; (4) be able to quickly understand the how public finance information is communicated; and (5) grasp the value and limitations of various forms of quantitative and data-driven analysis. Students will be immersed in the practical questions that should guide how information should define and inform their thinking and decision processes. While not a statistics course, students will finish it with a healthy appreciation of the appropriate role that data analysis and analytics can and should play in their leadership portfolio.

MPPL 604: Navigating the Structure, Operation, and Ethos of American Institutions: A Tale of Two Perspectives

A Tale of Two Perspectives. This course aims to provide a firm grasp of how major institutions operate in the American political process. These institutional settings exert powerful and often decisive effects on the efficacy and legitimacy of public policy. A firm grounding in this subject is, therefore, foundational for anyone engaged seriously and systematically in the arena of public policy—public or private. The course explores the perennial debate about the American Founding, a debate which increasingly divides the American political landscape, including the contending perspectives on the proper relationship between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches; between state, local, and federal governments; and between government at all levels and the individual. It will also delve into the rise of the Administrative State as it addresses the dynamics, legitimate functions, and sometimes dysfunctions of bure.

Employment Outlook

Associated Skill

Data Analysis

Conflict Management

Public Health and Safety

Number of Job Postings

504,377

408,567

335,502

Designed for Impact and Innovation

In today’s complex political and economic environment, professionals who can humanize politics, create sustainable policy solutions, and practice effective public leadership are needed now more than ever. Three specializations and the core curriculum (Public Policy Leadership) are offered as graduate certificate options that can be combined/stacked for the full master’s degree.

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finacial aid

online experience

Supportive Online Learning

Are you new to online learning, or do you need help with something specific? Our enrollment team provides personalized tours of the online campus in which you will be learning. They can answer your questions and point you in the right direction. Help is just a click away.

Education Leader with Graduate Success

Pepperdine University is one of the top 50 universities in the country, connecting students with current debates in public policy along with an influential network of leaders. Its DC presence provides ongoing insights into national policy development from the epicenter of national governance while its main campus in Southern California provides an important policy laboratory for state and local government policy.

Designed for Impact and Innovation

The innovative online curricula incorporate emerging technologies, community engagement, data-informed decision-making, and readiness for future challenges. The online MPPL takes a forward-thinking, multidisciplinary approach to prepare leaders with the most relevant skills to make a difference in whichever career they pursue.

Focused on Servant Leadership

The online MPPL program and related certificates are rooted in philosophy, history, liberal arts, and viewpoint diversity, bringing a sense of humanity to policy leadership. Coursework holistically approaches public policy through foundations in philosophy and history, Christian values, and an emphasis on the moral sense and service to others.

Proven Graduate Success

1000+
Pepperdine Public Policy graduates are employed in Capitol Hill, local government, major think tanks, consulting firms, and more.

Agents of Change

More than 1,000 School of Public Policy alumni are serving around the world in a range of career paths, bringing with them a sense of humanity to public policy leadership.

Check out our blog

The Impact of Public Policy in a Community

The benefits of public policy in communities often result from the collaborative work of municipal governments, nonprofit organizations, and local businesses. Because policies in one area often overlap with other areas, leaders in this space require special skills in both identifying and making the tradeoffs needed to create successful solutions. These same leaders must be able to work with many, diverse and often conflicting constituencies. Effective leaders collaborate with this diversity to build coalitions and solutions that leverage the best in every community.Read more

Is an Online Master of Public Policy Right For Me?

The online Master of Public Policy and Leadership (MPPL) program from Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy equips servant leaders who are ready to evaluate the needs of others and work on their behalf to meet those needs in meaningful ways. But can an online degree program really prepare strong, capable leaders? The answer is an emphatic “yes!” In fact, online learning features several unique, key benefits.Read more

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