Accelerated Bachelor/MPP - Open to current UVa undergraduates from all majors, the Accelerated Bachelor/MPP Program allows admitted students to complete both a bachelor’s degree and a master of public policy degree in five years, rather than the normal six.
UVa undergraduate students typically apply for admission during their third year. Applicants must demonstrate that they will have earned at least 90 undergraduate credits before the start of their fourth year. In addition, prior to enrollment in the accelerated MPP program, students are required to have passed ECON 2010 and any one of the following math courses: MATH 1210 - Applied Calculus I; MATH 1212 - Applied Calculus I with Algebra; MATH 1310 - Calculus I; APMA 1090 - Single Variable Calculus I; or any more advanced calculus course. The economics and math prerequisites can be fulfilled through either coursework or AP credit. Summer coursework before the fall semester in which the student begins the program is also an option.
Once admitted to and enrolled in the Accelerated Bachelor/MPP Program, students begin their professional studies at the Batten School while completing their remaining undergraduate coursework to receive their bachelor’s degree. They will take three Batten core courses per semester of their first year with Batten, for a total of six Batten courses during the first year of the program. The remaining two courses per semester of their final undergraduate year are available for students to complete their major, minor, other undergraduate requirements, or electives relevant to the MPP program.
Students must complete all of the academic requirements for and receive their undergraduate degree by the end of their fourth year in order to be eligible to advance to graduate standing and receive the MPP degree.
During the summer in between their fourth and fifth years, Batten students participate in a required internship in a public policy field of the students’ interest. At the conclusion of the summer internship, Batten students return for their fifth year as graduate students completing their MPP coursework.
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