Master of Public Policy and Administration - Data Science (Collaborative Specialization)

For six decades, the School of Public Policy and Administration has been the leading centre for Canadian scholarship and graduate education in policy and administrationexamining what governments do, why, and how they could do it better. The Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) is a professionally relevant academic degree. It provides a comprehensive and rigorous preparation for careers that will engage with the public sector, recognizing that those careers may span the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Data Science is the next frontier of information technology but few universities offer programming in this area. Carleton's new collaborative master's in Data Science is geared at graduate students and high-tech professionals who are interested in understanding how to analyze and use big data sets collected by governments, industry, NGOs etc. for purposes such as generating personal recommendations for online shopping, improving the efficiency of health care delivery or predicting national security threats.

Applicants must have an undergraduate or post-graduate degree (or equivalent), with an average of B+ or higher. The level of academic performance and potential demonstrated within the degree is more important than the discipline. Indeed, students enter the program from a wide variety of backgrounds in the social sciences, humanities, sciences and engineering.

Transcript(s) (all post-secondary transcripts are required)

Letters of Reference (2 required) Please select two referees who can comment on your preparation and potential for graduate study in public policy and administration. Ideally, both will be university faculty members who have taught you in upper-year courses, or who have supervised your academic work. If you have been away from university studies for some time, you may select non-academic referees who have supervised your professional work.

Statement of Intent (1 required) that is no more than 1 page, single-spaced. In it, please briefly outline: your academic and/or professional experience, your personal and professional goals, and how the MPPA will build on that experience in order to help you reach those goals.

CV/R'sum (1 required) that includes information about your education, professional experience, voluntary activities, and noteworthy achievements.

Writing Sample (1 required): of which you are the sole author, 8-20 pages, double-spaced (e.g., a paper you wrote for a course).

Language Proficiency: All applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency in one of the following ways:

a) Present an official transcript to indicate that they have completed a degree within the past three years in a university in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or any other country in which the primary language is English, and where the language of instruction in the relevant educational institution was exclusively English,
b) Provide official documentation of a satisfactory English proficiency test score. Minimum scores for the program are: CAEL: 70, TOEFL (paper-based test): 600, TOEFL (computer-based test): 250, TOEFL (internet-based test): 100, with a minimum score of 25 on each component, IELTS: 7, with a minimum of 6.0 in each band score.