Having policy practitioners teach our core classes gives you a real feel for what it means to work for the government and the role of government in our lives. Irene Lin, MPP 04 Senior Associate, Kennedy Communications Amherst College, BA in American Studies, 1998

MPP students are taught by and work closely with policy researchers in the Institute for Policy Studies. IPS, the university's primary policy research and teaching arm in the social sciences, boasts a distinguished staff of policy professionals covering economic development, housing and urban policy, human resource development policy, and all other major social issues. It stands at the cutting edge of policy research, including the non-profit sector in the U.S. and abroad. The large number of ongoing research projects leads to rich opportunities for students, including research assistantships, internships and study.

For more information on a faculty member’s areas of study, please click on a name.

David M. Altschuler, Ph.D.
Principal Research Scientist
Juvenile justice and youth crime
Drug involvement and other crime

Burt S. Barnow, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Research / Principal Research Scientist
Employment and training policy
Program evaluation

Sandra J. Newman, Ph.D.
Director / Professor of Policy Studies
Policy analysis
Housing policy for vulnerable populations
Long-term care policy

Demetra S. Nightingale, Ph.D.
Principal Research Scientist
Employment, welfare, poverty and social policy

Marion W. Pines, B.A.
Senior Fellow
Youth and family policy
Education reform
Welfare reform policy

Lester M. Salamon, Ph.D.
Founding Director / Principal Research Scientist
U.S. and international nonprofit sector
Social welfare policy
Economic development policy

Joe Sterne, M.A.
Senior Fellow
Media and public policy

Affiliated Faculty

John J. Boland, professor of geography and environmental engineering, School of Engineering, teaches elective courses in Economic Foundations for Public Decision making and Environmental Policy Analysis. He holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Boland's current research interests include environment and public utility economics, water resource management, and environmental policy.

The Honorable Benjamin Cardin, U.S. House of Representatives (Maryland, Third District), conducts a series of seminars on the workings of the Congress, including sessions on the legislative process, how different interests influence outcomes, and ethical issues.

Andrew Cherlin, Benjamin H. Griswold III Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Sociology, teaches an elective course, Issues in Welfare Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA. Dr. Cherlin's areas of specialization include the sociology of the family, demography, and urban sociology.

Matthew A. Crenson, professor of political science, School of Arts and Sciences, teaches the core course on Citizenship and Politics. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is an expert on urban politics. Dr. Crenson's current research examines the political origins of American welfare policy.

Ruth R. Faden is the Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics at The Bioethics Institute and Professor of Health Policy & Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health. Her research interests focus on ethics and health policy management. She received a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Bernard Guyer, professor and chair of maternal and child health policy at the School of Hygiene and Public Health, holds an M.D. degree from the University of Rochester. Dr. Guyer's areas of specialization include maternal and child health policy, practice and finance; childhood injury prevention; child development; and childhood immunization.

Robert Moffitt, professor of economics and population and family health services at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a Ph.D. from Brown University. Dr. Moffitt's areas of specialization include labor economics, econometrics, public finance and population economics.

Vicente Navarro is professor of health policy, sociology, and public policy, and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Health Services. His research interests focus on international study of the welfare state, and on the impact of the globalization of the world economy on social structures and social policy. He received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.