Courses

The Microeconomics Prep course aims to introduce students to key policy concepts, terms and analysis in preparation of the Microeconomics for Policy Analysis (PPG1002H) course. The Micro Prep course is offered in the summer before year one as a mix of asynchronous videos, some online quizzes and a few synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Before commencing their Fall term, incoming MPP students are encouraged to complete the MBA Math prep course, which provides a review of many of the mathematical tools required for the first-year courses in quantitative methods and economics.

MBA Math is an online program that allows students to learn key concepts in Economics and Statistics. Students can work through modules at their own pace and complete quizzes to track their knowledge and progress.

At the end of the prep course, all students must complete a required diagnostic of the math-stats topics covered. While this diagnostic is mandatory of incoming MPP students, there is no “minimum mark” that must be achieved on it. Rather, the purpose of the diagnostic is to provide incoming MPP students with information regarding their readiness for the topics to be covered in our quantitative methods and economics courses.

(Students who do not pass PPG1002H, PPG1004H, and/or PPG1008H must retake the Math-Stats diagnostic with a grade of at least 60%.)

Term: Fall (1st year)
Instructors: Jonathan Craft
Notes:  Required for all first year students

Description:
This course is intended to provide foundational knowledge of key governance structures and political institutions at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels in Canada. The course will examine the Constitution, the Westminster parliamentary system, federalism, and the courts. In this course, students will consider emerging challenges to existing institutions, including the rise of cities, demands for self-government among Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples, and the transition from government to governance, and will conclude by reflecting on the quality of Canada’s democratic institutions in comparative perspective.

Term: Fall (1st year)
Instructor: Stephan Heblich
Notes: Required of all first year students.
*Prerequisite: Knowledge of high school mathematics, particularly algebra, working with graphs and fractions.
*Post-requisite: Students who do not pass PPG1002H must retake the Math-Stats Prep course diagnostic with a grade of at least 60%.

Description:
This is a course in microeconomic theory for students in the MPP program at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. One objective of the course is to provide students with a foundation in microeconomic analysis and to demonstrate how it can be used to develop and evaluate public policy. Another objective is to increase students’ economic literacy and comfort with economic arguments. The course is designed to be accessible to all students, including those with no previous exposure to economics.

Term: Winter (1st year)
Instructor: Peter Dungan
Notes: Required for all first year students

Description:
The purpose of this course is to give MPP students a non-technical and broad-based understanding of macroeconomics and the tools of macroeconomic policy analysis.There are at least two reasons why macroeconomics is part of the MPP program: First, some MPP students will eventually wind up working on macro policy issues. Second, even those who do not will find that their policy work takes place in a broader macroeconomic environment that will inevitably affect them and that they need to understand.

Term: Fall (1st year)
Instructor: Laura Garcia-Montoya
Notes: Required for all first year students.
*Prerequisite: Knowledge of high school mathematics, particularly algebra, working with graphs and fractions.
*Post-requisite: Students who do not pass PPG1004H must retake the Math-Stats Prep course diagnostic with a grade of at least 60%

Description:
The central objective of this course is to equip students with the tools necessary to tackle issues that involve the empirical analysis of public policy problems of the sort they might encounter in a professional environment. The course will cover probability theory and statistics, with a focus on the sensible application of methods to deal with empirical problems using appropriate data.

The course is designed with twin objectives in mind. The first is to provide students with the ability to analyze critically the empirical analysis done by others at a level sufficient to make intelligent decisions about how to use that analysis in the design of public policy. The second is to provide students with the skills necessary to perform empirical policy analysis on their own or to participate on a team involved in such an empirical analysis.

Term: Fall or Winter (1st year)
Instructors: Andrew Parkin (Fall) and Ito Peng (Fall); Dan Zuberi (Winter)
Notes: Required for all first year students

Description:
This course explores how policy processes and frameworks need to be evaluated in light of the social context in which they are developed. Factors to be considered include the interplay between public values and expectations and public policy; the implications of structural, demographic, cultural and ideational changes, and understandings of ethical principles of conduct in public organizations. A related goal is to help students learn how to use empirical research to answer highly contested issues in policy circles and in public life. We will pursue these objectives by introducing students to major trends in inequality and social changes in Canada and in the world, assessing these trends within a comparative context, reflecting on their normative implications, and examining alternative policy responses to these developments.

Term: Winter (1st year)
Instructors: Noah Morris (Lec. 0101), Janet Mason (Lec. 0102), Drew Fagan (Lec. 0103 & 0104)
Notes: Required of all first year students. (All four sections of this course will be offered in the Winter term, and students will be graded individually by the instructors in each part of the course.)

Description:
This is a foundational course in professional policy practice. It is interdisciplinary, drawing on key concepts from science, social science, business and public administration as well as the world of the policy practitioner. This course introduces students to thinking in a critical, integrated way about how to deliver on public policy objectives in the context of a dynamic political and stakeholder environment. Specifically, it examines key considerations in developing an implementation strategy for a policy initiative.

Term: Winter (1st year)
Instructors: TBA, James Radner
Notes: *Prerequisite: PPG1004H.
Required of all first year students. (Both sections of this course are in the Winter term, and students will be graded individually by the instructors in each part of the course.)
Prerequisite: PPG1004H
*Post-requisite: Students who do not pass PPG1008H must retake the Math-Stats Prep course diagnostic with a grade of at least 60%

Description:
This course will introduce students to both quantitative and qualitative methods in program evaluation for public policy.  Students will gain an understanding of when and how to use various methods of program evaluation and will be exposed to both theoretical concepts and case studies.

This core course will be co-taught in the Winter term. The first 6-weeks will be taught by TBA, followed by 6-weeks of instruction by Prof. James Radner.

Term: Winter (1st year)
Instructor: TBA
Notes: Co-required of all first year students. MPP1 students must complete either GLA2029H or GLA2034H)
(GLA2029H is a joint course with the MGA program)

Description:
Sustainability is a growing priority for public sector, private sector and civil society organizations all over the world. Many are developing strong sustainability goals and targets. The purpose of this course is to have students engage with practitioners in such organizations, to create ‘living lab’ activities whereby the students help these practitioners to achieve sustainability objectives. Students will be organized in groups, each of which will undertake an applied research project on some aspect of sustainability relevant to their ‘client’ organization, working in close partnership with staff at organizations in the City of Toronto, or at the University of Toronto. Students will develop the skills needed to produce information relevant to real-world problem-solving across disciplines and fields of study, working with non-academic partners.

Term: Fall (1st year)
Instructors: Peter Loewen, Janice Stein
Notes: Co-required of all first year students. MPP1 students must complete either GLA2034H or GLA2029H)
(GLA2034H is a joint course with the MGA program)

Description:
This joint course with the MGA program introduces students to scholarship on the psychology of decision making and the analytics of strategic thinking. Drawing from the literature on public policy making, behavioural economics, and strategic analysis, the seminar will develop the analytical tools and the practical leadership skills students need to navigate the intersection among the global economy, global institutions, and global civil society. Students are required to analyze and craft strategies to address global public policy problems in the context of the three sectors.

Term: Summer between first and second year
Instructors: Faculty Advisors as selected during the internship process.
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses
Required of all first year students.
Students with outstanding PPG2006Y requirements may enroll in elective courses in the Fall term of their II-year of MPP studies. (Only upon completion of outstanding Internship requirements student may enroll in PPG2000H, PPG2003H, PPG2008H and PPG2022H in the Winter term of their II-year of MPP studies.)

Description: 
Students are required to complete a policy internship between the first and second year of study, or as otherwise tailored to meet the needs of the student and of the placement setting. Under faculty supervision, the internship allows students to apply their knowledge to significant problems in the public, private or non-profit sectors, and provides students the opportunity to develop and enhance skills in respective areas of professional interest.

The internship helps students clarify their career direction, gives perspective on classroom learning, and assists students in gaining experience and establishing networks of great value in securing employment after graduation. Internships may be voluntary or paid work experiences that relate to any aspect of policy planning, analysis, decision-making and implementation.

School staff work individually with students to help them identify and secure internships appropriate to their program and their career needs and goals. The School promotes and welcomes partnerships with government, community and private sector organizations seeking to provide internship opportunities to MPP students.

Upon completion of the internship, each student submits a written research report to their faculty supervisor providing an original analysis of the policy and/or organizational issues dealt with during the internship. These reports, which may be in the form of case studies, will be evaluated by the faculty supervisor on a credit/no credit basis and may be made available to first year students for review and to teaching faculty, hiring organizations and other practitioners.

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Instructor:  Phil Triadafilopoulos
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses

Description:
This core course in the MPP program aims to help students understand the connection between politics and public policy by making sense of the political environment in which policy decisions are made, and the political forces at work throughout the policy process.

The course proceeds in two parts. First, students explore foundational theories of policy making that seek to capture the role of organized interests, the importance of political institutions, and the influence of ideas and ideology. Part two builds on this theoretical foundation by focusing on each specific “stage” of the policy process, investigating how policy issues emerge, agendas are set, programs designed and implemented, and outcomes evaluated. Particular attention is paid to how well theories of human motivation and rational decision making apply to real-world experiences in public policy.

Required of all second year students.
*Prerequisites: PPG1002H, and successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses

SECTION I: 
Public Finance

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Instructor: TBA

This course studies the role of the government in the economy, including a comprehensive exploration of public finance principles, theories, and practical applications in government decision-making.
Students will learn about the analytical tools and frameworks necessary to effectively understand and evaluate public expenditures, taxation systems, fiscal policies, and budgetary processes crucial to effective policy delivery. A central theme of the course will be the rationale for government involvement in the economy, including the presence of public goods, externalities, asymmetric information, and income redistribution. Specific topics explored include social insurance programs, health care, education, income assistance, unemployment insurance, retirement savings and the environment. The course also provides an in-depth and comprehensive exploration of the institutional framework for public finance, ensuring students are knowledgeable about the structure of public finance and the roles of the federal, provincial, territorial, and local governments.
By applying economic theory to real-world contemporary public policy issues, the students will gain a thorough grounding in the economic principles underlying the role of the state and the practical challenges involved in implementing policy.

SECTION II: 
International Development

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Instructor: James Radner

This course will explore international development from the perspective of practice. We examine central questions – why so many people are in deep poverty and what can be done about it – by considering the practical levers available to program leaders and policy makers. The course will therefore approach these large questions by iterating between two points of view: first, practical case studies, and second, conceptual frameworks and analytical readings. Students will participate in the interchange, as we progressively deepen our understanding of the core questions. We will interrogate a multi-disciplinary literature from the perspective of cumulative experience in development and immediate issues facing practitioners; we aim for a perspective that enables practitioners to adapt to and learn from the dynamic, uncertain environment in which they must work.
 

SECTION II: Fall
Gender & Economics

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Instructor: TBA

This course will introduce students to economic theory with discussions of empirical research papers to offer a fascinating perspective on women’s lives, from marriage and the family to the labour market. We will examine issue on marriage, fertility and divorce with the goal of understanding the large changes in family structure that have occurred over the past last decades in developed countries. We will also study women’s behaviour in the labour force, and gender gaps in the labour market outcomes. Many of empirical research papers exploit real-world policy interventions. As such, we will spend some time on program evaluation methods, from an applied perspective. The emphasis on this course is to get a good working knowledge of the applied economics methods and be able to apply them to real-world gender policy questions.
Learning Objectives of this course, are:
1. You will be able to analyze and think critically to solve complex problems related to gender and the gender gaps issues.
2. You will be able to judge the quality of quantitative research papers.
3. You will be able to persuasively communicate the central findings of empirical research papers to others.

OR

SECTION I: Winter
Inequality and Public Policy

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Instructor: Moussa Blimpo

Public policy choices such as tax policy, social insurance, technology adoption, or infrastructure investments affect the level of inequality in a society. Conversely, the extent of inequality also affects the political power of individuals and groups in the society, thus affecting the types of public policies likely to be adopted. This course focuses on a critical analysis of the drivers and consequences of inequality, with particular attention to the two-way relation between inequality and public policy. Although the course emphasizes the economic angle, the discussions will be as broad and multidisciplinary as possible. After taking this course, students are expected to have a good understanding of i) the measurement of economic inequality and conceptual issues such as inequality of opportunity and outcomes, ii) dynamics and persistence of inequality, including the analysis of intergenerational mobility, and iii) the analysis of the relationship between economic inequality and public policy. The overarching goal of the course is to prepare students to have informed and critical discussions on the pressing issues of inequality, guided by the state of knowledge in the literature.

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Instructors: O. Hankivsky, B. Lee-Whiting, T. Meredith and J. Roberts 

Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 5.5 FCEs in MPP courses
Required of all second year students.

The Capstone course requires students to apply the skills, analytic approaches, and policy knowledge that had been acquired during the MPP program to individually develop a coherent policy agenda to improve the social and economic well-being of Canadians. The Capstone project gives students the opportunity to think through a policy challenge from beginning to end – from the problem identification stage to the implementation stage – so, students can demonstrate their abilities in multiple aspects of policy analysis at the end of their two-year program. The content and assignments of the course are meant to provide both breadth of knowledge, across policy areas, and depth of knowledge in one area of particular individual interest.
The course is organized in the following way: The first two lectures provide an overview of some of the key considerations for understanding (and developing) public policy, including jurisdictional and costing issues. The next six lectures each focus on a substantive policy area that in current times is high on the Canadian agenda. For each of these lectures, two experts guest-lecture, and provide insights into the policy issues that are
involved.

*MPP students are required to complete either PPG2011H or PPG2022H*

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Instructor: Andrew Stark
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses
Second year students are required to register in either the second year core PPG2011H or the second year core PPG2022H.

Description:
Ethics and the Public Interest provides a range of frameworks, drawn from a variety of cultural perspectives, for analyzing and managing the complex ethical dilemmas that public officials confront. It is a course in politically-informed moral reasoning.

The practice of public administration is widely understood to be guided by certain core values and principles. Yet with the growing complexity of the state have come changing demands, structural reforms, and the creation of a more uncertain environment. Participants in this course will be provided with a set of intellectual tools for responding to this new environment, and for thinking about such issues as ethical leadership, public accountability, relating to ministers, and dealing with vague or inconsistent demands. It is organized around discussion of two major issues: first, it asks what values should guide decision-making in areas of administrative discretion; second, it looks at questions of compliance, in order to explore ways that the public service can continue to meet the highest standards of professional ethics.

*MPP students are to complete either PPG2011H or PPG2022H*

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Instructor: T. Harrison
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses
Second year MPP students are required to register in either PPG2011H or PPG2022H.

Description:
Moral questions abound in framing public policy.  What are the legitimate aims of the state?  How should costs and benefits of policy choices be measured and distributed across the population?  And what ethical constraints are there on the pursuit of state aims? This course will explore these theoretical questions in the context of several distinct policy areas, including health care, environmental protection, tax and economic policy, family policy, and drug control.

* Or an alternate 0.5 credit international/global focus course, as approved by the MPP program director.* 

Instructors: Matthew Polacko (Fall) 
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses

This course is designed to expose MPP students to the scholarly literature on public policy across a wide range of countries. Through the study of public policy in other countries, students will deepen their knowledge of public policy, even Canadian policy.

SECTION I: Fall

Fall term course theme: The Welfare State and Inequality

This course seeks to equip students with the methodological and conceptual tools needed to explain differences and commonalities in public policies across countries. While many countries are faced with similar policy problems, the policies implemented to solve them vary greatly. Drawing on a broad range of cases and examining policies across time and space, this course will focus on the design of policies and examine the outcomes and distributive consequences of public policy. A number of relevant substantive policy areas will be analyzed with a particular focus on the welfare state and inequality. Examples of key questions tackled in the course will include:

• Why is social protection more extensive in Scandinavia than in North America?
• Why do some countries admit more immigrants than others?
• Do privatization and liberalization mean the retreat of the state?
• Why is income inequality worse in some countries more than in others?

Studying public policy in comparative perspective is a crucial tool to deepen our knowledge about how public policy is made. It is thus a key component of this course and the MPP program, even for those graduates who plan to spend their careers in Canada. When you complete this course, you will be able to describe the range of variation in policies, analyze the causes and consequences of policy variation, and communicate those ideas both orally and in writing. Your descriptions will draw on scholarly, policy, and journalistic sources, and your analyses will be both theoretically sophisticated and practically relevant.

SECTION I: Winter

Instructors: Tom Kemeny (Winter)
Notes: *Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses

Winter term course theme: Cities & Regional Development Policy

This course will focus on Cities & Regional Development Policy. In the closing decades of the 20^th century, the economies of many high-income countries (Canada, the US, and much of Europe) began to change in surprising ways: gaps between cities in terms of average levels of income started to grow; and people started moving less, and more selectively. This was a surprise because, during much of the 20^th century, it was widely believed that incomes and living standards would equalize over space. These features have grown in significance in the 21^st century. Today, high-income  countries are marked by highly stratified urban systems, with big and dense ‘superstar’ cities attracting talent and high-income work. Meanwhile, other regions suffer brain-drain, crises of non-employment, and poor job quality. Between these poles are regions muddling through, but lacking the dynamism found in the superstars.
This course aims to provide students with analytical and empirical knowledge to critically examine key aspects of this transformation, alongside a careful look at what policy actors can and cannot do today to generate and maintain local prosperity. We will examine key concepts and debates needed to understand the economies of cities, and the process of regional economic development. The focus will be on a set of broadly comparable high-income urban systems: United States, Canada and the UK, with other country contexts considered as well.

Section 1: Canadian Migration Policy

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: TBA

Description:
Who gets in? Who is removed? And what are our conceptions and misconceptions of both groups?
As national borders dissolve for trade, capital, communication and culture under globalization, these same borders acquire increasing salience in controlling the movement of people. Migration control thus emerges as the ‘last bastion of sovereignty’.
This course focuses on Canadian policy, law and practice designed to manage and regulate entry, residence and citizenship. The policy answers to the question ‘who gets in?’ will be analyzed in terms of history (who got in to Canada in the past?), current trends (upon what characteristics does Canada currently assess those that wish to get in?), and critical perspectives (how do class/race/ ethnicity/gender affect who gets in?).
The course will examine the role of international and constitutional arrangements in determining the role played by different levels of government (United Nations, federal, provincial and municipal) in immigration, as well as the division of labour between the legislator, the executive and the courts in making and interpreting the rules.
Students will become familiar with the structure of Canadian immigration policy, and the mechanism by which immigration law organizes people into a series of categories and sub-categories: legal/illegal; temporary/permanent; economic/family class; voluntary/coerced etc. Class discussions will be encouraged to critical examine Canadian immigration policy and current events.
The Immigration Refugee Protection Act, Regulations and online Immigration Manual provide the framework for categorizing potential entrants into legal vs. non-legal, visitors vs. permanent residents, and immigrants vs. refugees. These legal instruments set the terms of admission and exclusion, and the processes by which the state makes and implements these determinations.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphases: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: G. Eidelman

Description:
The goal of this experiential learning course is to challenge Munk School students to view public policy through an urban lens. Together, we will explore the complex relationship between cities and public policy — revealing how policy shapes cities, and cities shape policy — and come to appreciate that urban governance goes well beyond municipal government. 
To inspire students to pursue policy careers focused on cities, the course is organized around field trips (some in-person, some virtual) hosted by Munk alumni across the Greater Toronto region. Students will have opportunities to interact and network with policy professionals in local, regional, and provincial governments working on a broad range of urban policy challenges. Students will also engage with practitioners in the non-profit sector by contributing original research to a real-world project led by Maytree, a Toronto-based NGO advancing systemic solutions to urban poverty.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
a) Navigate municipal government structures, policy processes, and public services
b) Distinguish how different levels of government and non-governmental organizations participate in urban policy making
c) Apply their policy analysis skills to a real-world urban policy project at the local scale

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphases: Economics for Public Policy
Instructor: Olesya Falenchuk
Notes: 1. Pre-requisite for enrollment: Security clearance with finger print to access Government data.; and
2. Given fingerprinting requirement of students for security clearance, enrollment in PPG2010H closes 3-weeks prior to the first class.

Description:
The goal of the course PPG2010H is to introduce students to statistical methods for the analysis of panel large-scale data. Topics include an introduction to panel data and panel design, statistical modeling of panel data including growth curve models, multilevel linear models and generalized linear mixed models.

At the completion of this course students will be able to:

• Conduct data management and manipulation procedures to prepare large-scale longitudinal data for statistical analyses
• Understand the structure of major RDC longitudinal datasets
• Formulate research problems and select appropriate statistical procedures to address them
• Utilize statistical software to perform longitudinal analyses on large-scale longitudinal datasets
• Interpret and communicate the results of statistical analyses
• Critically evaluate published research papers based on longitudinal data analysis techniques.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructors: D. Pettinicchio

Description:

This course examines the institutional and cultural contexts informing the dynamic interplay between disability and social policy. This inherently involves situating disability within social, economic, legal and political contexts. As such, we will focus on how disability serves as a basis for exclusion by social policy and the ways in which policymakers and policy elites more broadly have considered or neglected disability in creating and implementing a variety of different policies – from social welfare to criminal justice. We will examine social justice and human rights policy frames, how courts have interpreted policies dealing with issues of access and antidiscrimination, labour market inequalities and, the evolution of disability politics which sheds light on the disability rights movement and the future of disability-related policy. Finally, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which has made extant policy failures all the more acute, we will discuss disability status in relation to policy responses during times of crises and what this says about enduring forms of inequality.

The main objective of this seminar-style course is to further our knowledge of the sociopolitical and historical contexts surrounding disability with a special focus on policy and the law.

This course will:

• Shed light on the socio-historical context surrounding disability especially when it comes to the development of law and policy.Analyze continuity and change in our understandings and treatments of disability across different spheres of life.
• Understand how definitions (including legal/policy/administrative definitions) of disability, disability politics and policy approaches change over time.
• Understand the relationship between individuals, social institutions and the law/policy.
• Consider the intersection of different statuses (gender, race, etc.) with disability and how these shape social and political outcomes.
• Understand the nature of policy consequences (intended and unintended) and how people with disabilities have politically mobilized around rights.

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: D. Fu

Description:
This course introduces students to core theories and concepts in contentious politics and social movements through a comparative lens. It engages students to think critically about when, where, how, and why social actors engage in contentious action to challenge status quo politics. The first part of the course examines the theoretical building blocks of the field, including the political opportunity structure, mobilizing structure, and framing. Students will be introduced to key scholars in the field. The second half of the course asks students to interrogate these classic theories, which were originally formulated based on studies of liberal democracies. To what extent do these theories, developed in liberal democracies, apply to hybrid regimes and illiberal states in Easter Europe, Asia, and the Middle East? How can we begin to revise and reformulate existing theoretical frameworks? Overall, this course asks students to read critically, think creatively, and write and present persuasively.  

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: TBA

In June 2021, Parliament enacted the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which establishes a framework for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction initiatives; in March 2020, Canada announced its targets to reduce GHG emissions to 40-50% of 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. 

Energy produces 80% of Canada’s GHG emissions and energy regulation will be central to achieving those targets.  There are several specific GHG policy proposals that are aimed at achieving GHG reduction targets through transitioning the energy sectors. 

This course will review these proposals by reference to the international, constitutional, and political frameworks of federal and provincial energy policies in Canada.  This will involve:

• Considering net zero targets by reference to the international political and economic context of energy security and trade, with particular emphasis on the directions of the United States and China;
• Understanding the constitutional and political constraints of the federal government in implementing changes to energy policy, especially as they relate to provincial priorities; and
• Reviewing provincial electricity policies and their alignment with federal goals.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: G. Eidelman
Note: Enrolment in this course is open only to MPP2 students

The Munk School is excited to announce that it will be offering a new elective course for 2nd-year MPP students in Winter 2025. See below for complete details, including registration instructions. 

PPG2013 Comparative Urban Governance 

This two-week intensive field course, led by Prof. Gabriel Eidelman, compares how cities and city-regions around the world deal with urban policy problems. The goal of the course is to highlight how different national, subnational, and local governance systems shape policy making in cities, and explore the challenges of taking policy ideas from one city and applying them in another. To this end, the course involves travel to London, England, to learn from urban researchers and policy practitioners in one of the world’s most influential cities. 

Schedule 

Classes will be held over two weeks in the winter term, from February 10-21 (including reading week). Week 1 of the course will take place at the Munk School, on February 10, 12, and 14, between 9am-3pm. Week 2 of the course will take place in London, from February 17-21 (5 days/4 nights).  

Funding 
Accommodation in London will be arranged and paid for by the Munk School. Flight and transportation costs will be reimbursable by the Munk School, to a maximum of $1,000. Additional expenses (some meals, incidentals) are estimated to be about $400, and can be covered personally, or via application to U of T’s IE Award+ program, based on financial need.

Registration 
Registration is capped at 15 students. If you are interested in participating, please submit a current CV as well as a short (max. 200 word) statement of interest explaining:  

(a) your interest in cities and urban governance; 

(b) what you hope to gain from the course (e.g., in relation to your career goals); and  

(c) what you can contribute to the group based on your personal, educational, or professional experience. 

Applications should be submitted by July 15, 2024, using the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/dkruEpL0Fz. Final selections will be communicated to applicants by July 31, 2024.  

FAQs

Q. On what basis will students be selected? 
A. Selections will be based on the quality of your application combined with your standing in the MPP program (only students in “good standing” are eligible to apply), including a minimum GPA of 3.3 across all eight MPP1 courses. 

Q. I plan to go on exchange in the fall term. Am I still eligible to apply and receive funding? 
A. Yes, however preference will be given to students that have not participated in any other international experiences through the Munk School. 

Q. I am not a Canadian citizen and require a visa to travel to the United Kingdom. Am I still eligible to apply? 
A. Yes, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you meet all entry requirements to the United Kingdom. Please consult the UK Government website to confirm whether you require a visa to enter the country, and to review visa processing times. Note: The Munk School will not cover any visa application fees or related expenses. 

Q. The schedule for this course conflicts with another MPP course(s) I plan to take in the winter term. Can I miss classes in Week 1 of this course and still travel to London in Week 2?  
A. Given the intensive nature of this course and condensed schedule, full attendance is required. The MPP program is aware of potential conflicts with other courses in Week 1 and will work with relevant MPP instructors to facilitate appropriate accommodations, if necessary. 

For further questions, contact Petra Jory (p.jory@utoronto.ca). 

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: TBA and TBA

Description: 
This course initially explores the science of climate change. It covers the international legal and policy framework to address climate change developed over time including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement highlighting the key points for the current international climate change regime. Students will be given an understanding of the international and domestic legal, economic and financial dimensions of climate change. Students will be provided with some of the strategies national governments can use to bring down greenhouse gas emissions as well as to adapt to climate change including the process for developing and updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). In addition to reviewing the obligations of national governments as parties to the Paris Agreement as a legally binding international treaty on climate change, the course will also discuss the roles of: subnational governments including cities, states, provinces and the partnerships that exist among these groups; civil society (non-state actors) including Indigenous peoples and non-governmental (NGOs) organizations; and business in the net-zero transition.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: M. Bitran

Description: 
To come

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphases: Economics for Public Policy
Instructor: TBA

Description:

This course explores the evolving economic nature of work in the face of technological advancements, globalization, demographic shifts, and employment trends.  As an in-depth intersection of applied labour economics and public policy, the course will equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide advice and policy options related to people’s employment, incomes, and working conditions in the future. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the selected topics, enhancing their ability to contribute to many areas of public policy.

The course will review how the labour market functions, the factors influencing outcomes for people, such as employment and incomes, and how government policies affect those outcomes. Key demographic and employment trends and recent developments will be explored, along with the corresponding public policy issues that arise from them. Topics explored in the course will include population aging, immigration and associated labour market integration, workforce skills and post-secondary education, and the implications of technological change, automation, and artificial intelligence. Other potential topics include workplace safety, minimum and living wages, the gig economy, and precarious work.

To support their public policy skills development, students will lead a policy proposal related to one of the course topics through various stages of development. These stages are expected to include an environmental scan and problem definition, identification and assessment of policy priorities, attaining Ministerial policy direction, financial approvals and a media technical briefing.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphases: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: TBA

Description:
This course will introduce students to the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for ethics and governance. In response to ethical and practical concerns posed by the development and use of AI systems, many government institutions, intergovernmental bodies, corporations, and other organizations have launched governance initiatives intended to maximize the benefits and prevent the potential harms of AI systems. Students will learn about the lifecycle of AI systems, common types of AI systems and applications, as well as a variety of theoretical, practical, and critical perspectives on AI ethics and AI governance. A wide range of initiatives intended to govern AI systems will be covered, including policies, legislation, strategies, programs, standards, and guidance documents from Canada, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the private sector. In assignments, students will gain experience individually and as part of a team assessing a variety of approaches to AI ethics and AI governance, comparing AI governance initiatives across jurisdictions and sectors, and reporting on gaps in and opportunities for improving AI governance initiatives.

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: TBA

Description:
Economic crisis, war, multipolarity, and climate catastrophe have created a world on the move. In response, Canada has established an expansive temporary immigration system. On any given day, over 2.2 million people - approximately 1 in 17 residents - are on temporary work or study permits, are refugee claimants, or are undocumented individuals living and working in Canada, many of whom lack basic rights. Although temporary migrants have always played a crucial role in the Canadian state’s development, the massive increase in temporariness has only occurred in the past two decades. Despite this, public policy, research, and data have struggled to keep up with the regularly changing laws and policies surrounding this issue. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how migrants in Canada were both essential and exploited, leading the federal government to review its laws and policies in 2020 and mobilized multiple stakeholders with strikingly different agendas. This course engages participants in this contemporary moment through the lens of migrant self-organizing.

Course participants will:

• Gain an understanding of Canada's reliance on migrant workers in industries such as agriculture, carework, and gig work, as well as the living and working conditions of migrants in those areas;
• Study and engage with specific policy developments currently taking place regarding migrant agricultural workers, undocumented residents, and international students;
• Uncover patterns, strategies, and struggles underlying contemporary immigration debates and policy development through the viewpoints of stakeholders often in opposition to one another; and
• Engage with questions of consent, consultation, and participation in policy development [for example, in whose interest is immigration policy created - the migrant or the citizen; and how?] which extend far beyond migration policy itself.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: M. Bitran

Description: 
From climate change to stem cells there is hardly an area subject to public policy decisions that is not informed by science yet courses that deal on how to assess, weigh and integrate scientific information into policy analyses. This course encourages the development of a critical approach to the use of scientific data in the policy context. To examine the interaction of societal values and scientific information in the development of public policy. To discuss different frameworks for the use of scientific information in the development of public policy.

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: J. Craft

Description:
Digital government is now a worldwide phenomenon and raises important questions about how government works, and how policy gets made, in an increasingly digital world. This course looks at digital government experiences and movements within the context of Ontario, Canada, North America, and globally. It will canvass foundational concepts linked to digital government practice with a focus on critically assessing how governments are attempting to organize and operate in digital ways. It features an applied policymaking emphasis with students exploring how policy is  designed and delivered using digital ways of working. Students will engage with case studies, academic articles, and applied exercises to develop new skills and familiarity with digital government practices including user centered design and agile methods.
Learning Objectives:
Develop familiarity with digital government principles, approaches, and ways of working.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Public and Non-Profit Management and Administration
Instructor: M. Cappe

Description:
This course explores the complexity of current government policy-making in a comparative perspective. Students will examine the rationales for and the limits to government intervention and will identify the policy levers available to government actors in a dynamic political context. The course explores the government’s role in the financing and delivery of public policy goals while balancing concerns of efficiency and equity. Students will explore substantive and procedural issues in a range of major policy areas such as trade, security, redistribution, health care, the environment, indigenous peoples issues and urban policy.

This course provides students an opportunity to pursue in-depth analysis and independent research through one-on-one interaction with an MPP faculty member. The course will involve readings in the area selected, to be discussed during regular meetings with the faculty supervisor. (While there is no thesis in the MPP program, the reading course allows students to pursue independent research leading toward a major research paper on the topic of their choice.)
 

Term: Winter (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: S. Allin
Note: This course is cross-listed with Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME)

Description:
Each country’s health system and policies are largely shaped by historical, political, social and economic contexts;

Each country’s health system and policies are largely shaped by historical, political, social and economic contexts; but in general, they face similar challenges such as rising expenditures, limited accessibility and public health and health system threats from both communicable and non-communicable diseases. The comparative health systems and policy course is intended to capture the rapidly expanding field of comparative studies in health systems and policy. It will provide a comprehensive methodological foundation to understand why we compare health systems in different countries or provinces within a country, and what we can learn from those comparisons. In the second part, the course will provide specific examples of health system and policy development in high income countries, and low-and-middle- income countries (LMICs). This is an advanced course and should only be taken once a student has completed the course on Canada’s health care system and, if possible, a course on public policy or health policy theories. Although this is a taught course, the main requirement is to complete a major paper applying theoretical and methodological tools to a comparative health systems or comparative health policy case study including two or more jurisdictions (a province/state and/or country).

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: TBA with TBA
Note: This course is cross-listed with the Faculty of Law, for more course information click here.

Description:
A joint course of the Faculty of Law and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, LAW7030H will deal with selected issues in Aboriginal law and policy in Canada.

The objective of this course is to bring together students from two faculties, law and public policy, and to encourage discussion about the nature of the relationship between Canadian governments and Indigenous communities through an approach that deals with history, contemporary issues, and the leading legal cases in this complex and ever changing field.

Term: Fall (2nd year)
Emphasis: Social and Urban Policy
Instructor: Jillian Clare Kohler
Note: This course is offered by the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy with 10 spaces open to Munk MGA and MPP students
 
Description:
Background: Corruption understood as, “the misuse of entrusted power for private gain,” is considered to be one of the biggest barriers for development and growth. Corruption is without borders; it can be found in any country, in different forms, levels, and types of organizations and institutions. Corruption impedes economic growth, political stability and government legitimacy, jeopardizes the allocation of resources to sectors crucial for development, and encourages other types of illegal activities. Corruption negatively impacts public health budgets, the price of health services and medicines, the quality of care and medical products, and threatens a government’s ability to provide universal health coverage.
Course Overview: This graduate course will introduce interested and curious students to the core concepts associated with corruption generally and corruption and the health sector specifically, with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical sector. The seminar will start with a broad discussion about corruption, what it is, how to define it and examine how it is measured. It will then examine how international organizations are dealing with corruption in their operations, and then move on to specific modules dealing with core topics related to corruption and the health sector. The course will consist of lectures, class discussions and group work through case studies. Guest lectures from global institutions will also participate. Research papers and presentations will provide students with the opportunity to probe an issue of interest.