The La Follette School of Public Affairs provides selected UW–Madison undergraduates an opportunity to jumpstart the Master of Public Affairs or Master of International Public Affairs program.
Accepted students take specific graduate Public Affairs courses in the last year of their undergraduate program. After completing their undergraduate degree, students begin a fifth graduate year devoted to full-time graduate study with the La Follette School.
How to apply
Application for admission to the accelerated program for MPA or MIPA must be made directly to the La Follette School after five semesters of undergraduate study.
Curriculum
Final Undergraduate Year
In addition to courses needed to complete a BA or BS, students take 3-4 courses depending on their undergraduate course work:
- Fall: 4-7 credits, students choose from core courses
- Spring: 3-6 credits, students choose from core and elective courses
- Undergraduate degree conferred in May or August
Graduate Year
- Summer: optional internship (0-3 credits)
- Fall: 9-12 credits
- Spring: 9-12 credits
- MPA or MIPA degree conferred in May or August
Student experience
Student profiles
Sam Wood, MPA
"I am already seeing the payoff of building these quantitative foundations which provide me with a stronger analytical skillset when evaluating policy."
Grace Florence, MPA
"I felt the 5+1 program was a way to fine-tune my skills while at the same time transitioning from political work to evidence-based policy research to better prepare me for meaningful work in public service."
Sam Kaufmann, MPA
"After learning about the Accelerated MPA Program, I decided it would be a great route to take to pursue public policy as a full-time career with only needing to spend five years in school."
Graham Stier, MPA
"As an undergraduate student at UW–Madison, I found the Accelerated program highly appealing because I'll be able to graduate in five years with a master's degree that provides me with a real-world skill set."
Brelynn Bille, MPA
"The accelerated MPA program drew me to the La Follette School."
Alumni launch professional careers in public policy after completing accelerated degree
The program provides students with a unique opportunity to fast-track their education, acquire professional skills, and begin a career in public policy.
Accelerated students and graduate certificates
It is difficult and uncommon for students in the accelerated program to pursue a graduate certificate along with their accelerated master’s degree. This is due to scheduling constraints in the reduced credit accelerated program as well as policies in other departments that limit the eligibility of undergraduate students to take credits toward a graduate certificate.
If you wish to discuss your options further, you can contact Jennifer Unitan, Graduate Program Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator at junitan@lafollette.wisc.edu after you have been admitted to the accelerated program.