MPP is a two year residential programme organised in six trimesters. Each trimester is about 10 weeks. Between trimesters there are project works and fieldworks which are compulsory components of the course. Total credits to be gained through two years is 76. There are three types of academic works that students are required to complete :

• Course work :
  There are 12 core courses (list of courses are here) with weight of 32 credits, which are assessed through assignments and examination primarily. Seminar courses are to be chosen from wide range (see the full list here) of courses which are offered but not less than 18 credits in total.
• Field components :
  There are two compulsory field components. After the first trimester students will be required to undertake a stay in a community for a period of four weeks. This field work will be carried out in groups of 2/3 students to develop hands-on understanding on social and political institutions that facilitate or hinder policy efficacy. Second field component is after the second trimester. Here, students will work in small groups to solve a policy problem experienced by a real world client. For these client-led projects students may be required to work with the organization or undertake fieldwork in localities where the organization is making intervention. Both field components carry weight of four credits each. There is an option to carry out additional fieldwork in Trimester five if the dissertation work is designed based on primary data.
• Research work :
  In the second year, apart from the optional courses, students should complete a guided dissertation. Required training for this begins in Trimester 3, and all students would have chosen their research topics and guides assigned by the end of Trimester 3. The dissertation works takes place through second year. This provides a chance for the students to demonstrate their research skills in applied manner. This is assessed through the scrutiny of submitted dissertation as well as an oral examination. This work carries weight of 10 credits.
  
  In addition to these requirements there is a possibility to tailor make the course to suit the individual tastes within policy domains by undertaking internships/exchange programmes (particularly in Trimester 5) at desired locations. Students also will have choices in the selection of dissertation topics. However, such preferences are to be approved by the course coordinator to ensure best of the learning opportunities.

Syllabi of the MPP

Core courses :

State, Political Economy and Society in India

This course will introduce students to various power structures in Indian society and various mechanisms of power distribution (liberal, socialist and democratic). Apart from examining the citizenship theories and state theories, the course will give solid grounding on the interaction of social institutions with policy contexts and players.

Introduction to Public Policy

The course has two parts. The first part will introduce students to the discipline of public policy. Second part will introduce students to practicalities of policy processes in Indian context.

Economic Analysis for Development

This course will provide firm grounding on elements of economic principles for sound policy analysis and design. Students will critically understand different development models and how policies have played key role in ushering such models.

Research Methods and Communication Skills

Students will learn all stages of research – problem formulation, design, data collection, analysis and writing report – grounded in policy context. Emphasis is on policy evaluations. The course also contains hands-on labs for statistical packages.

Policy Analysis and Clinic

This course will introduce students to the tools of policy analysis. Students will also engage with problem solving which real-world clients bring to class room. The course will be bridge to the client-led projects that students take up after the second trimester.

Development, Law and Public Policy

Students will be introduced to Indian Constitution and legislative processes in India. Students will learn about legitimacy and power of different institutions which shape policies such as inquiry commissions, statutory bodies, parliamentary commission etc. By the end of the course, students will gain significant understanding on how public policy interfaces between law and development.

Regional, International and Global implications of Public Policy

This course will introduce students to various global and regional institutions which shape domestic policies. Cases of policy diffusion as well global interdependencies will be discussed to understand the dynamics of policy processes.

Regulatory Governance and Sectoral Policy Workshops

Regulation as a tool for redistribution will be subject of this course. Select sector policy workshops will be held as part of this course to show case how different types of regulation works in those sectors, and what their outcomes are.

Advanced Course in Research Methods and Writing Skills

This course introduces advanced statistical techniques for the application in the dissertation projects that begins in the second year.

Exclusion and Group Inequality

This course will introduce students to various theoretical frames to understand the processes of marginalization. How policies could create an inclusive society will be demonstrated examining different successful and failed cases.

Public Finance and Budgeting

This course introduces students to basics of finance and accounting. How public finance resources are generated through taxation and how they are allocated through budgetary processes are studied.

Organisational Leadership and Ethics for Public Policy

Individual behaviour in organizational setting is very different from individual behaviour in market settings. This has serious implications since public policies are increasingly being implemented in Public-Private Partnership mode. Students will gain insights about how leading an transformative organization could change the policy outcomes.

Optional courses :

List of Seminar Courses to be offered in TRIMSETER III or IV
Education and Public Policy	Gender and Public Policy
Food security and Public Policy	Consumer Rights and Public Policy
Urban Poor and Public Policy	Judiciary and Public Policy
Environment and Public Policy	Corporate Governance
Patents and Public Policy	Social movements and Public Policy
Competition Policies	Media and Public Policy
Affirmative Action Policies	Policies for Science and Technology
Policy and Agrarian Crisis	Labour and Public Policy
Statutory Commissions and Policy	Energy Policies
Adivasis and Public Policy	Social policy in market economies
Dalits and Public Policy	Econometrics
Cost-benefit analysis	Administration in Developing Countries
Policies for the Children	Human Rights  and International Organizations
Minorities and Public Policy	Spatial Planning
Taxation	Public Finance and Budgeting
Health Policies	Land Policy
Defence/Security Policies	Foreign Policy
Transportation Policy	International Trade Policy

Note that all courses may not be offered in a given academic year.

Eligibility :

The candidate should have completed a graduation course (10+2+3 or 10+2+4 or 10 + 2 +5) in Social Sciences (anthropology, commerce, cultural studies, development studies, economics, education, fine arts, international relations, psychology, political science, sociology, women studies), Humanities (cultural studies, history, law, literature, mathematics, media studies, philosophy, public administration, theology, statistics), Professional courses (archaeology, environmental science, management, health care, urban planning, rural development/management, social work), Science (natural sciences, agricultural science, engineering, medicine, pharmacology), or similar interdisciplinary degrees from an Indian university or equivalent degree from a foreign university.

The course is also open to people preparing for a career in civil services, politics and governance, social activists and opinion makers, planners and service providers, lawyers and judges who want to serve in Family Courts, Labour Courts, Juvenile Courts, Lokayukta and so on, who fulfil the above criteria. The course is also open to officers on deputation from public sector and government agencies.

All India Competitive Examination and Interviews

After the scrutiny of the application forms, candidates will be invited for a Policy Aptitude Test (to be held in four cities – Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai – on 10 May 2014). Details of the structure of the Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) can be found here. Based on the score of the Policy Aptitude Test, interviews will be held in NLSIU campus in Bangalore during 9-11 June 2014. List of the admitted candidates would be prepared based on the score obtained in PAT and interviews.

Intake

The class size of MPP programme is 40 for the batch of 2014-16. Following is the break up :
General Category : 30 seats
Scheduled Castes : 6 seats (15%)
Scheduled Tribes : 3 seats (7.5%)
Persons with Disability : 1 seat (2.5%)

Foreign Nationals

Seats available for foreign nationals: 05. Admission for a candidate belonging to foreign national category is based on the mark/grade of graduation, aptitude exhibited in the application form and work experience.

	1st Year	2nd Year
Tuition fee	80,000.00	80,000.00
Infrastructural fee	12,000.00	12,000.00
Admission Fee	6,000.00	--
Library fee	8,000.00	8,000.00
Medical fee	1,000.00	1,000.00
Internet fee	10,000.00	10,000.00
Sports and Gym fee	5,000.00	5,000.00
Professional Membership fee	3,000.00	3,000.00
Hostel Amenities	8,500.00	8,500.00
Hostel Room rent	12,000.00	12,000.00
GWC/Mess charges	19,500.00	19,500.00
ID Card fee	100.00	--
Hostel Application Fee	100.00	--
Hostel Deposit (Refundable)	5,000.00	--
Library Deposit (Refundable)	5,000.00	--
Mess Deposit	1,000.00	--
Total	1,76,200.00	1,59,000.00

In addition to this, living cost for three out-of campus segments (community stay, client-led project and internship) will vary depending on the nature of project and location. Mess bills are payable on a monthly basis on actuals.

For Foreign Nationals, the fee will be USD 7,664 p.a. (Tuition fee $5,500 and other fee $2,164).

Scholarships available for deserving students.

Application :

Application form could be accessed by clicking here. Duly filled application along with annexures (See the Annexures required below), is to be sent to following address to receive the same by 15 April 2014 :

Admission Coordinator,
Master of Public Policy,
National Law School of India University, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore - 560 072.
Tel. : +91 80 2321 3531.
Mob. : +91 9986098655
Note to mark the packet containing application with ‘MPP Application’

You will receive admit card in the address for communication provided in your application form. To be admitted for the Policy Aptitude Test (entrance examination), you should bring this admit card as well as one photo identification (Aadhar card, driving licence, passport etc). If you don’t receive admit card until 5 May 2014, please contact us on email ‘ admission4publicpolicy@nls.ac.in’.

Entrance Examination or Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) will be conducted in four centres (Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai). A centre may be cancelled, if there are few number of candidates, and the candidate may be directed to take the exam in a different centre. In the application form you need to indicate your preference for Test centre. More details about the content of Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) could be found here.

List of short-listed candidates based on the score of Policy Aptitude Test will be displayed on NLSIU website on 20 May 2014. Personal Interviews will be held at the NLSIU campus in Bangalore during 9-11 June 2014. Personal interviews have weight of 25% (or 50 marks). During this interview candidates are required to produce original certificates and related documents.

Both the score of Policy Aptitude Test and Interview score are taken together to prepare the list of admitted candidates. List of admitted candidates will be displayed on NLSIU website on 13 June 2014.

Annexures Required for Application

Copies of the following as applicable are to be submitted along with application with clearly marking annexure numbers and noting the same in the application in the respective columns. All the copies of the certificates should be self-attested.

• Certificates for 10th standard Board examination, 12th examination, and degrees.
• Experience certificates for the periods of employment.
• Duly certified copies to qualify for the reservation for SC/ST/PwD categories.
• Curriculum Vitae (of maximum two pages) that demonstrates the achievements of the candidate that is not captured in the application format.

Application Deadlines

• Last date to receive filled-in application forms : 15th April 2014
• Entrance Examination (Policy Aptitude Test) : 10th May 2014
• Announcement of shortlisted candidates for personal interviews on the website : 20th May 2014
• Personal Interviews in Bangalore NLSIU campus : 09th - 11th June 2014
• Announcement of selection on the website : 13th June 2014
• Last date to accept admission and to pay the fee : 20th June 2014
• Course start date : 09th July 2014