Two graduates from our Master’s programme in Public Policy and Human Development (MPP) were honoured at Maastricht University’s 39th anniversary ceremony on Friday 16 January 2015. Here they share their background stories and hopes for the future. Best Master’s thesis 2014 Lorraine Wong (MPP 2013-2014) was awarded the Student Prize for Best Master’s thesis of 2014 at the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences. For her thesis on ‘Quality of education and economic growth’ she d...

Ninety-three fresh graduates, representing about 40 nationalities, gathered with their friends and family at St. Janskerk in Maastricht for the closing ceremony of our Master’s programme in Public Policy and Human Development on 3 June 2014. Together they looked back on an intensive year of learning and personal development and celebrated the beginning of “a new adventure,”  as MPP Programme Director Lutz Krebs put it in his congratulatory speech. “You are going out there...

Navneet Bhargava is one of the 93 students who will receive our double Master’s degree in Public Policy and Human Development, issued jointly by Maastricht University and United Nations University. Navneet’s testimonial about her study year in Maastricht was a highlight of the closing ceremony of the MPP Class of 2013-2014 on 3 June 2014. Dear fellow graduates, family and faculty, I am extremely happy to be up here to share a student’s perspective in front of all of you. This is even...

Democrats in the US have been calling President Obama’s recourse to Executive Orders for pushing a key social policy change (minimum wage rise) a case of "leading by example". It so happens that across the Atlantic, leading by example comes packaged as a well-worn policy tool rather specialized for a fiddly problem in a very different policy area, namely the environment....

Open Call for Papers: European Meeting of the International Microsimulation Association 23-24 October 2014, Maastricht, the Netherlands UNU–MERIT and its School of Governance are pleased to launch an open call for papers for the upcoming European Meeting of the International Microsimulation Association. The conference is open to all areas of microsimulation including static, behavioural and spatial microsimulation methodologies, covering a wide range of policy domains. At our last event we hoste...

Our MSc in Public Policy and Human Development ranks number one in the category of Political Science and Public Administration, according to the 2014 Keuzegids Masters. Published by the Dutch Higher Education Information Centre, this evaluates and compares higher education programmes based on: – Student evaluations from the National Student Survey (60%) – Academic success drawn from national education statistics (20%) – Weekly contact hours, as estimated by students in the Nati...