BUILDING LEADERS, SHAPING FUTURES
Why Choose
UVA Batten
The University of Virginia’s Batten School integrates rigorous policy analysis with leadership training to transform ideas into action. Surrounded by internationally renowned faculty generating cutting-edge research and experienced practitioners pioneering their fields, you’ll join a community dedicated to building lasting change.
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Insights & Impact
See How UVA Batten is
Shaping the Future of Policy
Our PEOPLE
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Community
Events & Opportunities
Join Us at an Upcoming
UVA Batten Event
2 – 4pm
The 1-15-41 Lift Every Voice and Sing Concert will take place at Contemplative Commons in Studio 1B. This event draws on UVA's rich tradition of student a cappella and choral singing to unite the community in a shared voice of grief, hope, and healing. Scheduled to go from 2:00 to 4:00pm, it will conclude with food and fellowship to honor the lives and legacies of Devin, Lavel, and D’Sean. More than a ceremony, the event calls on UVA and its surrounding community to transform sorrow into sustained, meaningful action in memory of Devin, Lavel, and D'Sean.Register here
11:30am – 12:30pm
Join the Batten School and the Karsh Institute of Democracy for a special Batten Hour conversation with Sarah Isgur, editor of SCOTUSblog and co-host of the popular legal podcast Advisory Opinions, discussing her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court. Isgur will be joined by her longtime podcast co-host David French, columnist at The New York Times, for a wide-ranging discussion on what the media consistently gets wrong about the Court, why the conventional 6-3 framing obscures more than it reveals, and what it will take to preserve the Court's independence in an era of institutional distrust.
5 – 7pm
Are you applying to the Bachelor of Arts or Accelerated MPP for Fall 2027 and have questions about your application? Join the Batten Admissions Office and our team of Batten Ambassadors for answers to your questions and personalized feedback on your materials!Click here to register for a 20-minute time slotDrop-ins are welcome, but registering in advance will help ensure you can meet one-on-one with an Ambassador to review your application materials.Can't make it to this workshop? We'll have additional opportunities to connect with our Ambassadors throughout the fall semester and winter break.
Integrating Leadership & Public Policy
The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is designing a new model of public policy education – one that infuses leadership with policy, and policy with leadership. Our programs are defined by a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving, rigorous quantitative and qualitative analytical training, experiential learning opportunities, and evidence-based decision-making.
World-Class Teaching & Research
Our community is defined not only by academic rigor, but also real-world experience, teaching, and mentoring. This approach has attracted a multidisciplinary faculty of leading scholar-practitioners in political science, social psychology, public administration, history, economics, and law from around the globe. Our research centers and policy labs are hubs for collaboration and impact.
Excellence with Humanity
At home in one of the world’s great public universities, we are passionate about improving lives and solving humanity’s toughest policy challenges. We seek to attract a community as diverse in thought, experience, background, and aspiration as the world we want to serve, and to bring them together in an intellectually courageous and collaborative environment. We are advancing new knowledge, new skills, and new solutions, cultivating leaders for our common future.
We offer a variety of graduate and undergraduate programs.
For students interested in graduate studies, we offer a two-year Master of Public Policy program, plus six options to combine the MPP with other degrees at the University of Virginia. For those interested in a hybrid program based in Northern Virginia, we offer the Master of Science in Public Policy and Data that can be completed in as little as twelve months. Additionally, for the most flexibility, we offer two graduate certificates – one in Public Leadership and one in Public Policy – that can be taken online or in Charlottesville.
Undergraduate opportunities for current UVA (and prospective UVA undergraduate transfer) students may pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership, a Minor in Public Policy and Leadership, a Minor in Social Entrepreneurship, and an Accelerated MPP, which allows students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in just one additional year of study.
Our programs prepare students for a wide variety of policy-oriented careers in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. The Batten School offers its own career advancement team that supports students from landing a summer internship and full-time position, to making career changes long after graduation. They help with resumes, interviews, and networking, among other things.
Example employers include congressional committees, federal agencies (e.g., EPA, GAO, CBO, CRS, FTC, CDC), cabinet departments, various state and local government agencies, the World Bank, consulting firms (e.g., Deloitte, McKinsey, Accenture), and non-profits and NGOs in many policy sectors, such as environmental, health, education, and international development policy.
The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a full-time, Charlottesville residential, two-year program. New students enter the fall of each academic year.
The Master of Science in Public Policy and Data (MSPP&D) is a primarily online program offered in both part-time and full-time formats. Coursework is asynchronous, with approximately one hour of synchronous engagement each week, supplemented by brief in-person experiences at the UVA in Northern Virginia campus for orientation at the beginning of the program and the culminating capstone. Full-time students complete the degree in 12 months and may begin in either the fall or spring semester. Students must complete 31 credits.
The Accelerated MPP program begins in the fall of each academic year and takes place over the course of your final undergraduate year at the University plus one additional year as a full-time graduate student. It cannot be expedited further or taken part-time.
Batten’s Graduate Certificate programs are offered both part-time and full-time, online or in-person, and can be started in the fall or spring semesters. Students must complete 12 credits for each certificate, and students can take one to four classes a semester.