For Isabella Coronado, studying at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy was nothing short of intense, eye-opening, and transformative. It all started when her policy lab project, where she helps vulnerable students access education, was unexpectedly cut midway. Overnight, the project became a grassroots effort driven entirely by volunteers. That shift changed the way she saw policymaking. “I realised that policy isn’t only something that comes from the government or big organisations to the people,” she says.
Motivated, Coronado sought a programme where she could develop skills to match her new aspiration. Policymaking is limited by what’s politically and practically possible, with many tough trade-offs to make. Aware of this, Coronado refined her search to only programmes that would help her create concrete results. “The reason why I chose Max Bell’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) was because it’s a professional programme,” she explains. “I wanted to do something with projects and figured Max Bell would give me that opportunity.”
The practice of good policymaking is nuanced and fast-moving. McGill MPP students learn what good policy looks like and see how it actually gets done. Source: McGill University
A hands-on, high-impact MPP
At Max Bell, learning about policy means tackling today’s most pressing policy issues with clarity, depth, and purpose. That’s the vision behind its full-time, 11-month MPP. Designed for professionals with early career experience, the programme focuses on both theory and implementation, striking an unusual balance among programmes of its kind.
Every day is an opportunity to sharpen analytical abilities, expand knowledge, and develop teamwork skills. Some days even include first-hand exposure to people at the highest echelons of power, such as ministers, deputy ministers, senior public servants, parliamentarians, and members of the press.
It may seem like a very intense 11 months, but behind every class is a team of accomplished and well-rounded practitioners. Director Jennifer M. Welsh, who teaches the core The Global Political and Policy Landscape class, is the Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security at McGill University. She has led projects on displaced populations and international institutions in turbulent times as well.
“MPP students engage with my work in many ways,” she says. “Some have served as research assistants or acted as rapporteurs at meetings with policy experts. Others have joined as participants or observers in special events.”
Associate Professor (Professional) Pearl Eliadis teaches the core course Law, Human Rights and Public Policy, as well as the case study Preventing Homelessness in Quebec. Her classes show good decisions can protect rights and her research does the same.
Working with MPP students and the Quebec Homelessness Prevention Collaborative (QHPC), she is examining Canada’s multiple housing crises. The collaboration seeks to prevent homelessness by exploring what other countries are doing to realise the right to housing, including a duty to assist people at risk, legislative requirements on municipalities to build social housing, and preventing evictions into homelessness.
Meanwhile, Visiting Professor of Practice Neil Bouwer brings over 30 years of experience in public policy from the Government of Canada. “The reason I’m excited to be at Max Bell is because the programme here really does mix academic training along with practitioner-informed training,” he says.
Professor Bouwer teaches courses on how to write briefing notes, brief senior leaders, and even use generative AI for policymaking. As a mentor, he offers guidance on career pathways, helping students align their interests with opportunities across various sectors and levels of government. Each Fall, he runs a signature “How Ottawa Works” study trip, a multi-day affair that include a visit to Parliament with behind-the-scenes insights, a tour of the Supreme Court of Canada and met leaders of all levels of seniority, including those involved in Cabinet decision-making.
Learning from experienced practitioners, you’ll gain the skills to shape policy across government, business, and society. Source: McGill University
Learn from the best in public policy
Director Welsh and Professors Eliadis and Bouwer are just a few of the experts in a full roster of lecturers experienced in a variety of policy issues, complexities, and creating solutions.
Leslie Fierro, Max Bell’s Sydney Duder Professor in Program Evaluation, teaches Theory and Practice of Program Evaluation and focuses her research on improving national evaluation systems. Professor of Evolutionary Biology Rees Kassen studies biodiversity, antimicrobial resistance, and chronic infections with microbes. An internationally-recognised researcher, he now shares his expertise in the Science Policy course. Associate Professor Nicholas King contributes to the MPP’s interdisciplinary approach through the Experts, Science, and Evidence in Public Policy. His primary research areas include public health policy, ethics, and epistemology.
Associate Professor Taylor Owen teaches Information and Media Literacy and looks at how media, technology, and public policy intersect in the digital age. Associate Professor (Professional) Andrew Potter, a former journalist, continues this exploration of media and society through The Canadian Political and Policy Landscape and Ethics and Reasoning.
Associate Professor and founding director Christopher Ragan specialises in examining how entire economies function. He teaches Global Macroeconomic Policy and Microeconomics for Public Policy while researching the conduct of macroeconomic policy. Slater Family Professor of Practice Vincent Rigby brings a different but equally vital perspective. After 30 years in Canada’s Public Service, he now teaches Canada-US Policy Relationship in the MPP.
Together, these academics create a learning experience that’s as rich as it is personal. The MPP’s small, close-knit classes cultivate a can-do spirit. When your lecturers have been there, done that, and achieved change, students are inspired think bigger and do more too.
Yet your world won’t stop there. Conferences, workshops, and guest lectures connect you to people driving change today, and with career services to guide you at every step of your MPP journey, you’ll build the confidence and leadership skills to take on whatever policy challenge comes next.
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