The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs is preparing to launch a two-year graduate degree program to equip globally minded problem solvers to tackle the challenges defining this century.
The new Master of Global Public Affairs will draw on the Luskin School’s depth across public policy, social welfare, and urban planning to equip the next generation of leaders with practical tools, analytical frameworks, and the professional confidence to navigate real-world problems in real time.
Unlike graduate programs designed for a world order that no longer exists, this degree will teach the next generation to show judgment, rigor, and resolve in addressing contemporary challenges such as democratic erosion, AI, climate disruption, and a realigning global order.
“Climate change, pandemics, the risks posed by powerful new technologies — these are problems no country escapes or solves alone,” said UCLA Luskin scholar Darin Christensen, director of the new program. “The MGPA trains leaders who can argue for why global engagement matters, and who know how to craft new coalitions, agreements, and institutions when established ones fall short.”
Based in Los Angeles, one of the world's great global cities and a gateway to the Pacific Rim, the program will welcome its inaugural cohort of 35 students in Fall 2028. Applications will open in Fall 2027.
Learn more about the UCLA Luskin Master of Global Public Affairs
Published: Thursday, September 24, 2026
