The MA in Urban and Public Affairs program trains students in public policy, urban studies, and grassroots organizing, examining ways policy and community engagement can effect positive change.

The program combines graduate seminars in urban studies, politics, sociology, and public policy with hands-on experience in community-based research, policy design, policy analysis, advocacy and implementation. Graduates are uniquely equipped to formulate policy and initiatives for more equitable and vibrant urban areas, inspired through thoughtful engagement with the theory and practice of social justice. The MA-UPA program blends our two former programs, Urban Affairs (MAUA) and Public Affairs (MoPA) so the capstones represented here draw from that rich history.

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Master's Projects/Capstones from 2017

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How Do You Mobilize Public Support for Infrastructural Investment in California’s Aging Water System?, Christine M. Hackett

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How Effective Is the San Francisco Unified School District in Educating Homeless Youth?, Gabriela Michel

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Are Condo Owners Changing San Francisco's Voting Habits?, Jeno Cerri Wilkinson

Master's Projects/Capstones from 2016

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Veto Syria: Explaining the Power of the United Nations Security Council and the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Hanouf Khallaf

Submissions from 2014

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Managing Budgets During Fiscal Stress: Lessons for Local Government Officials, Jeremy M. Goldberg and Max Neiman

Master's Projects/Capstones from 2013

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Challenges for Good Government Reformers in California: Shadow Lobbying & Astroturfing, Scott Alonso

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Social Marketing and California High-Speed Rail: A Framework for Behavioral Change Towards Sustainability, Spenser Dill

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Corporate Social Responsibility and its Effects on Corporate-Community Relationships: A Case Study of Chevron's Richmond Refinery Fire in 2012, Afshan Khan

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A Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance in San Francisco: The Solution to San Francisco’s Other Homeless Problem, Davi Lang

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Silence to Signs: Bridging the Communiction Gap for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Inmates in Prisons, Kayleigh A. Marshall

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A Case Study: Achieving Cultural Equity through the Lens of Kingdon, Maria X. Martinez

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Partisanship and Opportunities for Additional Bipartisanship in Tech Immigration and Privacy Reform, Arielle E. Segal

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Winning Hearts and Minds: Using "Ag-Gag" Outrage and Corporate Rebranding to Achieve a Public Image Makeover for the Animal Rights Movement, Alison J. Spasser

Submissions from 2012

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From 1994 to 2011: Are San Francisco Commissions More Representative?, Maria X. Martinez, Esin Nacar, and Aimee Nichols