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Rachel Roberts, First Master of Public Policy Graduate

October 5, 2022

In 2019 the College of Business and Public Policy (CBPP) introduced a new degree opportunity for graduate students: a master鈥檚 in public policy (MPP). The MPP prepares students to be a policy analyst, researcher or leader for a broad array of public, non-profit, academic and tribal positions in Alaska and across the North.

Rachel Roberts earned her MPP in May 2022 and holds the distinction of being the program鈥檚 first-ever graduate. Roberts grew up near Eagle River and completed her undergraduate degree in economics at CBPP.

She was interested in the MPP program because of the research opportunities it offered. 鈥淚 was able to work with professors at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), which gave me experience with real world research,鈥� Roberts said.

Roberts has already found a job at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where she can apply the knowledge and skills learned in the program. 鈥淭he Corps does a lot of work with Alaska regions as well as Indigenous populations to provide needed infrastructure,鈥� Roberts said. In the MPP program, she learned a lot about Arctic and Alaska politics and policy, which is essential for her job. 鈥淎lso, the policy analysis class taught me about theories and justifications used for federal spending. That will be helpful because cost-benefit analysis will be a big part of the job.鈥�

While completing her MPP, Roberts also worked on creating climate change hazard maps for urban areas in the Arctic as part of the Arctic Urban Risks and Adaptations (AURA) project funded by the National Science Foundation.

For her capstone project, she chose to work on a project close to home: Eaglexit, the idea of separating Eagle River from the Municipality of Anchorage.

鈥淲e want to raise awareness of the MPP program overall, both for student opportunities and for the knowledge their research will contribute to Alaska鈥檚 public policy arena,鈥� said Marie Lowe, Chair of the Department of Public Policy and Administration. 鈥淲e envision a suite of policy briefs on various topics being available to the public.鈥�

Roberts said that an MPP is 鈥渄efinitely a great degree if you want to become a professional researcher or expert in the public policymaking process and analysis. Figure out an area of interest you鈥檙e passionate about and carry that out through your class assignments and requirements. All of the faculty and staff are amazing experts in their fields and eager to pass along their knowledge and help you succeed.鈥�