Welcome to the Hobby School of Public Affairs. Whether you are a prospective student, an alumnus of one of our academic or professional programs or part of our strong community of supporters, we appreciate your belief in all we do and strive to achieve. The Hobby School has made tremendous progress in the past decade while building on its foundation as the former Hobby Center of Public Policy.

Student training with a foundation in ethics, data analysis and skills that lead to career success, along with interdisciplinary expertise and community visibility, constitute the foundation of the Hobby School. Our unique approach to tackling public policy challenges in education and research from a variety of technical and social perspectives has been a formula for success for our graduates who go on to a wide variety of careers in both the public and private sectors.

The Hobby School continues to expand its academic offerings. Students can choose from the accredited Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree, Master of Public Administration (MPA), several dual degrees/accelerated pathway programs available via partnerships with other UH academic departments, as well as two undergraduate degrees, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy.

The Hobby School’s research component is found within the Center for Public Policy, including programs and initiatives such as the Survey Research Institute, the Concept Visualization Lab, the EITM Summer Institute and the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership. Blending research and education, the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center offers a variety of opportunities to students and scholars through its many programs.

Public service and community engagement are also vital components of the Hobby School as evidenced through the Hobby Fellows, Leland Fellows, the Civic Houston Internship Program, the nationally accredited Certified Public Manager program, the Civic Engagement Boot Camp and various other programs and public events.

Reinforcing the mission of our school’s namesake, William Pettus “Bill” Hobby and his family legacy of public service, we are laser-focused on making government work for the public good and putting creative public policy to work for the world.

Please join us in that mission,

Jim Granato

 @JimGranato

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