Founded in 2017 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) is dedicated to catalyzing positive policy change through a global lens. Guided by a mission to build a more equitable, just, and sustainable world, SPPGA responds to the urgent need for informed policymaking in a time of rapid change and global complexity.
Its flagship graduate program, the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA), equips future policy makers with a profound understanding of policy-making processes through a solid foundation of knowledge acquisition, analysis, career development, and hands-on learning. A signature component of the 20-month professional program is the Global Policy Project, a capstone course where teams directly engage with a client organization to address a real-world policy challenge.
SPPGA is also home to the Institute of Asian Research (IAR), the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI), the Office of Regional and International Community Engagement (ORICE), Pacific Affairs Journal and the Phil Lind Initiative speaker series. SPPGA faculty, researchers, students, staff, and partners reflect the international character of the school, originating from and conducting high-impact research in six continents. The expertise of its multidisciplinary faculty spans a wide variety of fields, leading innovation in critical areas including global governance and democracy, security and development, Asia policy, climate change and environmental policy, energy policy, human rights and social justice, trade policy, global health, global Indigenous politics, and science and technology policy.
The University of British Columbia is a global centre for teaching, learning and research, consistently ranked among the top five per cent of universities in the world. UBC embraces innovation and transforms ideas into action. Since 1915, UBC has been opening doors of opportunity for people with the curiosity, drive and vision to shape a better world. Committed to leadership in climate action, UBC was just named one of Canada’s greenest employers in 2025.
