India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world, continuously faced with challenges of justice, inequity, exclusion and progress. The study of Public Policy informs the state as to how it could respond to the new dynamic challenges that emerge in the society. As every legislation require clear policy formulation, there is demand for trained professionals who will be equipped to design, implement and evaluate policies and programmes. We derive inspiration from our transformative Constitution, while addressing the challenges of diverse national needs.
The University offers the Master’s Programme in Public Policy – a two-year residential interdisciplinary programme with a special thrust on law as an interface between inclusive sustainable development and public policy.
Introduced in 2014, this programme provides comprehensive training in designing public policies for the complex societal problems, translating policies into deliverable programmes, and in evaluating the efficacy of policies. Through such programmes, NLSIU trains young professionals to become policy practitioners capable of supporting inclusive and sustainable development focusing on the interface between policy and law as our niche area.
Pedagogy: We emphasise on a dialectical pedagogy that encourages students to question the complexities in the practice of public policy arising from real-life situations of people from a diverse set of social and economic backgrounds. The programme has adopted an innovative pedagogy which combines reflective learning through classroom discussions, in-field exposures, solving problems for real-world clients, internship and research dissertation.
Candidates with any graduate degree can apply for the MPP programme. For more details on eligibility and admissions process, please click on the admissions tab on this page.
NLSIU announces admission to its Two-year Master’s Programme in Public Policy. Classes for the ninth cohort of the programme will commence on July 1, 2022.
ELIGIBILITY
Any person holding a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized national or international University is eligible to apply to the programme. Applicants in the general category should have graduated with an aggregate of not less than 45% of total marks. Applicants in the SC/ST category should have graduated with an aggregate of not less than 40% of total marks. Students in the final year of their Bachelor’s degree are also eligible to apply. However, their final offer of admission will be contingent upon successful completion of their Bachelor’s degree with the minimum aggregate marks specified above.
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
75 candidates will be admitted to the programme in the Academic Year 2022-23. Admission to the programme will be through a three-stage national-level examination process. The first two stages will comprise an all-India written admissions test, the Policy Aptitude Test (PAT). The third stage will be personal interview.
Policy Aptitude Test (PAT)
All candidates seeking admission to the programme shall appear for the PAT. The PAT will have a single question paper with two parts. Part A will comprise of 100 multiple choice questions with negative marks for wrong answers (each question carries one mark; 0.25 marks shall be deducted for every wrong answer). Part B of exam will be to write an essay on a contemporary topic. Only those candidates who obtain 50% of marks in Part A of the test shall have their Part B responses evaluated.
Total duration of PAT shall be 150 minutes. PAT will be held in centres across the country. List of centres are available in the application portal.
Interview
Candidates will be invited for a personal interview based on the rank secured by them in PAT, keeping 1:3 ratio of admitted candidates.
Marking Scheme for Admission
Marks obtained in all the three stages of admission tests (as provided below) will be aggregated to create a merit list for admission.
Part A of PAT (Multiple Choice Questions) – 100 marks
Part B of PAT (Essay Writing) – 50 marks
Personal Interview – 50 marks
Note: The applicable reservations policy shall be applied at each stage of the admission process.
IMPORTANT DATES
Notification of admission: 14 January, 2022
Last date for submitting applications: 26 March, 2022
Policy Aptitude Test: 24 April, 2022
Personal interviews: 19 -21 May, 2022
Release of the list of admitted candidates: 10 June, 2022
Commencement of Academic Year: 1 July, 2022
APPLICATION PROCESS
Online application form for the programme will be available on NLSIU’s website from 18 January 2022.
Application fees shall be Rs. 2000/- (Two thousand only). Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Economically Weaker Sections, and Persons with Disabilities shall be required
to pay Rs. 1500/- (One thousand five hundred only).
INTAKE AND RESERVATION
The total number of seats shall be 75 Seats and shall be reserved as follows:
Percentage of Seats Reserved:
Scheduled Castes – 15%
Scheduled Tribes – 7.5%
OBCs – 27%
EWS – 10%
5% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally for Persons with Disabilities (PWD); 30% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally for women, and 25% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally (compartmentalized) for Karnataka Students.
Karnataka Students Category:
1. Candidates who have studied for not less than 10 years in a recognized educational institution in Karnataka shall be considered as ‘Karnataka Students’.
2. Candidates who have not completed ten years of study in Karnataka shall be eligible to apply under the Karnataka Students category if they fall under any of the below categories:
- Children of defence personnel/ex-servicemen, who at the time of joining service, have declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.
- Children of employees of the Karnataka State Government who have served or are serving outside Karnataka corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.
- Children of serving or retired employees belonging to the Karnataka cadre of the All India Services (IAS/IFS/IPS), who have served or are serving outside Karnataka corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.
- Children of working or retired employees in the Central Armed Police Force service, who upon joining service declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.
Illustration: If the candidate has studied in Karnataka for three (3) years, they must prove that their parent/s were serving outside Karnataka for at least seven (7) year’s corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.
If the candidate has not studied in Karnataka continuously for at least one (1) year, they must prove that their parent/s were serving outside Karnataka for at least ten (10) year’s corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.
3. Eligible candidates must keep their Study Certificates issued by their educational institutions and other relevant documents ready to be submitted at the time of admission.
View the official notification of the above information.
