Christendom College announced April 14 that it is launching a new Master of Public Policy program as part of a broader effort to expand its graduate offerings and form leaders for public life grounded in Catholic social teaching.
The program, set to begin in fall 2026, will be housed within a newly established Center for Public Policy and offered as a 30-credit online degree, according to the announcement.
College President George A. Harne said the initiative aims to address what he described as a gap in leadership formation.
“For too long, public leaders and their supporters have led movements, crafted laws, and developed policies that assume presuppositions that are antithetical to human flourishing and the common good,” Harne said. “By forming a new generation of leaders who understand classical Catholic social teaching and can apply it to the most pressing needs of today, Christendom College will lead in the restoration of the public square in a way that is deeply consistent with the college’s founding principles.”
Harne said the program is oriented to form future leaders and advance “real political change” through the development of wise public policies, calling it the next step in fulfilling the college’s founding mission.
The program will combine coursework in political philosophy, Catholic social teaching, and the American constitutional order with technical training in areas such as statistical analysis, policy design, political communication, and implementation, according to the college.
The Center for Public Policy will be led by Matthew Post, a political philosopher who will serve as director and oversee the program.
“The Master of Public Policy at Christendom College forms leaders to meet the challenges of public life through the Catholic intellectual tradition,” Post said.
The college said the program was developed in collaboration with policy institutes in the Washington area, including a partnership with the Heritage Foundation, which will contribute to course offerings and academic engagement. The new center follows the college’s recent launch of a separate graduate program in education and reflects a broader push to expand professional formation rooted in its Catholic liberal arts mission.