Best Public Policy Programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke

Plus one. Frank Bruni teaches there now.

Why is this important ? TIA

[Anonymous]

Ford School of Public Policy/U Michigan -you apply as a Sophomore.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown. New campus on E St. McCourt public policy.
Berkley.
U Chicago
Harvard
Duke
Princeton
Brown. just started a 5-year Master's program as well.
Hopkins.
Michigan.

[Anonymous]

If you need to look lower down the rankings, Syracuse's Maxwell School is quite good.

[Anonymous]

My college Freshmen just went thru this.

Applied to:
Georgetown
Pomona
UVA
W&M
Princeton
Brown
Harvard
Tufts
Hopkins
GW
Yale

Indiana and Michigan also strong- but didn't like either--wanted smaller school.

Did get into all but Yale and WL at Harvard and Princeton. Thought all but one were total reaches just on acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

Public policy is a newer field of study, so few schools have well developed undergrad policy programs. This also reflects the belief that policy is a graduate subject to be studied after a strong foundation in liberal arts/sciences, similar to how law and medicine are taught only as graduate programs. As a policy grad, I agree with this approach.

If you insist, for undergrad specifically I would say Princeton, Michigan, Duke, GW, Indiana. Maybe Penn. Columbia and JHU for international. Stanford started a program a few years ago, it's probably too young to be very good. Avoid Syracuse, Cornell (regardless of what rankings say). Pay close attention to where students internships and get job placements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown. New campus on E St. McCourt public policy.
Berkley.
U Chicago
Harvard
Duke
Princeton
Brown. just started a 5-year Master's program as well.
Hopkins.
Michigan.

Good list. I'll add Brown's program is Ivy League’s only one-year residential master’s program in public affairs/policy. Watson Institute public & International affairs.

[Anonymous]

GW has an excellent public policy program. As other said, your DC may consider majoring in something broader. My DC majored in history with a policy minor at a SLAC and is now heading to grad school in public policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GW has an excellent public policy program. As other said, your DC may consider majoring in something broader. My DC majored in history with a policy minor at a SLAC and is now heading to grad school in public policy.

GW is good with merit aid too. My son was offered $100k over 5 years.

[Anonymous]

George Mason offers 5th year masters and you cant beat the location for internships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You would do an undergraduate degree and then a masters at the Kennedy School at Harvard or at a similar program. Other good masters programs in public policy at Princeton, Michigan. Or do a PhD in economics.

You don't need to look for a specific public policy "program". Princeton has an undergraduate public policy major that's a multidisciplinary liberal arts major, but it's also totally fine to look for schools with good political science, economics, finance and quantitative social science coursework. Which most liberal arts colleges all have.

[Anonymous]

My DS is at UVA in the Batten school for public policy and has loved it. Just finished his second internship in public policy in DC.

[Anonymous]

Only one person mentioned Cornell - and said it’s a hard no. Why?

Anyone else have experience with Public Policy at Cornell? Looks like students apply specifically to the Brooks School.

[Anonymous]

Carnegie Mellon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only one person mentioned Cornell - and said it’s a hard no. Why?

Anyone else have experience with Public Policy at Cornell? Looks like students apply specifically to the Brooks School.

Most public policy students are in ILR