Is Harvard’s Kennedy MPP program prestigious?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:It is a lot easier to get into than Harvard Law. That does not mean that it is not worthwile.


Harvard Law isn’t hard to get into either, assuming you have a high enough GPA and LSAT score. It’s not like Yale or Stanford, where even a 4.0 GPA and 810 LSAT score will only give you a 75-78% chance of admission for early decision.

https://7sage.com/predictor/
Anonymous
I am an attorney who encouraged my son to go for his MPP rather than a JD. I worked for a government agency where we had law students with Masters in law, work for free in the hope of being hired. After working for lobbying firms, he was accepted to the Kennedy school. He enjoyed his experience and got a good job in the lobbying arm of a law firm. He enjoys analyzing legislation more than he would practicing law.
Anonymous
The most successful people I know in the policy/politics world went to HKS, so yes. Georgetown and SAIS are also good. SIPA and Fletcher make the next tier (I say this as a SIPA grad). There are other good schools like American and GW, and Texas A&M’s LBJ school really punches above its weight.

To OP’s question, MPP had nothing to do with a Law degree whatsoever. That’s like saying “are people with JDs just those who couldn’t get into Med school?”
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I worked in politics in DC for many years and we made fun of people that had a Harvard Kennedy MPP. 99% of them never worked on a campaign and that is where you learn everything and make connections.


So many people in this thread who have no idea what they are talking about.

Very few people from K School are going to go into political campaign work. It's not unheard of, but if they do it, it will be as a political advisor, likely on a specialty issue. For instance, I have a friend who is a K School grad and has worked in both the public and private sector on education issues for 20 years, and she has consulted on political campaigns on that issue, helping candidates craft education positions.

But you don't get an MPP to become a political hack, running campaign strategy, working polls, etc. Most of the people who do that work are political lifers and half of them don't even care about policy at all. It is a totally different field.

I'm just laughing at someone who sees "Masters in Public Policy", thinks policy=politics, and then makes up some BS about how "we make fun of K School grads because they've never worked on a campaign." Thank goodness the board is anonymous so that you don't have be embarrassed about how dumb these comments are.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I worked in politics in DC for many years and we made fun of people that had a Harvard Kennedy MPP. 99% of them never worked on a campaign and that is where you learn everything and make connections.


So many people in this thread who have no idea what they are talking about.

Very few people from K School are going to go into political campaign work. It's not unheard of, but if they do it, it will be as a political advisor, likely on a specialty issue. For instance, I have a friend who is a K School grad and has worked in both the public and private sector on education issues for 20 years, and she has consulted on political campaigns on that issue, helping candidates craft education positions.

But you don't get an MPP to become a political hack, running campaign strategy, working polls, etc. Most of the people who do that work are political lifers and half of them don't even care about policy at all. It is a totally different field.

I'm just laughing at someone who sees "Masters in Public Policy", thinks policy=politics, and then makes up some BS about how "we make fun of K School grads because they've never worked on a campaign." Thank goodness the board is anonymous so that you don't have be embarrassed about how dumb these comments are.


Seriously.

That person probably also thinks Econ = the stock market and political science = being a politician.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Who are Kennedy's most famous alums of the last 20 or 30 years?

It honestly doesn't seem to have anywhere near the ROI as a good MBA or JD program (which most politicians have).


From my observations, I think people who go to the Kennedy school have a passion for policy. They’re not focused on the ROI as their endgame.
Anonymous
Yes, it is. Princeton may be more prestigious for public polich but K is a close second. Columbia and Hopkins also have good programs. Yale SOM is sort of it’s own thing so I’m not sure how it compares.
If you want to do business, an MBA will be better. But for real policy (which is very different than politics), these schools are better.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. Princeton may be more prestigious for public polich but K is a close second. Columbia and Hopkins also have good programs. Yale SOM is sort of it’s own thing so I’m not sure how it compares.
If you want to do business, an MBA will be better. But for real policy (which is very different than politics), these schools are better.


Why are you all so obsessed with the Ivy League?

The top 3 MPP programs are not Ivy League schools.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-policy-analysis-rankings

Might shock you all, but the Ivy League isn’t the best at everything.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I worked in politics in DC for many years and we made fun of people that had a Harvard Kennedy MPP. 99% of them never worked on a campaign and that is where you learn everything and make connections.


And they're all quick on the draw that they have a HARVARD degree. So cringe. It's one thing if you went to undergrad there, or at least JD or MBA...but most of their grad programs are cash cows targeting status-conscious unimpressive strivers.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. Princeton may be more prestigious for public polich but K is a close second. Columbia and Hopkins also have good programs. Yale SOM is sort of it’s own thing so I’m not sure how it compares.
If you want to do business, an MBA will be better. But for real policy (which is very different than politics), these schools are better.


Why are you all so obsessed with the Ivy League?

The top 3 MPP programs are not Ivy League schools.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-policy-analysis-rankings

Might shock you all, but the Ivy League isn’t the best at everything.


US News and Reports is terrible for ranking of specialty programs. Anyone who thinks the Indians program is better than K school or Wilson school (did they change the name yet?) is deluded. Sorry. I agree the Ivy League is t the best at everything. But these two schools are the best at this particular thing.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is. Princeton may be more prestigious for public polich but K is a close second. Columbia and Hopkins also have good programs. Yale SOM is sort of it’s own thing so I’m not sure how it compares.
If you want to do business, an MBA will be better. But for real policy (which is very different than politics), these schools are better.


Why are you all so obsessed with the Ivy League?

The top 3 MPP programs are not Ivy League schools.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-policy-analysis-rankings

Might shock you all, but the Ivy League isn’t the best at everything.


US News and Reports is terrible for ranking of specialty programs. Anyone who thinks the Indians program is better than K school or Wilson school (did they change the name yet?) is deluded. Sorry. I agree the Ivy League is t the best at everything. But these two schools are the best at this particular thing.


Ok buddy. USNWR is good for things that confirm your biases. Got it.
Anonymous
If you just want to 'box check' a master's why waste 2 years when there are plenty of 1 year master's programs? Opportunity cost is too steep unless you have a hard-on for a Harvard degree.

I notice nobody answered the PP who asked who are the most famous and/or successful Kennedy MPPs of the last few decades.
Anonymous
What's the class profile of Kennedy first years? I'm guessing bulk of class is state schoolers looking to shamelessly buy Harvard prestige.
Anonymous
I have an MPP from Michigan and was offered quite a few jobs upon graduation, stuff like advisory research, federal agencies, Presidential Fellowship, econometrics, congressional committees. It depends how you tailor the degree to your interest and what experience and internships you have, I could have gone into state government, international policy or to a non-profit. I thought Kennedy, Wilson, Duke and LBJ at Texas schools were all good, national programs when I was looking at schools. Michigan seemed most quantitative, which is what I wanted and why I chose it.
Anonymous
I know two people from the Kennedy School. One hosts a podcast you all probably listen to and another is an ER doctor now.
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