Hi, I'm a 4th year Statistics student with a computer science minor who wants to pursue policy analysis. I've always enjoyed the intersection between statistics and the social sciences, and I've participated in some research projects regarding education and social presence. I'm applying to grad school right now because I want to expand my data analytics into the context of the social world. However, I'm not sure whether I should apply for an MPP or a more interdisciplinary program such as Computational Social Science.

So I guess my questions are:

What type of master's program would you recommend (in terms of getting a job as a policy analyst)?

How technical and "quantitative" are MPPs? (Sometimes I have a hard time gauging from just the course description)

I currently work in public policy research but my office is small and thus, so is my network.

I’ve been looking for ways to meet other people that are interested in public policy and social issues. I’m considering starting a meet-up group in my city, open for women in their 20s and 30s interested in policy. I was thinking of holding book club events, get groups to go to speaking events/documentaries, etc.

Has anyone started such a group in their city and do you have any advice?

Hi everybody! I have been learning a lot from reading what people posted here. I want to share my personal experience with you and look forward to hearing some advice.

I am an international student who came to study in a top 10 school in the U.S. I initially wanted to be a writer and journalist. Still, when I took a gap year during COVID to work as a journalist in my home country, I realized it was getting more authoritarian. I couldn't write what I was interested in and make an impact as a journalist (people would refuse to talk to me for fear of getting in trouble, for instance, and leaders in general try to kill the criticism piece instead of responding to them). So after I got back to school, I switched my major to study history and political science and got involved in some local news reporting in the city while getting more involved in the local political science.

After graduation, I took advantage of a fellowship opportunity and took a policy fellowship position in the local us government. I was very interested in this position because I used to write a lot about things like housing and zoning, and I thought working inside the government can help me understand the mind of policymakers. I absolutely loved my time here. I got to work on many important policy issues. However, I have to end my fellowship one month early because of my visa situation.

A few weeks after my fellowship ended, I got my work authorization approved, which felt like winning the lottery. I now can finally take any job I want, not being constrained by visa sponsorship. But right now I feel pretty lost. My fellowship experience made me realize I enjoy playing with data and doing analytical work, but because my undergrad background is in the humanities, recruiters are often not interested in my resume. On the long term, I also feel more passionate about doing international development rather than working on U.S. domestic policy. As someone who grew up in a developing country, I felt more connected to some of the issues international development is working on. I want to apply for grad school (to really hone my quantitative skills and learn the fundamentals of economics), but after spending some time on LinkedIn I realized the best programs prefer people with substantive work experience. I could continue to look for entry-level jobs in the U.S., but only having one-year work experience is an awkward situation to be in. I can go back to my home country to get some more work experience. But I am not confident in the politics there and am worried that it would be a frustrating experience (from what I heard, policy-related jobs are just pure bureaucracy with a top-down approach, not data-driven, evidence-based research that I'm used to. I'm also interested in some international fellowships (I'm particularly interested in Latin America, because I'm super interested in the politics of energy transition and ev), but that I'm not feeling super confident in these roles given I have only learned from a class setting and never traveled there.

I guess I just feel a little lost with all the possibilities. I eventually want to work for INGOs like the World Bank for several years and even become a foreign correspondent for publications like the Economist. I know these are lofty dreams, but I would appreciate any advice to plan my time before grad school and eventually help me get there.

What major US politicians (or political figures) have an MPP/MPA (without another grad degree)? Michelle Rhee and a Paul O’Neil comes to mind.

Who are the others out there?

can someone explain kagans typology in refernce to how it helps on ideal types of policy making and exisitng litigation regime and proposed social insurance scheme + explaing trade offs and moving from litigation to social insurance prgram?????/ what does this mean and how should i go about it

I’m currently working on my MSW and have experience working with a medium sized policy org and interning smaller progressive grassroots group.

That being said, I have about two years of experience specifically working for those types of orgs (the rest has been other non-profits) and both of those roles were in the communications and marketing department, not as a policy associate or similar role.

I’m not sure how much of a leg up, if any, my prior experience or the MSW will give me. I’m networking like crazy right now and have gotten some good advice but I want to be as prepared as possible given how competitive the field is.

I should note that I’m trying to land a policy associate job right now here in the Midwest and am looking towards Chicago for that. I live in Wisconsin so my policy opportunities here aren’t non-existent but they are limited.

I’ve also started working on developing skills in Rstudio and have an existing background in data analytics (which is helped by my bachelor’s degree being in social science) but I know I probably need to do more to be more competitive. Any advice on what I should do next is greatly appreciated.

Title says it all! I’m current an external audit senior at a Big 4 who’s recently obtained their CPA. Any ideas on where to start? Should I go for an MPP? Or attempt to break into the profession right away? I’m more interested in auditing policy initiatives over developing them so I can definitely see my audit experience transferring over but I just don’t know where to start.

currently in the works of brainstorming public policy topics that exist within the U.S. regarding human trafficking. Are there any ideas on how i can go about it or what not. I am open to any branching ideas as well.

Hi everyone, I am very glad that I found this community on Reddit, as a political student these posts in this community is really helpful when I am doing my degree, and I want to share some personal experiences when I am doing my degree. I wish someone could tell me these before I apply for my master's degree :

1. Language is a huge thing in this degree if English is not your first language and I am pretty sure you have to work really hard to catch up with others. Even I passed my IELTS with 8.0 ( my uni only required 6.5 ) it is still hard for me to understand the context and the background information, I spend double time studying/ compared with other English native speakers students.

2. It is really hard to get a job in this industry without citizenship if you are looking forward to getting a 'fancy political job ' when you graduate, and supporting yourself, it is a really hard job to try your best to make yourself different from other students ( eg. you can use some data analysis tool / coding / visualizing data/ canvas

3. Networking is more important than your Wam/GPA. Uni told us a lot of theories and asked us to do a lot of assignments, but they didn't tell us some soft skills ( which I learned from Reddit ), these soft skills include: how to connect with other people in the workplace; how to maintain a good relationship with some seniors, how to find an internship, how to do a job interview, etc.

4. Understand the terminology before reading your materials. Use ChatGPT to help you study that will be easier to read and understand.

if you wanna discuss this more plz dm me I have almost finished my internship in Australia. love people and their help from this community ! cheers !

I'm a 1st-year MPP student and wanted to get some ideas about how competitive PhD program admission in public policy is compared to that of political science. I did political science and economics for my undergrad. Also, I'm wondering how much quantitative skills will make my application more competitive. Any help is appreciated!

Hello. I am writing from India applying to courses in European universities. My end goal is to work in the field (either in India or outside). Working closely with government and for a real change

Is MPP/MPA worth the cost? I’m afraid most of my twenties and thirties will go paying the loan and I’ll need a blue collar job for that. Which might not allow me to work on ground and work for social betterment.

Any thoughts on what should I do? Pursue masters abroad or stay in India?

On a side note, any suggestion for scholarship is also highly appreciated 🫶🏻

I’m a current MSW student who is interested in becoming a policy analyst, ideally at a think tank. This wasn’t my original goal when I entered the program but it’s something I feel increasingly drawn to, especially after working with a local policy organization.

I suppose the essence of my question is not only asking if this is a possible career path but also if it’s a realistic one given my background.

I want to work in the realm of public policy have always been fascinated by how the government works and the analytical side to it, but I feel like time is running out of time to start. I am about to graduate with a degree in Economics (with a minor in polisci and stat) I think I might be a decent candidate for grad school, high GPA and research experience, but that's it. I really have no relevant work experience in the field at all, and what I have gleaned from this sub that is the most important element of getting into grad school. I took the GRE and recently got back a score of 162 V 161 Q, idk if that's great or if it matters at all. I feel like everything is coming up fast and I am largely unprepared for post grad, the only job I have lined up is one with my school library, I have been applying to entry level jobs with zero success, which is why I am just considering grad school instead as a sort fallback option. I am not quite sure how to get involved or land an entry level job with zero experience and with graduation coming soon.

Hi y'all! So I really like research and got my undergrad BA in Sociology with a minor in Math. I'm now interested in a career in Public Policy focusing on social (mostly poverty related stuff) and education policy. I really like the idea of working at a Think Tank or in some kind of policy analyst role. I've done research assistantships in program evaluation and qualitative policy/sociology research, and I really enjoyed those.

I come to you all because I am unsure what I should do for graduate school. I am currently weighing MPP/A programs or an MA in Economics. I'm focusing on master's programs that have a strong quantitative curriculum. I'm also heavily considering continuing after the master's to a PhD program in Sociology (likely after working for a few years in the public policy sector). Any insight into which grad degree would be the better option would be very much appreciated. I'd definitely prefer to get my master's before getting substantial work experience, but I'm considering taking a gap year to do Americorps or City Year or working in a state job if it aligns well.

TL;DR: Got my BA in Sociology minor in Math and trying to decide between MA in Economics or MPP/A. Want to end up working at a Think Tank eventually. Any insight?

For the good of this sub and the user himself. Sorry you didn't get what you wanted out of grad school, but it's time to move on.

I have an MPP and I like people with MPP skills, but I have decided not to hire directly from MPP schools.

1. Non-Relevant Resumes: Most resumes I get from schools come from applicants with next to zero qualifications for the roles. By most I mean 95%. I get it people are desperate but it is a waste of time when there is 0 alignment.

2. International Students Applying for US Citizen Only Jobs: The roles I have posted require US citizenship due to background check requirements. Still, the majority of the applicants are international students. We have US Citizen requirement in bold.

I am not the only one. My friends seeking to hire MPPs have ran into similar frustrations.

MPP schools - please police up your students. I don’t have this problem with MPH schools (which I also hire from).

Any thoughts/feedback on my acceptance prospects to HKS MPP or SPIA MPA based on my profile? I understand it's almost impossible to gauge, I'm just not even sure I'm in the ballpark where it's worth applying. I was previous accepted to Johns Hopkins and deferred a year

-Active Duty Military Intelligence Officer with 5yr service, no combat deployments but rotation to Korea and work with EUCOM partners as an intelligence advisor.

-Multiple Intel related certifications in collection management and Open Source intelligence

-3.9 Political Science GPA, but my undergrad school is not super well known

-College internships with EUCOM USAID, and campus international affairs center

-Intensive Chinese language program in Shanghai (though I have not maintained a level of fluency)

-Should have pretty strong recommendations

-Unfortunately don't have much to show as far as quantitative background. I'm taking the GRE in 2 weeks but I'd be surprised if I got above a 155 quant score.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Can someone who’s made it to Berkeley for their MPP please give me some guidance on the second essay? I can DM you too. Copying the prompt here below.

"How you have overcome barriers to access in higher education, evidence of how you have come to understand the barriers faced by others, evidence of your academic service to advance equitable access to higher education for women, racial minorities, and individuals from other groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, evidence of your research focusing on underserved populations or related issues of inequality, or evidence of your leadership among such groups.”

Improving the governance of transformative technologies

The policy team at the Future of Life Institute works to improve national and international governance of AI. FLI has spearheaded numerous efforts to this end.

In 2017 we created the influential Asilomar AI principles, a set of governance principles signed by thousands of leading minds in AI research and industry. More recently, our 2023 open letter caused a global debate on the rightful place of AI in our societies. FLI has given testimony at the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament, and other key jurisdictions.

In the civilian domain, we advise policymakers on how to best govern advanced AI systems. In the military domain, we advocate for a treaty on autonomous weapons at the United Nations and inform policymakers about the risks of incorporating AI systems into nuclear launch.

Just got downvoted last time so hopefully I can get a response this time..

Hey all, just wondering if there’s anyone who’s got some free time and wouldn’t mind checking over my resume as a relatively recent International public policy and management master’s graduate. I’ve met with a career services advisor at USC, but the zoom meetings are kinda brief and he’s not working in the field specifically, so I’d like some feedback from people who are working currently and some help with showcasing the skills I used in some courses.

Also, general advice on jobs that I should be looking at. I’ve already got Americorps, peace corps and state department foreign service that I’m looking at.

Thanks!

I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on which are the best primarily on-line MPP or MPA programs. I have substantial legal and innovation/health policy experience so programs geared towards mid-career professionals are especially of interest as are ones where there is opportunity for some type of capstone project/independent research. Thanks so much for any suggestions!

I've recently graduated from a law school in India and it has been 2 months since I have started litigating. I don't think I can do this for the rest of my life. The job is too demanding and competitive and demands a lot of public dealing that I am not inclined towards. I had thought of quitting and learning python and R while applying for an MPP programme in Europe. I'm wondering if I should stick around for 2-3 years for the job experience. Will a litigation experience with programming knowledge work better? I'm very confused.

Hey guys, just to preface-none of my family members have gone through college and it was never something that was really talked about in my household. I only decided to go to my local community college towards the end of my junior year of high school. So far, I absolutely love it and feel a great sense of pride in myself for progressing from my very mediocre academic performances up until this point. I now hold a 3.7 GPA and should have at least a 3.8 at the end of this semester. Anyways, I’m currently majoring in Public Policy and Administration and will be getting my AA within the next few months hopefully; I do plan to transfer to a university afterwards but unfortunately none of the ones I’m considering have a Public Policy and Admin bachelors program. Essentially, my question is: Because I‘m planning to get my MPA eventually, what are some good bachelors degree options that could help me stay within my general desired field? I do have some more questions lol, I’m having to teach myself the in’s and out’s of college as I go, but I think this a good starting point. Thank you!

Update: A few days later, I have made some progress. My plan for the time being is to (ideally) pursue my BA in economics and minor in Public Service and Leadership. If anyone has any more input on that I'm all ears! Everyone who responded gave me some great insight and I look forward to coming back with any more questions I have.. thank you!!

Hi, I’m going to be doing my masters in the Netherlands in February and I need to decide between two that I was accepted into (I currently have a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Environmental/Sustainability Studies from the US). The options are Political Science specializing in International Organization and the second is Public Administration specializing in European and International Governance. From my understanding the latter is more “practical” and job oriented while the former is more academic/research based. I was wondering if any of you had any insight into if they are equivalent or if one is a better fit for getting a job at an NGO, gov organization, or the private sector and one for doing research (is this even an achievable paying job). I’m having a quarter life crisis plz be nice thanks any advice or comments are welcome :3

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dvideoseries/comments/1g5kl8c/episode_1_development_design_with_andré_nogueira/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I'm scholarly article that uses benefit-cost analysis to justify improving highway safety rather than reducing benzene emissions because highways are used by young people that are more valuable than old people affected by benzene. I vaguely remember reading it years ago. Any help?

Hi everyone! I want to continue my masters in the US/UK in Fall 2025. Can you give some advices on profile, schools or anything else if possible?

Here is my profile:
Permanent resident of US, but studied undergrad in country of origin.
Undergrad: Bachelor's in International Relations. GPA 3.82/4, Graduating in 2025. My thesis is related to US foreign policy

Undergrad Internships: 6 month in public think-tank, 4 month in consular service MFA, 1 month at Embassy of my country abroad.

Papers: one about US foreign policy, second about analysis of Middle East.

Volunteering: interpreter for observers in several elections and big summits.

5 languages (inc. Russian, English and French)

Projects in university: co-organizer of MUN and Debate club. (seems too common, haha)

Applying to:
Columbia SIPA MIA
Oxford MPP
NYU GSAS IR
PennState MIA
CUNY Baruch MIA
anything to add?

Can you rate my chances and give any advice please. Thanks!!!

Hello everyone! I am a sociology major planning on getting my master's in public policy go to the highest level possible. I'm passionate about others having a superior level of education, quality of education and consistent education across all levels from k-12. I would love any and all advice that you professionals have 😁 thank you

Seems similar to BSG’s, but would be curious to hear what you think are their strengths and weaknesses