March 18–22, join us for Admitted Student Week  and discover why Harris is the best place to study public policy.

We will offer virtual content March 18–20. In-person programming will kick off the evening of Thursday, March 21, and the main Admitted Student Day is Friday, March 22—a full day of programming. See the full schedule and register for events below.

All Admitted Student Week programming is only available for students admitted to the class starting in Fall 2024.

If you miss a virtual session or would like to review a session you previously attended, recordings for each session will be made available within 72 hours of the event time listed on this page. Program-specific recordings are available on request to admits of that particular program.


Monday, March 18

The Keller Center
Current Student Panel

Current Student Panel (virtual)

Monday, March 18 | 8:30–9:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Watch the recording: Current Student Panel (Virtual)

As part of Admitted Student Week, join us for a panel discussion about life as a current Harris student. You'll learn about the wraparound support services available to students through the Dean of Students and Career Development Offices, how students create a school/life balance, and insider tips about making the most of your time at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. We are pleased to be joined by:


Tuesday, March 19

green piggy bank
Financial Aid Webinar

Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Career Outcomes (virtual)

Tuesday, March 19 | 8:30–9:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Watch the recording: Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Career Outcomes (virtual)

Join members of the financial aid and scholarship committee including Daisy Cruz, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, Tabitha Clark, Associate Director of Financial Aid and Academic Advising, Laura Carroll, Senior Program Administrator for Teaching Assistants, Donita Cook, Assistant Director of Academic Appointments and Faculty Affairs, and Samantha Gehm, Human Resources Specialist, to learn more about financing your UChicago Harris education through Harris scholarships, external scholarships, loans, and on-campus employment. We will also highlight the many career paths our alumni have taken.


books
MACRM Roundtable

MACRM Admitted Student Welcome Overview (virtual)

Tuesday, March 19 | 8–9 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Watch the recording: MACRM Admitted Student Welcome Overview (virtual)

Learn more about the MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) in this virtual roundtable with program leadership: Steven Durlauf, Steans Professor in Educational Policy, and Barbara Williams, Program Director, PhD and MACRM.

Please note, this session is reserved for MACRM admits.


Wednesday, March 20

Chicago
Moving to Chicago Panel

Moving to Chicago Panel (virtual)

Wednesday, March 20 |  8:30–9:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Watch the recording: Moving to Chicago Panel

Moving to Chicago from a different city, state, or country? Hear from our panel of current students who moved from all over the U.S. and the world to live in a variety of Chicago neighborhoods. We'll answer your questions about moving timelines, how to pick a neighborhood, what Chicago winters are really like, and more.


 

data
MSCAPP Program Deep Dive (virtual)

MSCAPP Program Deep Dive (virtual)

Tuesday, March 19 |9:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Recording will be available via email sent to MSCAPP program admits.

Please join MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) faculty and staff for a discussion of the MSCAPP program.

Please note, this session is reserved for MSCAPP admits.


Thursday, March 21

Thursday, March 21 | 4–8 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Harris School of Public Policy (The Keller Center)
1307 E. 60th St., Chicago IL 60637

Register: March 21 Admitted Student Day (In-person)

Class Visits (in-person)

Thursday, March 21 | 9:30 a.m.2 p.m. Central Daylight Time

A limited number of class visits will be available. Admitted students will have the opportunity to register for one class visit via email or explore the campus (or Chicago) until the sample class at 4 p.m.

Kim Wolske
Kim Wolske

Sample Class with Kimberly Wolske (in-person)

Thursday, March 21 |  4–4:45 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Admitted students will have the opportunity to take a sample class with Kimberly Wolske, Research Associate Professor and fellow with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). Her work draws on the fields of environmental, social, and cognitive psychology to examine the behavioral dimensions of energy issues, with an eye toward improving the design of public-facing policies and programs.


Valerie Jarrett
Keynote with Valerie Jarrett

Conversation with Valerie Jarrett (in-person)

Thursday, March 21 |  5–6 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Please join Valerie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of the Obama Foundation, for a moderated conversation to open the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Admitted Student Week. 

During this special evening, Jarrett will discuss how the next generation of civic leaders can drive social change and build a more inclusive and equitable future for our country.


fresh fruits and vegetables
Dinner with Current Students

Dinner with Harris Student Organizations, Centers, and Labs (in-person)

Thursday, March 21 |  6:15–7:45 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Join Harris Student Organizations and leaders from the Center for Effective Government, Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility, and Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab for dinner.

Be sure to collect any luggage you have brought from the front desk of the Admissions Suite by 8 p.m.


Friday, March 22

Friday, March 22 | 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Harris School of Public Policy (The Keller Center)
1307 E. 60th St., Chicago IL 60637

Register for March 22 Admitted Student Day (In-person)

Check-in and Breakfast (in-person)

Friday, March 22 | 8:30–9:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Check in in the Keller Center Lobby and enjoy breakfast with other admitted students in the Keller Center Commons. Check in any luggage you brought to the Admissions Suite.

Welcome Remarks with Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  9:30–9:50 Central Daylight Time

The Harris Admissions team will provide an overview of the day, followed by welcome remarks from Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels.


career development office
Career Development Office Panel

Your Career Services + Outcomes (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  10–10:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Hear from Harris Career Development about how 10+ staff work across time zones and modalities to offer the most customized coaching efforts and employer outreach. At the Harris Career Development office, we take data as seriously as our students do—that's why we have compiled a yearly career outcomes report. Dive into your next career steps using our data-driven strategies.


office
Alumni panel

Alumni Panel (in-person)

Friday, March 22 | 10:45–11:45 a.m. Central Daylight Time

Join a panel of Harris alumni moderated by Jen Lombardo, Associate Dean of Students, to learn about the ways in which the Harris experience prepares alumni for their next steps.


lunch
Lunch

Lunch (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  11:45 a.m. –1 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Join your fellow admitted students for lunch. Separate lunches will be hosted for Pearson Fellows as well as MSCAPP and MACRM admits.


Breakout Sessions

Choose one of the following breakout session options per timeslot:

Program-Specific Breakout Sessions (in-person)

MACRM Breakout session—Friday, March 22 | 1–1:50 p.m. Central Daylight Time

For admits in the MACRM program only.

MSCAPP Breakout Session—Friday, March 22 |  1–1:50 p.m. Central Daylight Time

For admits in the MSCAPP program only.


hand taking notes
Writing Program Workshop

Writing Workshop with the Writing Program Breakout Session (in-person)

Friday, March 22 | 1–1:50 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Join a writing workshop conducted by members of the Harris Writing Program.


Rebecca Wolfe
Rebecca Wolfe

Faculty Breakout Session with Rebecca Wolfe (in-person)

Rebecca Wolfe, Senior Lecturer and Executive Director of International Policy & Development

Friday, March 22 | 1–1:50 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Dr. Rebecca J. Wolfe is a leading expert on political violence, conflict and violent extremism. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Harris School for Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she also is an associate at The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts.


Career Mapping breakout session (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  2–2:45 p.m. Central Daylight Time

What makes a resume matter to a hiring team? How does the scope of (post-graduation) analyst roles align with the Harris toolkit? Why use LinkedIn? Answer these questions alongside career coaches to get in front of hiring timelines and expectations, as well as preview ways Harris will set you up for career success.


Office of Civic Engagement breakout session with Ashley Brown and Gwendolyn Purdom (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  2–3 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Please join Ashley Brown, Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, and Gwendolyn Purdom, Associate Director of Communications with the Office of Civic Engagement.


Carol Brown
Policy Labs Overview with Carol Brown

Policy Labs breakout session with Carol Brown and alumni (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  2–3 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Please join Carol Brown, Executive Director of the Harris Policy Labs, and alumni for a Policy Labs Overview. Learn more about Policy Labs in this blog post.


David Axelrod and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita
David Axelrod, Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, and Sadia Sindhu

Tech & Society: A Conversation on AI and Elections with David Axelrod and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  3–4 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Join David Axelrod and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita for a conversation on AI and elections, moderated by Sadia Sindhu.

David Axelrod is a preeminent American political strategist and commentator and the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Axelrod was the founding director of the University of Chicago's non-partisan Institute of Politics and now serves as a senior fellow at the IOP. 

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita is the Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and a Faculty Associate in the University of Chicago Department of Political Science. A leading political scientist whose research applies game theoretic models to the study of conflict, political violence, national security, and electoral politics, he has also written extensively on methodological issues in the social sciences.

Sadia Sindhu is the Executive Director of the Center for Effective Government. She has served in a variety of strategic roles in the public and private sectors. Most recently, Sadia was the Director of the UChicago Civic Leadership Academy. In this role, she served as the lead strategist on all matters related to the execution, enhancement, and growth of the Civic Leadership Academy at Harris and across the University.


students conversing at reception
Admitted Student Reception

Reception (in-person)

Friday, March 22 |  4–5 p.m. Central Daylight Time

Join your future classmates and Harris Student Organizations for a final reception in the Keller Center Commons. Drinks and refreshments will be served.

Be sure to collect any luggage you have brought from the front desk of the Admissions Suite by 5 p.m.