Thinking about applying to Harris? The Early Action deadline is coming up on October 27. The Student Recruitment and Global Outreach team would like to share seven tips for completing a successful application!

We spoke with Jennica Betsch, MAIDP’20, about her summer internship with Innovations for Poverty Action.

We frequently receive this question from eager students searching for opportunities to strengthen their application, as well as those who are concerned about specific aspects of their application. Read more to hear our thoughts on these questions!

Learn more about the recently launched Center for Effective Government, a hub where scholars, practitioners, and students can investigate efforts to change the way our political institutions are governed.

One of the most common topics applicants ask us about are the letters of recommendation. These letters are an important part of your application and provide the committee with helpful information and insight into your ability to be successful at Harris Public Policy. In this post, Director of Student Recruitment Devon Reber Drehmer answers some of our most frequently asked questions. We hope these answers will be helpful to you as you are completing your application before the Early Action deadline on October 27!

David Kanos, MPP Class of 2021, discusses his summer internship with the Brookings Institute’s Africa Growth Initiative, and how Harris equipped him with the tools he needed to succeed.

The Evening Master’s Program (EMP) application is now open! We sat down with Devon Reber Drehmer, Director of Student Recruitment and Operations, to answer questions and share tips on how students can get started on their Evening Master’s Program (EMP) application.

What is The Pearson Institute?

Established in 2015, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts promotes discussion, understanding, and resolution of global conflicts through research, education and engagement with the global policy community. As part of the education component of its mission, The Pearson Institute annually awards Fellowships to a select group of distinguished MPP students.

Prospective students frequently share questions with our team about essay statements. While it’s one of our favorite parts of the application reading experience, we know that writing essay components can be anxiety-inducing for applicants. Here is some helpful guidance on approaching and starting your motivational statement and essays.

BrightHive is a company working to promote and enable responsible data sharing. BrightHive provides legal and ethical frameworks, technical standards and tools, and guidance through a data governance process to help their partners establish data trusts—collectives of organizations securely connecting and collaborating to create new, shared data resources. Two Master of Science in Computational Analysis and Policy (MSCAPP) students from the Class of 2021—Amanda Whaley and Hana Passen—interned together as Knowledge Engineers this summer with BrightHive. Whaley and Passen worked on the Strategic Initiatives team, getting hands-on experience building partnerships and collaborations. We asked them to write about their experiences.

For students interested in development issues, this summer held a virtual International Policy and Development Series. Watch the videos to learn more about faculty research in this area!

“The Common Read is one of the many ways we build community at Harris. Our goal is to create an environment that is inclusive and respectful of differing opinions and where challenging popular discourse and thinking critically is strongly encouraged. The Common Read is a shared experience that forms our commitment to learn, grow, and question during our time here at Harris.” — Michelle Hoereth, Director of Diversity & Inclusion

Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels, AM’94, recently interviewed Luis Miranda, MBA ‘89, who shared with incoming students the importance of developing resilience during challenging times. Miranda has been involved in setting up two highly successful companies—HDFC Bank and IDFC Private Equity—before he pivoted to the nonprofit and social impact space. In 2018, Miranda founded the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP), a public policy school focusing on the design and management of institutions and rules that govern society. Through ISPP, Miranda continues to collaborate with UChicago on events to connect alumni and policy leaders in India with Harris students.

At Harris Public Policy, your Career Development Office is looking forward to supporting your career pursuits—through your candidate* experience and beyond. After the introductory Career Camp, you will begin your one-on-one career coaching, a personalized approach to your unique career needs that will continue long after you graduate. But there’s no reason to wait until September to start your career readiness! We strongly encourage all candidates to explore our Virtual Career Development Center.

As people and economies around the world reel from the impact of COVID-19, one thing is clear: facts are at a premium. The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI), working with economists from across campus, has supported and disseminated rigorous research on COVID-19 and the Pandemic Recession that has informed some of the most important policy discussions in 2020.

In Spring 2020, we posted Faculty Reading Recommendations. The post proved so popular that we decided to revisit and expand the topic. This time we asked Harris professors what inspires them—books, blogs, podcasts, you name it!  This is the second blog in a two-part series. Read the first round of recommendations here.

In Spring 2020, we posted Faculty Reading Recommendations. The post proved so popular that we decided to revisit and expand the topic. This time we asked Harris professors what inspires them—books, blogs, podcasts, you name it! The response was overwhelming, so we’ll release this in two parts. Enjoy part I.

The Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) team looks forward to getting to know you better this fall! In this guest blog, Dean of Students Kate Shannon Biddle, explains the role of an essential point of contact at Harris: your academic advisor.

We hope you are getting excited to meet your future classmates here at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. We’d like to share a little about your incoming class. While we’ll share more detailed information once classes begin, below are a few pieces of information we think you’ll find interesting:

Meet David McMillon, PhD Candidate and Math Camp Instructor whose work exploring solutions to the School-to-Prison-Pipeline issue recently won the highly competitive 2020 National Academy of Education (NAEd) Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship.