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The Fall 2025 Graduate Program Application is open! Apply by the final deadline on June 12, 2025.
The Master of Arts in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) offers one-on-one faculty mentoring and hands-on research experience, designed for those aiming for serious research or PhD program admission. Engage in PhD-level courses at the Harris School of Public Policy, collaborate with the University of Chicago's world-class faculty on impactful research, and benefit from expert guidance to fulfill your academic ambitions, all within a framework that emphasizes advanced quantitative methods.
MACRM is a two-year program that is part public policy degree, part research apprenticeship, and part intensive research methods training. It’s designed to be a stepping stone to either a PhD or serious quantitative research jobs in academia, think tanks, and policy organizations.
MACRM is ideal for applicants with solid quantitative skills in pursuit of admission to a PhD program. Applicants should exhibit strong quantitative backgrounds (including exposure to mathematical probability and statistics, multivariate calculus, and matrix algebra).
Review program details and graduation requirements.
Consistent with the highly quantitative and analytic nature of the Harris School's MACRM degree, Harris has categorized the MACRM under a code which is currently on the DHS STEM list. Students on F-1 visas who have earned a degree that has been designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a STEM degree may be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT) so long as they meet all eligibility criteria at the time of application.
Learn more about the program, graduation requirements, and the research apprenticeship.