Admissions Blog

Time management is an essential skill when it comes to making the most of your graduate school experience. Below are some tips and resources to help you find the balance between your studies, work, and making connections.

The Harris Core Curriculum (“the Core”) is a two-quarter sequence of six foundational courses in microeconomics, statistics for data analysis, and analytical politics. The Core is a distinguishing aspect of the Harris academic experience and sets Harris apart from other policy graduate programs. Lindsay Hiser, MPP Class of 2023, shares her experience taking courses in the Core Curriculum and her reflections on its impact.

We regularly host Roundtables with alumni of the Data and Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) Program who share their UChicago experience and advice for prospective students. We asked alumni how they applied their skills in the workplace.

Harris graduates bring a range of in-demand skills to employers all around the world. Kevin Hartman, MBA/MPP’98, Chief Analytics Evangelist, Google, notes, “The students that I’m seeing that come to us from the Harris School have that kind of rigor—and the ability to do the deep, quantitative thinking and analysis—and yet have the great way of linking that to discussion, conversation, and storytelling." As you decide where you will make your next academic home, we wanted to share a quick overview of our career outcomes.

For admitted students joining us for in-person Admitted Student Days April 7–9, we wanted to gather a complete itinerary in one place for your reference.

Victor Hinardi, MPP Class of 2023, writes about his experiences working with Harris staff.

Admitted Student Week is a chance for newly admitted students to connect with current and incoming students, as well as alumni, hear from faculty across policy areas, learn about the student support offered at Harris, and see the unique opportunities to study public policy and gain hands-on experience. We asked the Admissions team what they look forward to most about Admitted Student Week April 4–9.

Isabelle Hirschy, MPP Class of 2022, writes about how she built and strengthened her community after moving from North Carolina to Chicago.

Lindsay Hiser, MPP Class of 2023, shares her experience getting to know the state-of-the-art Keller Center that Harris calls home.

Bradley McCandless, MPP Class of 2022, writes about the Competitive Strategy Game, an interactive experience that puts economic theory into practice and made Strategic Behavior and Regulation of Firms with Professor Katherine Baird his favorite class.

During Admitted Student Week, February 28—March 4, Admissions hosted an International Current Student Panel. In the session, panelists were invited to share a picture they took since they arrived in Chicago that brings back fond memories. We enjoyed their responses so much that we wanted to share them with you.

The PKU-UChicago International Policy Action Lab (IPAL) gives students a foundation in policy analysis and coding with a space to apply the skills in a capstone research project. IPAL provides resources from Peking University and the University of Chicago to broaden the social experience and out-of-classroom learning. We spoke with Shilin Liu, Senior Director of International Partnerships and Executive Education, to learn about these resources for the upcoming 2022 program.

This year we’re excited to announce our Unlock Series – a list of programming and events you can access as an incoming student. By submitting your admission reply form and deposit, you’ll have access to a variety of resources.

The Persuasive Writing Credential (PWC) is not your typical online writing course. Whether you work in writing, policy, or another field, this program will enhance your persuasive writing at all stages. Below are four factors, according to students, that make this program unique.

This is an exciting time for our admissions team. We are preparing to release decisions to students who submitted their completed application for the Round 1 deadline on December 1. It was a pleasure getting to know more about you, all that you have done to improve your communities, and all that you are planning to do with a graduate degree in public policy. We asked our recruiters to weigh in on their reading experience, and here is what they said.

The PKU-UChicago International Policy Action Lab (IPAL) gives students a foundation in policy analysis and coding with a space to apply their skills in a capstone research project. We spoke with three participants of the 2021 program, Jiakai Chen, Jiachen Shi, and Ziyao Wang, to learn about their academic experiences and application of the knowledge they learned to their education and careers since the program.

Victor Hinardi, MPP Class of 2023, writes about his experience taking Principles of Microeconomics with Professor Thomas Coleman.

Whether you just graduated or have years of work experience, starting graduate school is a big transition. Ezra Serrins, MPP Class of 2023, writes about his experience moving to Hyde Park and how Orientation Programs gave him the opportunity to adjust to the graduate school environment.

Happy Holidays from the Student Recruitment and Global Outreach (SRGO) team at Harris! The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy will be closed December 24, 2021—January 2, 2022, and your Admissions team will have limited access to email during that time. Before we leave for the break, we wanted to share with you some of our favorite ways to celebrate winter in Chicago.

While tips on applying to grad school from the Admissions team can be helpful to prospective students as they work through their application, we know many prospective students are also eager to hear more from current students, especially ahead of our Round 2 deadline on January 20. We interviewed two first year MPP students Nina Levine and Noah Fischer, to share their application experience, challenges, and advice.