Admissions Blog

We are excited you are interested in participating in the Data and Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) program! The program offers rigorous academics and robust co-curriculars in a virtual format. There are unique benefits and challenges of virtual learning, and we designed the program so that you will have an immersive academic training and community experience to fully explore the fields of data science and public policy.  

Tylor Collier, MPP Class of 2023, writes about how her Orientation experience helped her forge lasting friendships at Harris.

We sat down with Senior Associate Dean Ranjan Daniels to ask him a few questions about the value of the Evening Master’s Program (EMP) and the new non-profit and public sector employer-funded matching program.

Living in Chicago is one of the most exciting parts of coming to Harris for many students. Victoria Sellas, MPP Class of 2022, observes that while Chicago deserves to be celebrated, it is also important to respect and acknowledge the challenges the community faces today, especially as residents continue to face deepened disparities brought about by COVID-19.

Students frequently have questions related to transcripts—details on which ones we need and how to submit them, and what we are looking at when we review them. Review this helpful guide as you are completing your application by the Early Action deadline on October 5, 11:59 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)!

Kusala Molligoda, MPP Class of 2022, serves as an Orientation Program Manager. In this post, he shares his tips on ways Harris students can make the most of the services offered by Academic Advising.

Being a graduate student is both rewarding and challenging. It is important that you practice self-care by putting support systems in place to bolster you as you progress through your graduate education. Victoria Sellas, MPP Class of 2022, writes some words of advice on self-care for her fellow Harristas.

One of the unique features of the Data and Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) Program is the opportunity to engage in hands-on policy research. The faculty-led Capstone Research Project is the culmination and highlight of the seven-week program. We spoke with Austin Wright, Assistant Professor and DPSS Faculty Director, to learn more about the capstone project.

As part of our new series on application tips from Harris students, Lina Wu, MPP class of 2023, and Izzie Hirschy, MPP class of 2022, share tips for successfully preparing your application.

Liz Nelson, MSCAPP’21, shares why Computer Science with Applications 1 was foundational to her learning at Harris and in her new role as a Software Engineer at Ad Hoc LLC.

Incoming students may still have questions about which sections of Microeconomics and Statistics to select in the Core. Kusala Molligoda, MPP Class of 2022, covers some key differences between the two courses and provides an overview of the coding proficiency needed to maximize the Harris Core experience.

At Harris Public Policy, your Career Development Office is looking forward to supporting incoming students with 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.

If you are an incoming student starting at Harris in the fall, the Career Development Office (CDO) shared some frequently asked questions that will help you as you begin your career coaching.

In honor of Pride Month, we rounded up a few resources for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ (LGBTQ+) students, staff, and faculty at Harris.

In addition to a world-class education, Harris students have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from world-class research centers and institutes. Below is a summary of Harris’s research centers and institutes, which are tackling some of the world’s most challenging policy issues.

Isabelle Hirschy, MPP Class of 2022, comes from a service background and wasted no time getting involved in the local community at Harris. In this post, she discusses various civic engagement opportunities for students while they study at Harris.

Each year incoming students participate in The Common Read, reading a shared text before arriving at Harris. The main goal is to have all incoming students collectively share in a single learning experience while gaining an appreciation for diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and individual stories. This year’s Common Read, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, was carefully selected by current Harris students and reflects our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Our team has gathered some essay writing tips ahead of the June 15 application deadline.

Andrés Fortunato: MPP Class of 2021, talks about his experience moving from Argentina to Chicago to study public policy.

This summer, Professor Austin Wright led the Data and Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) and International Policy Action Lab (IPAL) programs in a research project on Covid-19 mask mandates. Teaching Fellows Geet Chawla, MPP Class of 2021, Luke Chen, MACRM Class of 2020, and Anthony Farmer, MPP Class of 2021, worked alongside Wright on a research paper, “Tracking Mask Mandates During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” We asked the Teaching Fellows about their experience this summer.