Admissions Blog

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.

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.

Many Harris students bring years of work experience to our community, as well as partners and families. Balancing the return to school with family responsibilities can sometimes be daunting, so in this blog, we share some resources for students with partners and families as they plan the transition to Harris.

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.