Social impact, down to a science.

Policy with real impact doesn’t evolve from ideology or intuition, or even experience. At the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy developing effective public policy is a science, based on data and measurable impact.

Addressing today’s interconnected, global challenges requires rigorous inquiry. It also requires innovative people who will face the facts, gather data, and understand why current policies exist to improve them.

For more than 30 years, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy has been steadfastly committed to serving society by advancing analysis- and evidence-informed policy. Guided by this exacting mission, our community of 50 tenure-track scholars, more than 1,000 students, and more than 6,000 alumni from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are taking on the world’s most important problems by using the latest tools of social science.

The second-largest professional school at the University of Chicago and home to one of its largest undergraduate majors, Harris Public Policy offers a full range of degree and executive education programs that empower serious-minded and aspiring leaders from more than 40 countries each year. Harris is the academic home to 20 research centers, institutes, and labs that study and engage with the public on areas such as conflict, democracy and effective government, economic and political development, education, energy and environment, health, municipal finance, public safety, social policy, and urban policy.