Best Social Policy (MPP/MPA) Programs

[DCgal22]

Hi all! I graduated in 2019 and am thinking about applying to programs for the fall of 2022. I've tried to do research on different programs and have narrowed down my application list to the following based on perceived reputation, financial aid/scholarship opportunities, social and domestic policy offerings, and location-- but I would love if anyone has feedback for schools I'm missing!

• U Michigan Ford (MPP)
• Harvard Kennedy (MPP)
• Princeton SPIA (MPA)
• U Chicago Harris (MPP)
• Duke Sanford (MPP)

 

[lemonginger]

• Columbia SIPA
• Carnegie Mellon Heinz
• UT Austin LBJ School

[GradSchoolGrad]

4 hours ago, DCgal22 said:

Hi all! I graduated in 2019 and am thinking about applying to programs for the fall of 2022. I've tried to do research on different programs and have narrowed down my application list to the following based on perceived reputation, financial aid/scholarship opportunities, social and domestic policy offerings, and location-- but I would love if anyone has feedback for schools I'm missing!

• U Michigan Ford (MPP)
• Harvard Kennedy (MPP)
• Princeton SPIA (MPA)
• U Chicago Harris (MPP)
• Duke Sanford (MPP)

 

I recommend you rethink the way you are considering best. You have to put more outcomes based parameters on it, or else it will be a nutty list. 

For example, someone could easily say IKEA furniture is the best if you are looking for affordable yet functional furniture. However, if you want long lasting high quality furniture that you can pass down to the next generation from a brand name, Ethan Allen would be best.

So for social policy, I would say among your list, this is what they are best at:

1. Best for Data Analytics:

- U. Chicago Harris

- U. Michigan Ford

2. Best for Policy Innovation + Private Sector + Professional Academic Research

- HKS 

3. Best for State and Local + Non-Profit Engagement

- Duke Sanford

4. Best All Around Academic Rigor

- Princeton SPIA (they have both an MPP and MPA, and there is a difference between the 2).

I can keep on going... That should get you started though. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by GradSchoolGrad

[GradSchoolGrad]

1 hour ago, hope21 said:

• Columbia SIPA
• Carnegie Mellon Heinz
• UT Austin LBJ School

1. Columbia SIPA is great for Urban Policy matters. Although Urban Policy and Social Policy are closely related (and there is a lot of debate which is which). Beyond, that it is still good but not as strong. For example, if you want to stay in New York and do Public Health Policy for Brooklyn - SIPA is great. However, if you want to do Public Health Policy for the State Minnesota, you are better off going to U. Wisconsin MPP. SIPA is also interesting because its one of the schools that decided for strategic reasons to lump in IR with Policy. However, whenever that happens in academia, one usually is a core and the other takes a back seat, unless you are HKS or you find a functional focus. In SIPA, IR is arguably the core and policy takes the backseat.

2. UT Austin LBJ is amazing for State and Local + if you want to do some State + Local focused research - terrific resources. It is also amazing for having a wide breath of policy topics. I knew people that transferred from my Policy School to UT Austin LBJ, because it had more academic/professional support in less student popular policy focus areas (transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure). 

3. Carnegie Mellon Heinz is super interesting. They decided to go hard in 2 areas - professional innovation + data (although depending on program, you don't have to touch as much data). Every Heinz person I have ever met has been in the forefront of policy new ideas practices and application was actively networking with it + involved in it. 

 

[DCgal22]

47 minutes ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

1. Columbia SIPA is great for Urban Policy matters. Although Urban Policy and Social Policy are closely related (and there is a lot of debate which is which). Beyond, that it is still good but not as strong. For example, if you want to stay in New York and do Public Health Policy for Brooklyn - SIPA is great. However, if you want to do Public Health Policy for the State Minnesota, you are better off going to U. Wisconsin MPP. SIPA is also interesting because its one of the schools that decided for strategic reasons to lump in IR with Policy. However, whenever that happens in academia, one usually is a core and the other takes a back seat, unless you are HKS or you find a functional focus. In SIPA, IR is arguably the core and policy takes the backseat.

2. UT Austin LBJ is amazing for State and Local + if you want to do some State + Local focused research - terrific resources. It is also amazing for having a wide breath of policy topics. I knew people that transferred from my Policy School to UT Austin LBJ, because it had more academic/professional support in less student popular policy focus areas (transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure). 

3. Carnegie Mellon Heinz is super interesting. They decided to go hard in 2 areas - professional innovation + data (although depending on program, you don't have to touch as much data). Every Heinz person I have ever met has been in the forefront of policy new ideas practices and application was actively networking with it + involved in it. 

 

Thanks for all of your insight, @GradSchoolGrad! Majorly appreciated!  

[Xalianoh]

Very late to this, but wanted to relate my experience at Harvard MPP if it may be of help to anyone. 

 

Pros 

• Cohort model: Through your first-year, you take most of your classes with the same group of people. This is extremely conducive to building a social network... repeated, sustained interaction with the same people is so much more meaningful than having a class with someone once and then maybe seeing them around every now and again. This also means that, on any given Friday or Saturday night, you have something to do because someone in your cohort (~60 people) is hosting something. Building a social network in such a short time-frame is hard, but the Harvard MPP cohort model does all the heavy lifting for you *note this is only for MPPs- MPAs are on their own)
• Social institutions: HKS admittedly does a great job at accommodating social interactions in other ways, too. The foremost way is through Quorum Call, which is basically free drinks provided by the school every Friday from 4 to 5pm. This is often a wonderful way to start the night, and also a really great way to maintain friendships and acquaintances with people you'd otherwise start to drift away from. Another great institution is the number of treks offered by HKS. Treks are basically student trips with organized itineraries, programming (including talks with heads of state), and tourist activities. More than anything, these trips are just really fun and great for forging new friendships. Israel is the most popular (since it's subsidized), but there are treks everywhere from Colombia to Greece to Iceland- often organized by HKS students themselves. They can get expensive, but they're also unforgettable. 
• Think tanks and opportunities: HKS is unique in that it doubles as a collection of think tanks. Belfer (IR), Taubman (local government), Carr (human rights), Weiner (social policy), CID (international development) etc etc etc are at the forefront of research in their respective fields, and they're housed in the same buildings you take classes. They offer students a plethora of opportunities, from on-campus RA and administrative jobs to summer funding opportunities to programming to summer fellowships. One opportunity (out of many) provided by the presence of these think tanks is transition term, when HKS students help newly-elected political officials get their offices running the January after each election cycle. I've only been an HKS student, but the wide range of opportunities provided by these think tanks does seem unique to Harvard.
• Diversity of Interests: I have three roommates, and we're all into different things. This is actually great, for two reasons. First, it's intrinsically interesting to hear about other aspects of public policy, and there are more opportunities for cross-functional collaboration and synergy when this happens. Second, it means not everyone is in constant competition for that special internship or job. I imagine this can't be said at a super foreign-policy centric school like SFS or SAIS. Related to this is the incredible depth of talent of HKS' student body- students casually publish in the WaPo, present research at prestigious conferences, and launch amazing social initiatives. It's really wonderful to be in that kind of environment. 
• Course selection: Finally, I've been amazed by the breadth and utility of classes offered here.  Skill-based classes, like public speaking, budgeting, and op-ed writing (taught by the former editor of Times!), are some of the best. And there seem to be classes to satisfy any niche policy interest. 

 

The So-So

• Instructor quality: Some professors are really good. Others are really bad. I realize this is true anywhere, but I've been frustrated in how HKS seems to weight research over pedagogy in hiring decisions. I will say there's a lot of star power here (eg Obama's former Chief Economist teaches macro, the Pentagon's former chief of staff teaches policy), but that doesn't always translate into good teaching. And don't think HKS is your chance to make it big with, say, Ash Carter- 50 other students have the same idea. 

Cons

• Location: Some people say Cambridge, Massachusetts is nice. They are lying. It will be cold, dark, and gray for the majority of the time you are here. Aesthetically, Cambridge has the feel of a suburban office park, which is what it is in relation to Boston. Even much of Harvard's campus- supposedly Cambridge's jewel- is ugly and brutalist. Public transit is bad. The food is bad (stay away from any Mexican restaurant anywhere in New England). The location becomes even worse when you consider where HKS' peer schools are located (SAIS' Bologna campus, DC, NYC's Upper West Side, Chicago, London, etc). 
• The Core: As an MPP, you have to slog through an entire year of classes (statistics, economics, policy design, negotiation, race and racism) that are often only tangentially related to your career interests. In theory, I appreciate the chance to learn subjects I wouldn't seek out, like econ and statistics. In practice, they are often poorly taught... this semester's statistics instruction, for example, is a clusterfuck. The policy design curriculum is constantly being updated after poor reviews. Also, race and racism has a bit of an illiberal bent in that any deviation from the orthodoxy ("America is bad, capitalism is bad, everything can be boiled down to race") is branded as racist (saying this as a liberal Democrat!), but it's a short enough class you can just keep quiet. 
• Career services: On one hand, the Harvard name has been incredible in helping get interviews I know I'd never get otherwise. On the other hand, HKS has nothing similar to SFS' vaunted mentorship program. There are also next to no advising resources for fellowships like the PMF, Boren, etc. You will almost certainly graduate with a job, but it will be through your own initiative. 

 

All in all, I'm extremely grateful to be here. Hopefully this can be of value in helping someone where to apply or decide.