Urban Policy - Ford vs. Harris vs. Duke

[rngordon11]

Hi All - Looking for some advice on MPP programs...

 

I have narrowed my top choices down to Chicago Harris, Ford School at Michigan and Sanford School at Duke. I'm looking to study urban policy with an emphasis on economic and urban development while hoping to work in the city of Detroit eventually. While the Ford School may seem like the obvious choice due to its proximity to the city, I haven't found very many urban policy focused electives. On the other hand, I've heard that a lot of students focus on urban policy at Chicago Harris and they seem to have a wide range of classes in my area of interest. Duke also has an urban development specialization and has some more applied courses in this domain as well that seem interesting.

 

Does anyone have other insights on these programs as they relate to their emphasis on urban policy? What would be my best option? Also, in terms of overall reputation, how do they compare to one another?

 

Any and all thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[method]

If your goal is to work in Detroit, then Michigan is where you want to be.  

 

Two of the last three years of integrated policy exercises at Ford were based on current Detroit policy issues: regional transit and immigration policy.

Every year, two students intern in the mayor's office with full fellowship packages.  

Many of the applied policy seminar's live consulting projects are with Detroit clients.

I can think of multiple professors with projects in Detroit and the surrounding area.

Lots of the student cohort is from Michigan, and they may have some networking connections or insights of value.

Many of the clubs and case competitions on campus are focused on Detroit: here's a link to just one (https://revitalizationandbusiness.wordpress.com/)

A lot of our classes have adjunct faculty who are previous or current administrators or legislators for cities or the State, and Detroit is certainly talked about in lots of those classes.

 

In overall reputation for domestic public policy considerations, the three schools are peer schools.  There is no reputation gain to be had by attending one over another, but in the city of Detroit and the State of Michigan, a Ford School degree will be a distinct advantage for many reasons, the biggest of which is the famous Michigan network.

Edited March 31, 2015 by method