The Pardee RAND Graduate School is unique in American higher education. It is the largest public policy analysis Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation. Faculty are largely drawn from the RAND Corporation and offer exceptional training and access to some of the world's leading policy practitioners.
All PRGS students receive fellowships to cover their education costs and engage in research projects that provide on-the-job training. Along the way, PRGS students receive an M.Phil. in public policy analysis—equivalent to a master's degree in public policy (MPP). Graduates leave with a Ph.D. in policy analysis and essentially two years of full-time work experience .
PRGS students want to make a difference in the world by helping to shape and lead public policy. Our graduates go on to jobs in government, in the private sector, at universities and other research organizations, and in the non-profit sector. One hundred percent of the 2009-2011 graduates found a job in the field of their choice.
State financing of higher education is under stress as countries all over the world struggle with fiscal pressures. PRGS professor Charles A. Goldman, student Megan Clifford (cohort '09) and alumna Lindsay Daugherty (cohort '05) review a number of cost-sharing policies that can be adopted and how they may affect access to and the quality of education.
Ten current and former African first ladies joined former U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, wife of the former U.K. prime minister, today at a Pardee RAND Graduate School-organized forum focused on becoming more effective leaders.
PRGS is again offering online info sessions this fall — October 2 and November 13 — for prospective students from around the world. Those in the L.A., D.C., and Boston areas can also learn about PRGS at live info sessions at RAND offices.
Interventions that address potentially detrimental consequences of low socioeconomic status and adverse school environments among pre-adolescent Latino and black children may help reduce racial and ethnic differences in child health, according to research by PRGS alumnus Mark Schuster (cohort '91).
As the United States struggles to confront the twin challenges of rising health care costs and uncertain quality, we should embrace innovative practices wherever they exist—whether they are developed in private, for-profit health care systems or so-called "socialized" ones, like Britain's NHS or America's VA, writes PRGS professor Art Kellermann.
A first step in dealing with uncertainty is confronting its existence, ubiquity, and magnitude. A second step is dealing with it when informing assessments and decisions. Research by PRGS professor Paul K. Davis describes how lessons from RAND's national security work on planning under uncertainty can be applied in many other fields.
Rather than threatening that the closure will be a mess, messages appealing to citizens' public spirit that Los Angeles can pull together again to make the closure go smoothly are more likely to resonate because they are consistent with past experience, writes Martin Wachs, who teaches "Transportation Planning and Policy in the U.S." at PRGS.
We will be more successful at stemming the growing tide of obesity and improving our own health if everyone accepts their share of responsibility for the obesity epidemic, write PRGS professor Chloe E. Bird and RAND colleague Tamara Dubowitz.
PRGS student Eileen Hlavka (cohort '07) has received the Special Plenary Paper Prize from the 13th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation. Her research on "The Federal Tax Credit Impacts on Wind and Solar Innovation" was deemed to provide "the most original and substantial contribution to climate policy."
PRGS student Tewodaj "Todi" Mengistu (cohort '07) is a coauthor of a recent RAND report on democratization in the Arab world. A key takeaway: Policymakers in the United States and other nations should be wary of "rules of thumb" and simplified predictions of how political change will happen.
It is notable that North Korea's Politburo made the announcement that Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho had retired, suggesting a rise in power of the party relative to the military. The choice of Ri's successor is also curious, writes PRGS alum Bruce Bennett (cohort '75).
We recently asked our faculty, What books inspire you to train your sights on the most intractable problems of our time? To come up with innovative, persuasive, and enduring solutions? To ensure that no matter the topic, the problem is well formulated and the research approach is well designed and well executed?
The Commencement 2012 issue of
Findings includes information about the Dean's speech (and links to all the speeches), photos of alumni and graduates, and featured news about alumni and PRGS events.
PRGS Alum Cheryl Damberg (cohort '89) and Professors Christine Eibner and Arthur Kellermann are among the RAND experts reacting to what is likely the most significant health care-related court decision of the U.S.
Today's public policymakers have a unique opportunity to shape the future, but only if they focus on putting ideas into action and "get stuff done," said Robert B. Zoellick, the 11th president of the World Bank Group, at the Pardee RAND Graduate School commencement on June 23, 2012.
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