Dean's Welcome

These are the traits of great policy leaders—and of the doctoral students, faculty, and supporters who make up the Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS). Welcome to our school and the PRGS community!

A unique educational experience

For more than four decades, PRGS has provided a unique educational experience for a select group of students. Students arrive with exceptional credentials and drive, infusing the RAND community with new ideas and talent. Our curriculum is renowned for its rigor and breadth. Through participation on RAND's projects and access to RAND's leading research staff, PRGS students develop an understanding of policy analysis that is unmatched among their counterparts at other graduate institutions. Most students work on a variety of projects during their time at RAND, giving them exposure to a range of policy areas, research methods, colleagues, and clients. By the time they graduate, most students have accumulated the equivalent of at least two years of job experience in policy analysis—in addition, of course, to their Ph.D. degrees. In addition to offering a unique educational value, this on-the-job training (OJT) also has an economic benefit: All admitted students are awarded a fellowship that is earned by working on RAND projects.

But it is our philosophy—that we need not accept the world as it is—that inspires PRGS students and faculty to train their sights on the most intractable problems of our time. Through talent, study, and the application of objective analysis, members of the PRGS community are helping to design policies for peace, opportunity, and prosperity.

One of our central priorities is to take lessons outside of the classroom and into the field. In addition to working on projects at RAND in Santa Monica, Washington D.C. offers a variety of opportunities for connecting fellows with policy-making that will inform both their current research and their future public service. PRGS has developed The Washington Experience to provide these opportunities to our students. Each year four students are selected to spend four months in RAND's Washington D.C. office.

Beginning in the fall of 2011, qualified students from PRGS can take courses in law at Southwestern Law School leading to a Certificate in Legal Studies. Qualified students from Southwestern can take courses at PRGS leading to a Certificate in Public Policy. The non-degree programs are intended to provide students with a basic knowledge of law and public policy, and an understanding of the tools and frameworks relevant to each field.

Every day at PRGS, we call upon our students to be the answer to the challenges they see around them. If you want to make a difference, if you want to be the answer and make the world a better place, join us as part of the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Susan L. Marquis
Dean