Life After PRGS
Since its inception in 1970, the Pardee RAND Graduate School has graduated over 200 PhDs, who have gone on to a wide range of jobs in government, business, non-profit institutions, and academia.
PRGS graduates are highly sought for demanding jobs in government, business, non-profit institutions, and academia. Consider the skills that PRGS fellows have developed:
- Excellent economics and statistics
- A variety of computer and modeling techniques.
- Sophistication in applications of science and technology, the social and behavioral sciences, and history.
- Experience in policy seminars that range from health to international security, from education to criminal justice, from the future of Eastern Europe to the impact of the Internet.
- Learning by doing from research in interdisciplinary teams with mentors, working with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors. On the way to garnering their Ph.D.s, the typical PRGS fellow accumulates the equivalent of two years of practical experience.
The RAND Graduate School education uniquely combines "thinking the unthinkable" with a grounding in real problems and real solutions.
PRGS Grads: Problem Solvers
Trained as problem solvers, PRGS graduates are sought by academic institutions, government agencies, consulting firms, research laboratories, and a variety of businesses. For example, one recent RGS graduate is a professor and chair of department at a leading university, after serving a stint as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in Washington. Another is chief analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. Still another is the chief executive of a major health care company. Another is the chief of staff for the governor of a major state. Others are enjoying fast-track military careers.
We expect that increasingly the career of a PRGS graduate will span many activities and sectors. Careers are becoming more fluid between public and private sectors. So, the first job may be in one sector or type of organization, and the second and third jobs may be in quite different areas.
PRGS is so small, and the jobs are so diverse, that job placement is custom-tailored to the individual fellow. The Dean, the dissertation advisers, other faculty members, and other members of RAND all work with the fellow to devise a job-exploration strategy.
What Alumni Are Doing
Here's what some recent graduates are doing:
- Policy Analysts at several research institutions
- Assistant Professors at Schools of Public Policy and Public Health
- Intelligence Analyst for a national security agency
- Enviromental Economist for a major international development firm
- Consultant for one of the world's leading management consulting firms
The careers of PRGS graduates often move across these traditional categories. We expect that increasingly the career of an PRGS graduate will span many activities and sectors. Careers are becoming more fluid between public and private sectors. So, the first job may be in one sector or type of organization, and the second and third jobs may be in quite different areas. See a list of other current employers.
We encourage graduates (recent and not-so-recent) to keep in touch with us, with each other, and with RAND.
All current and former PRGS fellows are also welcome to join RAND's Alumni Association, which offers several benefits, including a newsletter, an alumni directory, and invitations to alumni events.
