PRGS Office of Career Services
Helen Wu addresses the PRGS Board of Governors
The Pardee RAND Graduate School Office of Career Services provides comprehensive support to prospective employers, current students, and recent graduates, as well as streamlined communication among all parties. Partnering with organizations interested in hiring our graduates is an important part of our mission.
Should you wish to learn more about the PRGS students currently seeking opportunities or to visit PRGS and meet our students in person, our Career Services staff is ready and willing to assist you. Please contact us at prgscareers@prgs.edu or (310) 393-0411, ext. 6742.
What Do PRGS Alumni Do?
PRGS alumni enter many diverse fields. Here are just a few of the jobs our alumni have:
- Policy analysts at research institutions
- Assistant professors at schools of public policy and public health
- Intelligence analyst for a national security agency
- Conflict management and mitigation specialist for a major development agency
- Environmental 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 but we expect that they'll continue to expand as careers are becoming more fluid between public and private sectors.
We encourage alumni to keep in touch with us, with each other, and with RAND.
Job Placements 2009-2012
- Abt Associates
- Akisgorta
- Amgen, Inc.
- Center for American Progress
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Compass Alliance Strategic Consulting
- Defense Acquisition University
- Department of Homeland Security
- Denver Public Schools
- Government of Bulgaria
- Harvard Center for Education Policy Research
- HDR, Inc.
- Healthways
- HEC School of Management
- IMS Health, Inc.
- Ipsos
- KNG Health Consulting
- LMI
- LA County Office of AIDS Program and Policy
- Mayo Clinic
- Northrop Grumman
- Northwestern University
- RAND Corporation
- Republic of Korea Air Force
- Simon Fraser University
- Southern California Edison
- UN – Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- U.S. Agency for International Development
- United States Air Force
- United States Military Academy at West Point
- University of British Columbia
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
- University of New Mexico
- University of Southern California
- Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
- World Bank
- Zirve University
Recent Alumni Highlights
Diana Epstein PRGS '09
Current Employment: Senior Education Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress
Dissertation: Evaluating the Long-term Impacts of AmeriCorps Service on Participants
"My PRGS training prepared me very well for my position at Abt Associates. The combination of quantitative and qualitative skills that I gained at PRGS—and the depth of my training—means that I am qualified to work on a number of different research and evaluation projects. At PRGS I became a specialist in a couple of specific policy areas, but I also graduated with a breadth of skills that allows me to work on new issues as needed. The on-the-job training at PRGS has proven to be a particularly valuable benefit of the program. When I arrived at Abt, I already had experience working with interdisciplinary teams on multiple projects at the same time. Finally, the process of conceptualizing and managing my dissertation at PRGS prepared me to take on leadership roles at Abt from day one."
Jennifer Wong PRGS '09
Current Employment: Assistant Professor of Criminology, Simon Fraser University (Canada)
Dissertation: No Bullies Allowed—Understanding Peer Victimization, the Impacts on Delinquency, and the Effectiveness of Prevention Programs
"When I was hired as an assistant professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University (Canada), I was at first apprehensive about my fit for the position. I was the lone Ph.D. in policy analysis surrounded by a faculty filled mostly with lawyers and criminologists. I was soon pleased to discover that the quantitative and analytic skills I acquired at PRGS are enormously valuable and widely applicable. This puts me in the flexible position of 'jack of all trades'. My limited background in criminological theory is easily made up for through focused reading, and my marketability for project work across a wide range of substantive areas makes me a valuable team member. The coursework and on-the-job-training provided by PRGS ensured that my research options are boundless, and I relish the diversity."
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