Faculty, students, Dean Susan L. Marquis, and RAND staff on the unique benefits of a PRGS education
PRGS News
PRGS Policymaker Training Program in the News — Sep. 12, 2011
A profile of the PRGS African First Ladies Program was posted today in the UK's Financial Times online. In describing the impetus for the intitiative, program codirector Gery Ryan asks, "Why aren't first ladies more powerful and influential entities? Because they are leaders without authority. We want to help them lead."
Sign Up for Live and Online Info Sessions — Sep. 2, 2011
Want to learn more about PRGS and its degree program before you apply? Attend one of our information sessions at various U.S. locations this fall, or register for a "virtual" session to get your questions about the Ph.D. program—and all things related—answered by current students and staff.
Interested in obtaining a graduate degree at one of the preeminent public policy programs in the world? PRGS is now accepting applications for enrollment into the 2012 entering class. The application period runs through January 5, 2012.
PRGS Course Covers Security Policy — Aug. 17, 2011
Pardee RAND Graduate School will offer a defense security course on "Policy Issues and Analytic Approaches" from September 19 to September 23, 2011. The course is part of the annual New Security Challenges series and will be held at RAND's Washington office. This year's focus will be the strategic and tactical implications of making significant reductions to the defense budget. Each session will be led by a prominent RAND researcher who has personally made a significant contribution to the topic at hand.
PRGS Alums Among Coauthors of New RAND Book on 9/11 — Jul. 26, 2011
A new collection of essays by experts from the RAND Corporation examines America in the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing a critical eye on the nation's subsequent actions and outlining changes in strategy needed to improve efforts against jihadist groups. Three PRGS alumni and current RAND staff—vice president K. Jack Riley,
senior policy researcher Eric V. Larson, and PRGS assistant dean Jeffrey Wasserman—each authored chapters in the book, as did several PRGS faculty.
The Pardee RAND Graduate School has been reaccredited for 10 years by the Senior Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Ten years is the longest possible term for reaccreditation, with most schools receiving reaccreditation for anywhere from seven to ten years. PRGS will provide an interim report in 2016 and will formally begin the next reaccreditation cycle in 2020.
PRGS Alum Coauthors New Book on Drugs and Drug Policy — Jul. 7, 2011
The Economist has favorably reviewed
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know, saying it successfully sorts drug use and treatment myths from facts to the benefit of substance abusers, their loved ones, and professional stakeholders. Mark Kleiman of UCLA coauthored the book along with Jonathan Caulkins of RAND and Carnegie Mellon University, and PRGS alumnus Angela Hawken ('98 cohort), now an associate professor at Pepperdine University.
PRGS Alumnus Authority on U.S. Space Program — Jul. 6, 2011
In light of NASA's final shuttle launch early this month there has been much speculation as to the future of the U.S. space program. Chairman of U.S. Space and PRGS alumnus Mark J. Albrecht ('73 cohort) shared his perspective in a recent commentary in The Washington Times.
Russell Lundberg has been named managing editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis under editors-in-chief Beau Kilmer, codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, and Mark Kleiman of the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
PRGS and RAND Research Effort Yields World Bank Publication — Jun. 22, 2011
PRGS alumnus Connor Spreng led a World Bank/International Finance Corporation project assessing how governments and the private health sector are working together in forty-five African countries. He was also the lead author of the resulting publication, Healthy Partnerships: How Governments Can Engage the Private Sector to Improve Health in Africa. PRGS alumnus Neeraj Sood, now on faculty at PRGS as well as at the University of Southern California, served as the PI for the RAND component of this study.
PRGS Student Appointed to National Academies Board — Jun. 16, 2011
PRGS student Brian Weatherford has accepted a three year appointment to serve on the Transportation Economics Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. This committee identifies research needs in the field of applying economic methods to the analysis of transportation systems and it encourages the incorporation of research findings into practice. Weatherford is writing his dissertation on transportation finance policy.
New Issue of Findings, the Alumni Newsletter, Now Available — Jun. 13, 2011
The Spring 2011 issue of the PRGS alumni newsletter Findings includes coverage of
highlights from student on-the-job training (OJT) projects in Afghanistan—Ahmad Idrees Rahmani's work on counterinsurgency and Matt Hoover's efforts in rural development and governance
alumni involvement in the 2011 admissions process, with the Fall class expected to be the second largest ever
alum updates—Mark Albrecht's new book on the Cold War space race, Diana Epstein's new position at the Center for American Progress, and Scott Pace's recent interview on the future of U.S. space policy.
PRGS Student Comments on DNA Analysis — Apr. 29, 2011
Carl Matthies, a PRGS Ph.D. candidate and former Los Angeles Police Department criminalist, was quoted in an Investor's Business Daily article on crime analysis. The piece focused on LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's use of a 2010 RAND study in support of his claim that there is much room for improvement in U.S. DNA profiling technology and procedures when compared with results achieved by the U.K.
The EPA awarded a Science to Achieve Results (STAR) dissertation fellowship to Eileen Hlavka, a fourth year doctoral candidate at PRGS. The fellowship will be used to support her dissertation research which uses Bayesian text analysis to measure research on renewable energy technology and assesses whether that research is driven by energy policies.
RAND Military Health Study Wins Award — Feb. 8, 2011
AcademyHealth gave its 2011 Health Services Research Impact Award to the research team that produced the seminal report, "The Invisible Wounds of War." This 2008 study was the first to comprehensively demonstrate the extent of post-deployment psychological and cognitive disorders among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, galvanizing policy activity at both the Federal level and among veterans groups nationwise. PRGS student Claudia Diaz was part of the project team recognized with this award.
Sean O'Neill, a PRGS Ph.D. candidate currently working on his dissertation in health care quality improvement, was asked by Reuters Health to comment on a study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The JAMA study indicated that for-profit hospices are choosing cheaper patients in order to make more money from their Medicare reimbursements, and cited a paper O'Neill wrote in 2008 with Karl Lorenz (RAND/VA/UCLA) and Susan Ettner (UCLA).
PRGS Alumnus Authored Only Analysis of California's Redevelopment Program — Jan. 30, 2011
Governor Jerry Brown's first budget entails a plan to abolish California's redevelopment agencies in order to reclaim their share of the state's annual $5 billion in property taxes. The only review of the value of these agencies in their 65 years of existence was completed by 1994 PRGS alumnus Michael Dardia.
A profile of the PRGS African First Ladies Program was posted today in the UK's Financial Times online. In describing the impetus for the intitiative, program codirector Gery Ryan asks, "Why aren't first ladies more powerful and influential entities? Because they are leaders without authority. We want to help them lead."
Want to learn more about PRGS and its degree program before you apply? Attend one of our information sessions at various U.S. locations this fall, or register for a "virtual" session to get your questions about the Ph.D. program—and all things related—answered by current students and staff. 
Interested in obtaining a graduate degree at one of the preeminent public policy programs in the world? PRGS is now accepting applications for enrollment into the 2012 entering class. The application period runs through January 5, 2012. 
Pardee RAND Graduate School will offer a defense security course on "Policy Issues and Analytic Approaches" from September 19 to September 23, 2011. The course is part of the annual New Security Challenges series and will be held at RAND's Washington office. This year's focus will be the strategic and tactical implications of making significant reductions to the defense budget. Each session will be led by a prominent RAND researcher who has personally made a significant contribution to the topic at hand.
A new collection of essays by experts from the RAND Corporation examines America in the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing a critical eye on the nation's subsequent actions and outlining changes in strategy needed to improve efforts against jihadist groups. Three PRGS alumni and current RAND staff—vice president 
The Pardee RAND Graduate School has been reaccredited for 10 years by the Senior Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Ten years is the longest possible term for reaccreditation, with most schools receiving reaccreditation for anywhere from seven to ten years. PRGS will provide an interim report in 2016 and will formally begin the next reaccreditation cycle in 2020.
The Economist has favorably reviewed
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know, saying it successfully sorts drug use and treatment myths from facts to the benefit of substance abusers, their loved ones, and professional stakeholders. Mark Kleiman of UCLA coauthored the book along with 
In light of NASA's final shuttle launch early this month there has been much speculation as to the future of the U.S. space program. Chairman of U.S. Space and PRGS alumnus Mark J. Albrecht ('73 cohort) shared his perspective in a recent commentary in The Washington Times.
PRGS student 
The Spring 2011 issue of the PRGS alumni newsletter Findings includes coverage of
AcademyHealth gave its 2011 Health Services Research Impact Award to the research team that produced the seminal report, "
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