Information for Prospective PRGS Students

The mission of Pardee RAND Graduate School is to educate high-level problem solvers who will take on some of the world's toughest problems with rigor, a broad interdisciplinary perspective and a creative flair. Toward this end PRGS selects up to 25 doctoral students each year on the basis of intellectual power, creativity and a practical bent.

PRGS limits admission to students who can participate full-time in its combined research-and-study program. Because the courses are taught in sequence, students must begin their study in the fall quarter.

All applicants must have completed at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, and possess superior communication, logical reasoning and quantitative skills. An advanced degree is not required. No preference is given to any particular undergraduate major or course of study, but all students must have a working knowledge of univariate calculus by the time of enrollment. Coursework in statistics, economics and more advanced calculus is helpful, but not absolutely required.

Beyond their academic capabilities, PRGS students share two attributes. They combine passion and discipline: a palpable passion to help change the world for the better, and the demonstrated discipline to master the intellectual tools that will help them do so.

PRGS also seeks diversity in the broadest sense of the term. An important part of the graduate experience is the learning that takes place as students interact with each other, especially about different life experiences and training, cultures, and ways of thinking.

Pardee RAND Graduate School information sessions provide an overview of the Ph.D. in policy analysis, the admissions process, and our degree requirements. In addition, attendees have an opportunity—at both the live and online sessions—to hear current students describe their experiences and share their own perspectives on the program.

Information sessions will be held again in fall 2013.