Welcome to the Pardee RAND Graduate School

Tomorrow’s toughest and most urgent problems need a new kind of problem solver. They need Pardee RAND — and you.

What Sets Us Apart

The Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California, is the nation’s largest public policy Ph.D. program. It’s also the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

  • Tools and Technology

    Acquire a wide range of data collection and analytic skills to address complex policy challenges, and harness technology to develop creative solutions.

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  • Experience

    Gain two years of full-time policy research experience at the independent, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and develop a professional portfolio.

    Learn more about Experience

  • Real-World Impact

    Apply your expertise to research, inform, influence, and lead smart decisionmaking in diverse policy and research careers.

    Learn more about Real-World Impact

  • Freedom

    Graduate with little or no debt, thanks to generous scholarships and research fellowships that cover tuition and living expenses and let students work on RAND research of their choice.

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Join Us

Pardee RAND students share two attributes: a passion to help change the world for the better, and the discipline to master intellectual tools that will help them do so.

How to Apply

Pardee RAND Insights

The latest research, news, and events from students and faculty.

  • Accountability in Cyberspace: The Problem of Attribution

    Jan 14, 2019

    The attribution of a malicious cyber incident consists of identifying the responsible party behind the activity. In this video, professors Jair Aguirre, Ben Boudreaux, and John Davis recommend creating an independent, international cyber attribution consortium tasked with investigating and publicly attributing major cyber attacks.

  • Artificial eye looking through greenery

    Does the U.S. Face an AI Ethics Gap?

    Jan 11, 2019

    The view that the United States is in an artificial intelligence (AI) arms race suggests an AI ethics gap. Prof. Benjamin Boudreaux says the U.S. may face a higher ethical hurdle than its adversaries when developing and deploying AI in military contexts. But, he adds, the gap could be a source of U.S. strength in building international partnerships.

  • South Korean soldiers conduct a pass in review during a military parade to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the South Korean-U.S. alliance in Seoul, South Korea, October 1, 2013

    North Korea's Expanding Nuclear Program Drives a Complex Set of Problems

    Jan 11, 2019

    North Korean provocations and threats have created an unstable environment on the Korean Peninsula. Alum Bruce Bennett (cohort '75) and colleagues say the U.S. and its allies must attend to four interconnected problems. Failure to prepare will increase the chance of miscalculation and constrain options to reduce the likelihood or gravity of future conflicts.

  • Aerial view of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

    Book Review: The Heart of War—Misadventures in the Pentagon

    Jan 8, 2019

    Alum Jonathan Wong (cohort '12) thinks both Washington insiders and the general public may be inspired by Kathleen McCinnis's The Heart of War. The novel prompts readers to think more realistically about the Pentagon and its role in policymaking.

Our Graduates at Work

Schuster Sees Parallels between Pardee RAND and His New School

As the founding dean of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, alum Mark Schuster (cohort ’91), sees similarities between his school and Pardee RAND: both are freestanding schools, take a hands-on approach, and are redesigning education in their fields.

Learn more about Schuster and all our alumni

Find out if Pardee RAND is right for you

Pardee RAND seeks students with superior communication, logical reasoning and quantitative skills, who also exhibit intellectual power, creativity, and a practical bent.

The Ideal Candidate