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.

    Learn more about Tools and Technology

  • 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.

    Learn more about Freedom

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.

  • Healthcare, opioid epidemic and drug abuse concept with the map of USA filled with oxycodone and hydrocodone pharmaceutical pills on the American flag, photo by Victor Moussa/AdobeStock

    Alumni Event: Solving the Opioid Crisis

    Sep 12, 2019

    Join us in RAND's Washington office as alum Brad Stein (cohort '97), Prof. Beau Kilmer, and other RAND experts discuss their efforts to model the comprehensive opioid ecosystem and help reverse the tide of this critical challenge. Dean Susan Marquis will moderate this discussion.

  • A typical communist style statue in the capital city of North Korea, photo by alexkuehni/Getty Images

    Searching for Signs of Doi Moi in North Korea

    Aug 12, 2019

    President Trump's second summit with Kim Jong Un prompted voluminous commentary about whether Pyongyang might adopt the “Vietnam model” of economic reform and opening up, known as doi moi. Dung Huynh (cohort '16) and colleagues suggest that although some version of doi moi may be possible in North Korea, it will likely be more difficult than it was in Vietnam, especially because of Kim's reluctance to risk losing absolute control.

  • Hand writing on a document, photo by PeopleImages/Getty Images

    Assessing IRB Perspectives Before Implementation of the Revised Common Rule

    Jul 26, 2019

    Student Alexandra Mendoza-Graf (cohort '16) and colleagues surveyed institutional research board (IRB) chairs, administrators, and members, as well as principal investigators, to obtain baseline information on their demographics and attitudes about their IRB's efficacy and efficiency and the likely effects of proposed changes to the Revised Common Rule.

  • Jorja Leap stands with former gang member Fabian Debora in front of a mural he painted, photo courtesy Jorja Leap

    Research in Communities: Stories from the Field

    Jul 25, 2019

    Dr. Jorja Leap, executive director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership, discussed the dynamic and ongoing relational process of community-based participatory research. As the keynote speaker for Pardee RAND's annual Faculty Leaders Program, she also shared anecdotes and wisdom gleaned from her experience working with at-risk and gang-involved youth, formerly incarcerated women, death row inmates, and many others.

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