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.

Application Deadline

8 Jan

Apply Now

Pardee RAND Insights

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

  • A doctor talks to a girl whose arm is in a sling

    A Threat to Immigrant Health Care with Potential Consequences for All

    Oct 12, 2018

    The proposed changes to the “public charge” rule could jeopardize decades of progress towards improved health care access and health for immigrants and U.S. citizens. Prof. Kathryn Pitkin Derose says negative effects may include worse health outcomes, increased use of emergency rooms, and increased prevalence of communicable diseases.

  • Doctor and patient discussing medication

    Alum: In Opioid Policy, One Size Does Not Fit All

    Oct 12, 2018

    Congress is addressing the opioid epidemic through new legislation intended to increase access to treatment using medications such as methadone and buprenorphine. Alum Bradley Stein (cohort '97) says further investments may be required to make counseling more available, increase Medicaid reimbursement for drug treatment, and reduce the stigma associated with mental health treatment.

  • Men sleep on a temporary shade built over a drain next to a slum on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India, May 28, 2015

    Mitigating India's Climate-Change Misery

    Oct 11, 2018

    Despite years of dire forecasts, the international community has been unable to halt the steady climb in global temperatures and, as student Gulrez Shah Azhar (cohort '14) writes, it is the world's poorest who are paying the heaviest toll. As heat-related risks intensify, those living on the margins—in India and elsewhere—will need help to cope effectively.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walk at the Capella Hotel on the island of Sentosa, Singapore, June 12, 2018

    North Korea's Actions Speak Louder Than Its Words

    Oct 11, 2018

    Kim Jong Un has regularly promised to denuclearize, writes alum Bruce Bennett (cohort '75), but he's been all talk. And this year, North Korea has probably built five to nine more nuclear weapons. There are steps that could make a difference if taken before the North Korean nuclear weapon threat grows any further.

Upcoming Events

Our Graduates at Work

Wang Helps School Foster Ties with China

With the support of alum Hui Wang (cohort '88), Dean Susan Marquis visited academic and nongovernmental institutions in China to establish and strengthen relationships with Pardee RAND. Wang is the outgoing alumni member of the Pardee RAND Board of Governors.

Learn more about Wang's impact

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

Admissions Events