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.

  • Indian girls work on a tablet provided by Pratham USA

    IDSS Talk Explores Experiments with Open Learning Beyond Schools

    Apr 18, 2019

    Dr. Madhav Chavan, co-founder and president of Pratham USA, will discuss his organization's randomized controlled trial, in which they provided 800 Indian villages with tablet computers pre-loaded with educational software for grades 6-8 — but no teachers — for extracurricular learning.

  • Blockchain concept, photo by AlfazetChronicles/Getty Images

    Blockchain: The Second Decade

    Apr 9, 2019

    Blockchain, which was invented in 2008, is now in its second decade. To help students and alumni understand the implications of this disruptive technology, Career Services welcomed four experts in a discussion of potential commercial and regulatory approaches.

  • Used Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride) containers and syringes sit in a case, after paramedics revived a man in his 40s, who was found unresponsive, after overdosing on opioids in Salem, Massachusetts, August 9, 2017, photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

    (Grey's) Anatomy of an Opioid Crisis

    Apr 8, 2019

    More than 130 Americans die every day after overdosing on opioids. So when one of the most popular shows on network television made opioid misuse a major plotline, alum Bradley Stein (cohort '97) and Prof. Sarah MacCarthy paid especially rapt attention to how the show would present this public health crisis. How closely would it mirror reality? Pretty closely, for the narrow slice of the opioid crisis it addressed.

  • A principal meeting with teachers, photo by Claire Holt/The Wallace Foundation

    Principal Pipelines Benefit Students and Reduce Principal Turnover

    Apr 8, 2019

    Six urban districts implemented principal pipelines, a strategic approach to the hiring, preparation, evaluation, and support of school leaders. Student Emilio R. Chavez-Herrerias (cohort '14) found that the efforts were feasible, affordable, and effective. The schools not only outperformed comparison schools in both math and reading, but they also improved principal retention.

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