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Courses and Studios

Students work on a policy game in class

Photo by Diane Baldwin/RAND Corporation

Pardee RAND students undertake an interdisciplinary core curriculum that covers policy analysis, quantitative analysis, economics, and social and behavioral sciences. They also integrate their studies through policy design studios and choose 8 units of electives in subject matter and methodological areas of interest.

Course selection is subject to change and some elective courses are not offered every year.

Core Courses & Policy Design Studios

Policy Analysis

Quantitative Analysis

Economics

Social and Behavioral Science

Policy Design Studios

Optional Preparatory Course

Elective Courses

After completing their core courses, students may choose whatever electives they wish, for a total of eight units. Some choose to demonstrate mastery of a set of analytic research tools by completing a concentration in Economics, Quantitative Analysis, or Social and Behavioral Sciences. These students complete at least five units of elective courses in their chosen area.

Elective courses are generally taken during the second or third years of study. Most elective courses are therefore offered on a biennial basis (once every two years). Offerings are subject to change. Some elective courses fulfill the requirements for more than one Analytic Concentration.

To see the courses for a specific concentration, select that button. To read the course description, click on the course's name.


  • Advanced Econometrics I: Non-Linear Cross-Sectional Models (Sturm, 1 unit)
  • Advanced Econometrics II: Applied Non-Linear Modeling (Sturm/Miller, 1 unit)
  • Advanced Econometrics III: Introduction to Multi-Level (Hierarchical, Mixed-Level) Modeling and Panel Data (Sturm, .5 unit)
  • Analyzing Text with Computers (Marcellino, .5 unit)
  • Applications of Risk Analysis to Public Policy (Willis, .5 unit)
  • Applied Psychometrics (Hempel, .5 unit)
  • Applying Behavioral Insights and Behavioral Economics (Grant/Linnemayr, 1 unit)
  • Behavioral Economics (Linnemayr, .5 unit)
  • Big Data Applications (Davis/Winkelman, 1 unit)
  • Causal Inference for Policy Researchers under Potential Outcomes: The Use of Propensity Score Methods (Griffin/Setodji/Cefalu, 1.0 unit)
  • Comparative Historical Analysis and Case Study Methods (Paul, 1 unit)
  • Criminology and Public Policy (TBD, 1 unit)
  • Cultural Measurement and Analysis in Policy Research (Matthews, 1 unit)
  • Demography (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Design Studio 2: Equitable and Effective Policing in an Era of Social Media and Distributed Civil Movements (#BlackLivesMatter) (Osoba, 2 units)
  • Digital Anthropology: Exploring the Cultural and Policy Implications of the Rise in Human Use of Digital Technologies (Welser/Sieck, 1 unit)
  • Dissertation Writing Workshop (Murphy, 0 units)
  • Drugs and Policy (Kilmer, 1 unit)
  • Economic Development (Kumar/Nataraj, 1 unit)
  • Empirical Public Finance (Armour, .5 unit)
  • Entrepreneurship (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (Bond/Nataraj/Burger, 1 unit)
  • Ethics in Theory, Policy, and Practice (Boudreaux, 1 unit)
  • Finance and Accounting (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Food Policy (Ringel/Efron, .5 unit)
  • Game Theory (TBD, 1 unit)
  • Governance in Three Domains: Public, Corporate, Non-Profit (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Health Economics (Pacula, 1 unit)
  • Healthcare and Healthcare Reform (Ryan, .5 unit)
  • History and Public Policy (Selvin, 1 unit)
  • Inform, Influence, and Persuade: U.S. Government Public Diplomacy, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication, Information Operations, and Psychological Operations (Paul, 1 unit)
  • Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling (Richardson/Sturm, 1 unit)
  • Issues of Modern Labor Economics (Armour/Edwards, .5 unit)
  • Labor Economics (TBD, 1 unit)
  • Large-Scale Optimization with Applications (Nowak, .5 unit)
  • Leadership (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Machine Learning (Osoba, .5 unit)
  • Making Policy on Contested Ground: Navigating the Changing Relationship between States and the Federal Government (Selvin, .5 units)
  • Modeling Socio-Economic Complex Adaptive Systems (Vardavas, .5 unit)
  • Multi-Objective Optimization: Practical Use and Policy Applications (Marler, .5 unit)
  • Operations Research II (Bennett, 1 unit)
  • Performance Measurement: Social, Behavioral and Political Science Perspectives on Design and Implementation (Nelson, 1 unit)
  • Policy Analysis and the Modeling of Complex Problems (Davis, 1 unit)
  • Predictive Analytics for Public Policy (Hollywood, 1 unit)
  • Principles of Client Oriented Policy Analysis (Wasserman, 1 unit)
  • Program Evaluation (Hunter, .5 unit)
  • Qualitative Research (Ryan, .5 unit)
  • Quality Assessment/Making the Business Case for Quality (Brook, 1 unit)
  • Quantitative Methods with Applications in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Policy (Alkire, .5 unit)
  • Quantitative Methods with Applications in Technology Policy (Alkire, .5 unit)
  • R Programming for Scientific Analysis (Mendelsohn, 1 unit)
  • Robust Decision Making (Lempert/Popper, .5 unit)
  • Scientific Writing and the Journal Publications Process (Khodyakov, .5 unit)
  • Serious Gaming 1 (Frelinger/Mueller/Shlapak, 1 unit)
  • Smart Markets and Combinatorial Auctions (Raffensperger, .5 unit)
  • Social Network Analysis (TBD, 1 unit)
  • Survey Design (Brown, 1 unit)
  • Survey Sampling I (Han, .5 unit)
  • Survey Sampling II (Han, .5 unit)
  • Systematic Reviews (Hempel, .5 unit)
  • Taking a Systems Approach to Policy Analysis (Hollywood, 1 unit)
  • Technology Foresight and Public Policy (Popper/Silberglitt, 1 unit)
  • Transportation Planning (Wachs, 1 unit)
  • Understanding Macroeconomic Policy II (Neu, .5 unit)
  • Understanding Nuclear Forces (Bennett, .5 unit)
  • Understanding Terrorism (TBD, .5 unit)
  • Workshop on Quantitative Methods and Education (Goldman, 1 unit)

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