Frequently Asked Questions
How is it different from other graduate schools?
What if I am a quantitative jock?
How does the Research Fellowship work, and how does it relate to OJT?
What if a fellow works more than the minimum number of weeks in a given year?
What are PRGS dissertations like?
How long does it typically take to complete the Ph.D.?
What percentage of PRGS students successfully complete their Ph.D.s?
What’s the intellectual atmosphere?
What does the admissions committee look for?
At PRGS you gather the theoretical and applied skills that enable you to tackle the hard issues–poverty, security, justice, health, education, the environment, and more. It’s a place where you cross the boundaries of disciplines and of sectors (public, private, non-profit)–a place to be intellectually adventurous.
TopHow is it different from other graduate schools?
Let’s begin with the first year. From the start you’re treated as a colleague among RAND’s more than six hundred veteran researchers. You have your own desk, your own telephone number, your own computer, and your own business card. These may be small things, but they’re part of the sense that here you are not just a graduate student but a valued colleague as well. This is quite different from many graduate schools. One fellow contrasted the university where she got her master’s degree with PRGS: "The faculty there treats you like a problem they have to face. Like one of Them. Here, you’re one of the Us." There’s an almost family-like feeling to the first year, as entering fellows share in the same core course work and become familiar with RAND’s unique research environment. In subsequent years, fellows disperse throughout the RAND building, and the core curriculum is over, so there’s less intensity. But the bonding lasts, with other fellows and with the PRGS staff and faculty.
Then there’s on-the-job training or OJT–really, doing research. After the first two quarters, fellows begin OJT and become part of interdisciplinary teams with senior RAND researchers. Most fellows work on more than one project. By the time they complete their dissertations, it is common for fellows to have
- prepared research proposals;
- worked with clients designing research;
- taught classes;
- employed advanced computational systems and packages;
- carried out technical reports;
- presented polished briefings to clients in the public and private sectors, at the local, national, and international level;
- and had their work published
–all of this in addition to course work and the doctoral dissertation.
At PRGS the Ph.D. is interdisciplinary. You work with experts and you master problem-solving techniques from different disciplines. You learn to apply analytical tools from advanced economics, statistics, systems analysis, and econometrics. Unlike many disciplinary Ph.D. programs, you use your skills from the start–both in the classroom and in OJT. You learn by doing about both the uses and the misuses of analysis. You learn about research as a way of catalyzing the creativity of others, rather than as providing some sort of ultimate answer. Because PRGS is small we can experiment with the curriculum. We have five-week modules as well as quarter-length courses. We have courses that straddle disciplines and bring into the classroom some of the most intriguing, cross-cutting issues. (See our course menu.) There’s a final difference: jobs. PRGS graduates are in high demand, and in many sectors. Over the last four years, about a third of graduates have taken jobs in research, about a third in business, and about a third in government and non-profits. Multiple offers are the rule, and these come from academia, business, government, and non-profits. (See information on the placement of PRGS graduates.)
The core curriculum consists of 9.5 courses that provide students with a foundation in the research techniques used in policy analysis. The courses are:
- Empirical Analysis (3 courses) – one course each in Probability and Statistics, Regression Analysis and Econometrics
- Microeconomics (2.5 courses) - This sequence provides a background in microeconomic theory that is used in policy analysis. The main topics include consumer theory, theory of the firm, partial equilibrium analysis, game theory, market power, principal-agent analysis, decision making over time, mechanism design, market equilibrium and market failure.
- Analytical Methods (1.5 courses) – an introduction to the quantitative tools used to assist decision makers with complex problems of choice in uncertain situations.
- Political and Social Sciences (2.5 courses) The first course relates policy analysis to key facets of political science: political philosophy, democracy, globalization, international relations, pluralism, and U.S. political institutions. The second course focuses on social science research methods. The third course introduces qualitative methods of research from anthropology, sociology and psychology.
These courses are taught by distinguished researchers. The emphasis is on how to use research techniques. One PRGS fellow had been a TA in statistics at a leading graduate school. "In my statistics class there, we didn’t look at much data. At RAND I realized why. Real data are messy. You don’t always have nice normal distributions. There are outliers, missing data points, errors, heteroskedasticity, and on and on. The statisticians here teach us the theory, and then they say, 'Here’s what you really do.' Much of what the PRGS faculty pass on to us comes from real experience, and you can’t get that out of a book."
Beyond the required courses are electives that vary from year to year. Some are methodological. Some deal with particular sectors such as health, education, national security, and criminal justice. Others deal with issues and themes that cut across traditional policy areas and across the public-private divide. (For more information, see the Course Requirements page.)
The program seems to put a lot of emphasis on quantitative techniques. What if I’m not a quantitative jock?
It is possible to succeed at PRGS even if you haven't previously majored in math or statistics. However, you do need a lot of quantitative ability and a strong desire to master advanced problem-solving tools. Most entering fellows have already completed coursework in calculus, and some statistics and economics. Given these, PRGS will provide the additional background you need. In the fall of the first year, PRGS offers a fairly fast-paced course in multivariate calculus and linear algebra that will get you ready for the core curriculum in analytical methods, economics, statistics, and econometrics.
If you have not completed the coursework mentioned above, you should probably make plans to take these courses before you apply. If you are not currently a student, you may want to check out the course offerings at any community colleges and university extension programs in your area.
What if I am a quantitative jock?
You can fly as high as you want here. You can exempt any courses you’ve already had and springboard to more advanced studies. You can design your own independent studies with RAND staff members, not only with the faculty but with any of the more than seven hundred RAND researchers who may share your interests.
It appears that the majority of PRGS fellows already had an advanced degree before they applied. Is this required?
No. Every PRGS class includes fellows who are coming directly from undergraduate programs, and we would be delighted to see more.
I’ve already finished a year [or several years] of doctoral work in economics [or statistics or operations research, or I have a prior degree in these fields]. Will I be able to get credit for my work?
Often, yes. We encourage you to go as fast and far as you can. To exempt a core course, all you have to do is persuade your PRGS professor that you’ve already covered the material, and you’ll be exempted from it. You can count up to three of the exemptions toward the required courses. But you can be exempted in another sense from as many courses as you’ve already had–this sense being that you don’t have to take the course but rather some other course of your choosing. It turns out that some very well-prepared fellows choose not to exempt from courses they’ve already had, because they find the PRGS courses to be valuably different. For example, before coming to PRGS, one fellow was a junior faculty member who had taught microeconomics at the graduate level. She nonetheless chose not to exempt from the Microeconomics II and III, and she learned a lot from using the computer program Mathematica and from its practical applications. Here’s a quote from something she sent to her home university:
"Before arriving at PRGS I already had seven years of microeconomics coursework behind me from previous degrees. I thought I had paid my dues to the study of microeconomics. Looking back, it is clear to me that my previous economics background had provided me with the skills to be a good theoretician but not with the hands-on skills I needed to be a good analyst or practicing economist. PRGS classes take you beyond the theory. We are encouraged to experiment with independent modeling, to explore extensions of and alternatives to the economic theory we learned. I was so excited when I realized that I could take the models that had been taught to me over so many years and apply them in a meaningful manner. Other universities tend to present microeconomics as a set of abstract models which, at best, are applied to meaningless textbook scenarios. The applications given to us at PRGS made me realize what a powerful analytic tool microeconomics can be in studying real policy problems."
I’ve done an MPP [or MBA]. Are the core courses I had in economics and statistics likely to fulfill PRGS requirements?
It depends, and you’ll have to talk it over with your professors here. Sometimes the answer turns out to be no. The right way to think about this may be that the usual master’s program tries to create people who are good consumers of research, while PRGS enables people to be excellent producers of research. It’s not that the prior work isn’t useful, rather that it may be a good conceptual foundation on which to build advanced research skills.
How does the Research Fellowship work, and how does it relate to OJT?
The PRGS research fellowship is akin to a work-study program, where on-the-job training (OJT) on RAND research projects enables students to earn full research fellowships, including tuition, health care, and a stipend based on OJT. Some students bring outside sources of support as well, and they are of course more than welcome to do so.
The program's basic research fellowship for the first year in 2008-2009 is $48,200. Tuition of $23,500 is deducted from this fellowship.
OJT has both educational and financial advantages. Educationally, OJT enables learning-by-doing with experienced mentors, as fellows do research on RAND projects. Financially, OJT is a form of work-study that pays for the fellow's doctoral studies. This is why we call it a research fellowship.
There are both educational and financial requirements regarding OJT, and they differ. Educationally, the PRGS Ph.D. requirement is at least 300 days of OJT over the fellow's time at PRGS.
Financially, the PRGS research fellowship is based on 155 days (the equivalent of 31 five-day weeks) of OJT per year.
In practice, however, fellows work fewer than 155 days the first year of residence, when they are heavily involved in their course work. Then, in years two through five (if they are here that long), they work the full 155 days.
Specifically, in the first year, to earn their full research fellowships, students perform a minimum of 60 days or the equivalent of 12 weeks of OJT. This works out to one day a week or so during the first two quarters, perhaps a little more than that in the third quarter, and full-time research during the summer, with three weeks off. (Here as in subsequent years, a student may choose to perform fewer than the minimum amount of OJT, but then the research fellowship is reduced accordingly.)
In the second year and afterward, to earn their full research fellowships students work a minimum of 155 days (31 weeks). Most fellows combine their OJT at this point with a dissertation, and in this case fellows can do full-time OJT if they wish, with the permission of the Dean (full time at RAND is 236 days). The dollar amount of their research fellowships rises accordingly.
What if a fellow works more than the minimum number of weeks in a given year?
In the first year, a fellow who works more than the minimum number of days still receives the same amount of fellowship dollars but the number of required OJT days in the following year is reduced.
In year two and thereafter working more than the minimum number of days translates into higher fellowship earnings.
What are PRGS dissertations like?
You can see some of the topics fellows work on elsewhere on this site. (See PRGS Dissertations.) These are Ph.D. dissertations, with all that implies. The PRGS doctoral dissertation is a contribution to knowledge, with the distinctive feature that it aims to solve problems with new policies. There is a dissertation committee of at least three members, at least two of whom are PRGS faculty. It is recommended that the fellows choose one specialist for their committee from outside the PRGS faculty.
How long does it typically take to complete the Ph.D.?
We expect that the typical student will be able to complete the program in four years. Some students may be able to complete the program in as quickly as three years.
What percentage of PRGS students successfully complete their Ph.D.s?
Since 1994, just over 64 percent of entering fellows successfully completed their dissertations. This is comparable to the completion rate at top universities.
Graduates pursue careers in academic and research institution settings, public service and private industry. According to a recent poll of alumni, PRGS graduates were employed as follows:
- Think Tanks - 30%
- Universities - 20%
- Government - 20%
- Private Sector - 28%
- Other - 2%
(See information on placement of PRGS graduates.)
What is the intellectual atmosphere like?
RAND prides itself on quality and independence. Elsewhere on the site you’ll find descriptions of the RAND culture. (See information on the RAND research environment.) Suffice it to say that you’re free to think big, think creatively, and think rigorously.
Some think tanks have an ideological flavor. RAND does not. It is not that RAND is at the center of the political spectrum, rather that it prides itself in being above (or beyond?) any such spectrum. Both fellows and faculty are diverse in their politics, but they put objectivity before ideology. When clients ask RAND to do research, they can help determine the questions investigated but never the answers obtained.
In fact, RAND is famous for sometimes redefining the questions our clients and partners bring to us. This is what our sponsors–public, private, and non-profit institutions, or mixtures of them–come to demand: creativity as well as rigor. This does not at all mean that RAND researchers are insensitive to the realities their clients face. RAND embraces the real world. The bottom line is objective, high quality research that makes a difference.
RAND also likes lots of points of view, lots of diverse ideas and perspectives. We use them, analyze them, bounce them around, and see what happens. Research results are rigorously vetted and refereed, and then they are published.
How does this compare with universities? Probably the research is more practical, more interdisciplinary, and more adventurous, all at the same time. The work is less theoretical, and more aimed at problem solving. And the highest intellectual standards burn brightly here, as well.
What does the admissions committee look for?
The mission of the admissions committee is to select fellows on the basis of intellectual power and creativity, coupled with interest in multiple disciplines. They look for many kinds of evidence of passion and dedication. They look carefully at candidates’ ambitions and ideals, and of course at what candidates have done and have written. The best way to get an idea of what’s being sought is to have a look at the student profiles.
PRGS seeks and celebrates diversity. For a discussion, please see this statement on the educational benefits of diversity. At PRGS more than at most other graduate schools, learning is a collective activity. The great diversity you see among PRGS fellows contributes immensely to the educational experience.
After you explore the web site, if you want to talk to us or e-mail us, please do. And, of course, feel free to check out current student profiles and to send them e-mail with any questions you might have.