Hoping to learn more about the Master in Public Policy Program?
By Cate Monahan, Director of the Master in Public Policy Program
As a Harvard Kennedy School student, you’ll have access to a wide variety of resources. One such resource is the Master in Public Policy (MPP) Program team, which works with MPP students to ensure they have a positive experience at HKS.
In the Q&A below, Director of the MPP Program Cate Monahan discusses how her team supports students the two-year MPP Program. In her role, she leads the MPP team, supports its students, and coordinates with faculty. She also leads the Junior Summer Institute at HKS.
What does the MPP Program team do?
We are involved in just about every aspect of the MPP Program outside of the classroom. We are on the admissions review and selection committee, in charge of onboarding MPP students and planning their orientation, and responsible for coordinating the logistics of the MPP core curriculum. We also manage the second-year capstone experience, complete degree audits to ensure our students are ready to graduate at the end of the program, and help create a strong community for our students. This two-year program is a challenging and rigorous experience, so we work hard to create opportunities for MPP students to feel a sense of belonging.
What is your favorite part of working on the MPP team?
I love working with the rest of my program team. We are all invested in the MPP mission: to train a diverse body of leaders for future policymaking and advocacy work. We are committed to students getting the full richness of the entirety of the program.
Additionally, I feel lucky to work so closely with students. We have folks here from all over the world working on every possible problem facing humanity right now. In every conversation I have with a student, I'm learning about the individual, where they're from, their culture, and their goals—it's truly rewarding.
“I believe anyone driven by public service would be happy here, but applicants should get all of their questions answered first so they find themselves in the right program for their goals.”
Cate Monahan, Director of the Master in Public Policy Program
How do students connect with you?
We want to make it easy for students to find our support, so we try to be everywhere on campus. We have an open door policy when we're on campus, which means students can drop by any time (though I also have office hours posted online). We also attend MPP events, stay available at Orientation, wander the hallways, and field emails from students.
What advice do you have for students considering HKS?
Begin your research early. Graduate school is an enormous investment in your time and energy, so doing exhaustive research when considering HKS is going to pay off when you're choosing an offer. I recommend attending virtual information sessions, going to class visits, and gathering as much information as possible about the curriculum and the kind of work students do after graduation. I believe anyone driven by public service would be happy here, but you should get all of your questions answered first so you find yourself in the right program for your goals—whether that's short-term academic goals or longer-term career goals.
What is your favorite HKS memory?
In 2020, I received the 'Advisor of the Year' Award. This was a couple of months after the COVID-19 shutdown began in March, so, at first, we weren't sure how to support our students. It was a stressful time with everything being remote, but I stayed committed to my work. To have received this award when students were facing so many unique and crushing challenges was deeply rewarding, and quite a professional milestone for me.
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