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Preparing scholars and practitioners to shape public policy
The PhD in Public Policy Program provides the advanced graduate training you need to conduct analytical research, help shape and execute policy, and teach the next generation.
As a PhD in Public Policy Program (PPOL) student, you will choose from one of four tracks: Economics, Judgment and Decision Making, Politics and Institutions, or Science, Technology and Policy Studies. Whichever track you choose, you will engage in scholarly research empowering you to be a leader in public policy. The PPOL Program balances theory with practical methods to prepare you for a career in academia, in government, at research organizations, multinational organizations, NGOs, or in the private sector.
About the PhD in Public Policy
Curriculum
As a PhD in Public Policy (PPOL) student, you will register full time, which is the equivalent of four courses each semester. You must complete 16 courses to receive your degree—these include courses in the core requirements and in a primary and secondary field of interest.
The PPOL curriculum requires you to complete core requirements and an oral general examination as well as participate in PhD research seminars. All your public policy coursework and qualifying exams are completed within the first two years.
By the end of your third year, you submit and defend a dissertation prospectus. After that, you research, write, and prepare to defend that dissertation. Typically, you should complete your dissertation research and writing within three years after your oral general examination.
Degree Requirements
All PPOL students are required to complete:
- All course requirements for one of the four tracks
- Two primary field courses
- Two secondary field courses
- Two PhD research seminars
- Oral general examination
- Dissertation prospectus defense
- Residency requirement
- Dissertation defense and submission
Students usually complete their degree requirements within five years and are awarded their degrees after they submit and successfully defend their dissertations.
What We Look For
- Evidence of your ability to handle the rigor of our curriculum. See information about your desired track—Economics, Judgment and Decision Making, Politics and Institutions, or Science, Technology and Policy Studies—for detailed prerequisites.
- A demonstrated ability and drive to pursue public policy research
Application Requirements
You must submit the following materials to the Harvard Griffin GSAS Office of Admissions by December 1:
- Harvard Griffin GSAS online application
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts for all colleges or universities attended
- Valid GRE general test scores
- Internet-based TOEFL or IELTS scores (if applicable; minimum TOEFL score of 103 or minimum IELTS score of 7 required)
- Statement of purpose (instructions in the application portal)
- Personal statement (instructions in the application portal)
- Writing sample of no more than 20 pages, which must be single-authored and written in English
Admission is for the fall term only. The program does not have a terminal master’s degree. You are not required to have a Harvard Kennedy School faculty advisor before submitting your application. You will be assigned to an advisor if you are admitted to the PPOL Program.
Visit the Doctoral Programs Admissions page for more information on applying.
Our PPOL students are registered at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) and delve into a range of research areas during their time at Harvard.
Our current PPOL students and their areas of interest are listed below.
| PPOL Student | Areas of Interest |
|---|---|
| Aishani Aetresh | Science, Technology and Society (STS) |
| Adil Ahsan | Development economics and political economy |
| Francesca Arruda de Amaral | Criminal organizations, spatial analysis of crime, computational social science, comparative criminology |
| Sachet Bangia | Development economics, industrial organization, and labor economics |
| Anwesha Bhattacharya | Development economics and political economy with a focus on gender and governance |
| Aditi Bhowmick | Labor economics (gender), development economics (social norms, inequality) |
| David Bodovski | Labor economics, educational and social policy, economics history |
| Keaton Boyle | Science, Technology and Society (STS); critical legal studies; law and political economy; digital technology |
| Patton Chen | Economics of crime, law and economics, and political economy |
| Sarah Chen | Judgment and decision making and social psychology with a particular interest in emotions, health/medical decision making, and behavioral policies |
| Tianlan Chen | Bureaucratic politics, authoritarian politics, political economy of development, quantitative methods |
| Madison Coots | Algorithmic fairness, discrimination, and computational social science |
| Alice Danon | Labor economics, economics of education, and behavioral economics |
| Pedro de Souza Ferreira | Development economics, labor economics, political economy |
| Jack Deschler | The empirics of law and judicial politics |
| Audrey Feldman | Policy implementation, trust and delivery of government services, and early childhood education |
| Gabriella Fleischman | Development and health economics with a focus on nutrition and WASH in developing countries, and the relationship between discrimination/identity and health behaviors and outcomes |
| Jun Gao | Environmental economics and urban and spatial economics with a focus on the distributional and efficiency consequences of environmental policy |
| Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman | Labor economics, behavioral science, and machine learning |
| Sara Gong | Applied microeconomics, particularly topics related to inequality, American politics, and the media |
| Joshua Henderson | U.S.-China relations; international relations; foreign policy; security studies; bureaucratic politics |
| Calvin Isley | Economic and social impacts of artificial intelligence; algorithmic fairness, bias, and trust; social media; political polarization |
| Matthew Jacob | Public and labor economics with a focus on intergenerational mobility, social capital, and low-income housing |
| Micah Kaats | Applied microeconomics with a focus on labor, health, and wellbeing |
| Minsoo Kang | Political economy, international trade, industrial policy |
| Bradley Katcher | Health economics, prescription drugs, industrial organization, public economics, opioid crisis, applied microeconomics, consumer/household finance, social insurance, data science |
| Jack Keating | International relations, security studies, political violence |
| Kelly Kennedy | Climate adaptation, indirect effects of climate policy |
| Laura-Thorne Kincaide | Applied microeconomics, political economy, and labor economics |
| Nikhil Kumar | Education, migration and economic development; political economy and state capacity in developing countries; urban and regional economics |
| Magdalena Larreboure | Political economy of social movements and collective action. Representation of women and minorities in the economy and the public sphere |
| Irene Lee | Judgement and decision-making, risk communication, emotions |
| Lou Lennad | Science and technology studies, bioethics governance, and policy analysis with a current focus on human genetics and neuroscience |
| Austin Lentsch | Workforce dynamics (social capital, occupational change, technology), antitrust and monopsony power, regional/spatial economics |
| Michelle Li | Applied microeconomics, environmental economics, urban economics |
| Paichen Li | Energy/resource/environmental economics, public economics, and industrial organization, particularly how government programs can help to build efficiency and resilience in the electricity market (production, transmission, distribution, and consumption) and enhance reliability, affordability, and sustainability of power supply |
| Sylvia Lin | Health care operations research, stochastic decision making, and operations management |
| René Livas | Trade, labor economics, and development |
| Dan Ma | Analyzing and addressing the drivers of inequality and discrimination faced by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities using tools from labor economics, public economics, and industrial organization |
| Conor McGlynn | Science and Technology Studies (STS), standard setting, and AI governance |
| Joseph Melkonian | Development economics and immigration |
| Grace Michel | Development economics and industrial organization with a focus on the role of firms in developing economies |
| Sho Miyazaki | Political economy, legislative redistricting, liquid democracy, quantitative methodologies |
| Avinash Moorthy | Labor economics, political economy, economic history |
| Sivan Myers | Behavioral economics, judgement and decision-making, technology policy, social media and misinformation |
| Summiya Najam | Development and behavioral economics |
| Kentaro Nakamura | Political violence, civil wars, political methodologies |
| Yousra Neberai | Development, health, and environmental economics |
| Khadidja Ngom | Environmental and energy economics, development economics |
| Karen Ni | Labor and education economics with particular interest in pathways connecting students and workers to labor market opportunity, and the role of AI technology in changing the landscape of work |
| Seokmin Oh | Labor and public economics |
| Germán David Orbegozo-Rodríguez | Behavioral economics, political economy and development |
| Pariroo Rattan | Political economy of development and Science and Technology Studies (STS) |
| John Reynolds | American politics, civil service, public leadership, ethics in government |
| Francesca Rinaldi | Economics of education and gender |
| Asa Royal | Applied microeconomics, especially media economics and labor economics |
| Solange Melissa Severino de Oliveira | Gender-based violence, criminal governance, penal populism, political economy, and comparative politics |
| Max Spohn | Behavioral economics, political behavior, and behavioral public policy. Interested in political and economic beliefs |
| Erica Sprott | Environmental regulation, climate change, renewable energy, auction design, housing, transportation, urban planning, public choice |
| Kartik Srivastava | Development economics, labor economics, and political economy |
| Joshua Stinson | Complex social systems, systems dynamics, organizational behavior, organizational change, decision science, data science, international relations, warfare, decision making, risk assessment, strategic empathy, collective decision making, emotion and decision making, strategic judgement, forecasting, investing, and approaches to radical uncertainty |
| Chloe Tanaka | Environmental/natural resource economics, labor economics, applied microeconomics, and sustainable development |
| Katie Tucker | Homeland security and international conflict, specifically as it relates to terrorism and nuclear weapons |
| Dilan Tulan | Judgment and decision making, conflict and collaboration, interpersonal relations, psychology of technology |
| Jessica Van Meir | Comparative politics and sociology with a regional focus on Latin America. Interested in informal labor, urban politics, social movements, and gender and sexuality |
| Nurul Wakhidah | Development, behavioral, and labor economics, particularly in the context of education and the psychology of poverty |
| Eric Wert | Public and labor economics |
| Joe Winkelmann | Economics of inequality, education, and labor markets |
| Justin Wong | Science, Technology and Policy Studies (STS), critical legal studies, global ordering and politics |
| Yixian Xu | Organizational behavior, artificial intelligence, judgment and decision making |
| Duo Yi | Foreign policy and strategic narratives in geopolitics, with a focus on China and U.S.–China relations |
| Katie Zhang | Environmental, urban, and development economics |
| Tracy Zhou | Environmental and natural resource economics, economic history, health economics, food systems |
Learn about the dissertations of our recent PhD in Public Policy graduates and their job placements directly following graduation.
2025
| Student Name | Track | Dissertation | Advisor | Job Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Bald | Economics | Essays in Labor Economics | Marcella Alsan | Assistant Professor, California State University-Fullerton |
| Nicole Bassoff | Science, Technology, Policy | Can Cities Be Smart? Urban Governance in the Digital Age | Sheila Jasanoff | Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Virginia |
| Matthew Dodier | Economics | Essays in Environmental Economics and Public Health | Marcella Alsan | |
| Michael Holcomb | Economics | Essays in Economic History and Social Policy | Michela Carlana | Economist, Analysis Group |
| Roman Klimke | Economics | Essays on the Economics of Social Insurance and Labor Markets | Jeffrey Liebman | Postdoctoral Fellow, ifo Institute |
| Savannah Noray | Economics | Gender differences in labor market outcomes | Claudia Goldin | Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School |
| Yuan Pei | Economics | Essays on Human Capital and Development Economics | Asim Khwaja | Young Professional Economist, American Development Bank |
| Kelsey Pukelis | Economics | Essays on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program | Mark Shepard | Research Data Specialist, California Department of Social Science |
| Hilton Simmet | Science, Technology, Policy | Just Economics: Inequality and Political Culture in Cross-National Perspective | Sheila Jasanoff | Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Institute for Sustainability |
| Roni Yadlin | Politics and Institutions | The Enemy Within: Extremism, Radicalization, and the Profession of Arms | Erica Chenoweth | U.S. Air Force |
2024
| Student Name | Track | Dissertation | Advisor | Job Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layane AlHorr | Economics | Essays in Development Economics: Evidence On Entrepreneurship, Digitization, and Gender | Rema Hanna | Associate, Cornerstone Research |
| Marcos Barrozo | Economics | The Economics of Deforestation in the Amazon | Joseph Aldy | Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, DePaul University |
| Ben Berger | Economics | Essays on the Economics of Health Care and Innovation | Amitabh Chandra | Economist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) |
| Jacob Bradt | Economics | Essays on Energy and Environmental Economics | Joseph Aldy, Myrto Kalouptsidi | Assistant Professor of Business, Government & Society and (by courtesy) of Economics, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin |
| Tridevi Chakma | Economics | Essays in Environmental Economics | Joseph Aldy, Nathaniel Hendren | Associate, Cornerstone (London) |
| Robert French | Economics | Essays in Urban Economics | Gordon Hanson | Post-Doctoral Fellow (1 year), Harris School of Public Policy and Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, University of Chicago; Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Loyola Marymount University |
| Valentine Gilbert | Economics | Essays in Urban Economics | Edward Glaeser | Assistant Professor, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston |
| Alice Heath | Economics | Essays on Economics and Social Policy | Jeffrey Liebman | Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Department of the Treasury |
| Eleanor Krause | Economics | Essays on the Economics of Place | Joseph Aldy, Gordon Hanson | Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Kentucky |
| J. Mintzmyer | Politics and Institutions | Assessing Sanctions Motivations via Real-Time Shipping Data | Stephen Walt | U.S. Air Force |
| Molly Moore | Judgment and Decision Making | Essays on Reputation and Decision Making | Julia Minson | Lecturer in Economics, Washington University in St. Louis |
| Kadeem Noray | Economics | Essays on Talent Allocation in the Economy | David Deming | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Opportunity Insights |
| Guillermo Palacios | Economics | Essays on Education Economics and Applied Data Science | Rema Hanna | Associate, Analysis Group |
| Emma Rackstraw | Economics | Essays at the Intersection of Labor and Crime Economics | Will Dobbie | Assistant Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College; Post-Doctoral Fellow (1 year), Social Science Research Council Criminal Justice Innovation, Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School |
| Melanie Rucinski | Economics | Essays on Teacher Labor Markets | Christopher Norio Avery | Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education |
| Avery Schmidt | Politics and Institutions | Essays on the Politics of International Law | Kathryn Sikkink | Watson Post-Doctoral Fellow (2024-2025), Brown University; Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Southern California (2025) |
| Emma Smith | Economics | Essays in Development Economics | Rema Hanna | Assistant Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University |
2023
| Student Name | Track | Dissertation | Advisor | Job Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiahua Liu | Economics | Essays on International Trade and Firm Growth in Developing Countries | Gordon Hanson | Economist, Cornerstone Research |
| Kristen McCormack | Economics | Essays in Environmental Economics | David Cutler | Economist, U.S. Treasury |
| Dayea Oh | Economics | Essays on Applied Microeconomics | Will Dobbie | Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University |
| Lauren Russell | Economics | Essays on the U.S. Criminal Legal System and Black-White Inequality | David Deming | Economist, Labor Markets Section, Federal Reserve Board |
| Samuel Stemper | Economics | Essays on the Economics of Education | Christopher Avery | Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Auckland |
| Amy Wickett | Economics | Essays on Diversity | Desmond Ang |
2022
| Student Name | Dissertation | Advisor | Job Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shweta Bhogale | Essays on Agriculture and Rural Development in Developing Countries | Rema Hanna | Post-Doctoral Fellow, King Climate Action Initiative, J-PAL |
| Kevin Carney | Essays in Development and Behavioral Economics | Gautam Rao | Post-Doctoral Fellow (one year), Department of Economics, University of Chicago; Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Michigan |
| Helen Ho | Two Essays on Legal Entanglements and One Essay on Worker Voice | Will Dobbie | Research Director, People Lab, University of California, Berkeley |
| Stuart Iler | Essays on Shock Propagation in Economic Production Networks: Applications to U.S. Oil Price Episodes and Green Jobs | Joseph Aldy | Consultant, Resources for the Future |
| Frina Lin | Essays on Health Care and Inequality | Marcella Alsan | TBA |
| Grace McCormack | Three Essays in Applied Microeconomics | David Cutler | Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Southern California |
| José Morales-Arilla | Essays on the Political Economy of Development | Edward Glaeser | Assistant Professor, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University |
| Felix Owusu | Policy and Inequality in the Criminal Legal System | David Deming | Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley |
| James Reisinger | Social Spillovers in Beliefs, Preferences, and Well-being | Michela Carlana | Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Furman Center, New York University |
| Elizabeth Spink | Essays on Water Utility Quality and Access | Rema Hanna | Economist, Environmental Protection Agency |
2021
| Student Name | Dissertation | Advisor | Job Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yazan Al-Karablieh | Essays on Corporate Taxation | Stefanie Stantcheva | Economist, Economist Program, International Monetary Fund |
| Sebastián Bustos | Essays in International Economics, Development, and Globalization | Ricardo Hausmann | Senior Fellow, Growth Lab, Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School |
| Holly Dykstra | Essays in Behavioral Economics | Brigitte C. Madrian | Junior Professor, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz |
| Marie-Pascale Grimon | Essays in Labor Economics and Child Welfare | Amanda Pallais | Assistant Professor, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University |
| Blake Heller | Essays on Late Investment in Human Capital | Joshua Goodman | Assistant Professor, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston; Post-Doctoral Fellow 2021-2022, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University |
| Shefali Khanna | Essays in Energy and Development Economics | Rema Hanna | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Economics and Public Policy Department, Imperial College London |
| Kunal Mangal | Essays on the Economics of Public Sector Recruitment in India | Asim Khwaja | Visiting Fellow, Azim Premji University |
| Niharika Singh | Essays in Development Economics | Asim Khwaja | Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame |
| Daniel Stuart | Essays in Energy and Environmental Economics | Joseph Aldy | Associate, Analysis Group |
New, creative research on urgent public policy problems happens here at Harvard Kennedy School.
Faculty members who are leaders in their scholarship fields advise our PPOL students on a range of research interests, including but not limited to: environmental and natural resource issues; international development; judgment and decision making; science and technology policy; health policy; and education policy.
PPOL Faculty Chair
Robert Stavins
Robert Stavins
Appointment
A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development
Mailing Address 1
Harvard Kennedy School
Mailing Address 2
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Mailbox
11
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Zip
02138
Program Tracks
PhD in Public Policy students are admitted to one of four tracks. You may not change tracks prior to matriculation. Learn more about each track’s prerequisite and core requirements.
Economics
Economics
The Economics track provides rigorous disciplinary training, with a focus on applying the tools of economics to the study of major public policy issues.
Judgment and Decision Making
Judgment and Decision Making
The Judgment and Decision Making track is focused on psychological science, behavioral economics, and decision science, with a focus on understanding and improving public policy.
Politics and Institutions
Politics and Institutions
The Politics and Institutions track is a rigorous program of study and research on international or domestic politics and institutions as these issues relate to major public policy issues in the U.S. and around the world.
Science, Technology and Policy Studies
Science, Technology and Policy Studies
The Science, Technology and Policy Studies track draws on methodological tools from science and technology policy, science and technology studies, policy analysis, political theory, law, and economics.
Roni Yadlin, PhD in Public Policy 2025, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, came to Harvard Kennedy School to deepen her understanding of some of the central challenges the military faces today.