Class of 2022 Employment Snapshot

Students returned in force after Harvard Kennedy School reopened its campus in 2021, with a record 681 graduates in the HKS Class of 2022. They entered a professional landscape worn and shifted in the wake of the COVID pandemic, but eager to put the talents of our graduates to work.

As you will see in this year’s report, these graduates went on to apply their skills and passions in a multitude of ways to help build communities that are safe, free, just, and sustainably prosperous. Opportunities for remote and hybrid work created new possibilities for what they would do, how they would work, and where they would live. Many graduates took positions in emerging areas of healthcare, economic development, climate adaptation, workforce development, and evolving technologies. They continue to serve in a range of sectors, industries, and geographies.

We are proud to share their story.

The Class of 2022 pursued public service careers across sectors, policy areas, and industries. They took on roles in a range of areas, including government, nonprofit work and nongovernmental organizations, strategy and economic consulting, education, and advocacy. And they reported the top factors in choosing their first post-HKS roles were the right fit for their skills and experience, contribution to the public good, and personal family considerations.

Continue reading to learn more about this talented class.

Graduates by Degree Program

Graduates' Post-HKS Employment by Sector

Note: 91 percent of graduates were employed and 6 percent were running for office, launching new ventures, or continuing their education by the end of October 2022. 

*Salary data represents 256 degree recipients.

Note: It is an inexact exercise to give an accurate picture of the salaries our graduates earn after attending Harvard Kennedy School. Averages and medians cannot tell the full story.  

Our graduates are incredibly diverse—from the skills, interests, and professional experiences they have, to where they live and work. In this data, the highest and lowest salaries in each area were omitted to better reflect the overall experience of the Class. 

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The two-year Master in Public Policy (MPP) Program prepares students to understand complex global and local policy problems and construct concrete solutions.

Through courses, exercises, and fieldwork, MPPs master a conceptual tool kit that draws on the social sciences but is adapted for action. They arrive at HKS committed to improving the world and equip themselves by developing broad-spectrum analytic competency. This translates into intellectual honesty, a hunger for evidence, and the capacity to extract answerable questions from the messy clutter of real-world public problems.

MPP Class of 2022 Post-HKS Employment by Sector

Unspecified employment sector is 4 percent. Numbers have been rounded up/down when necessary to help simplify reporting.

Employment Sector 10-Year Comparison: 2014 – 2022

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The two-year Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) Program trains the next generation of leaders in international development.

This economics-centered multidisciplinary program provides meticulous training in analytic and quantitative methods with an emphasis on policy and practice. MPA/IDs demonstrate talent in economics and quantitative analysis as well as leadership potential in international development. Most have at least three years of development-related work experience before coming to HKS, typically in developing or transitional economy countries.

 MPA/ID Class of 2022 Post-HKS Employment by Sector

Unspecified employment sector is 4 percent. Numbers have been rounded up/down when necessary to help simplify reporting.

Employment Sector 10-Year Comparison: 2014 – 2022

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The two-year Master in Public Administration (MPA) Program equips professionals for positions of significant responsibility in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.

Before coming to HKS, students demonstrate academic distinction, professional accomplishment and promise, graduate-level training, and at least three years of work experience. MPAs have significant latitude in designing their academic experience and take courses in a range of disciplines. Many pursue concurrent degrees in business, law, medicine, design, or another field with our partner institutions, including other schools at Harvard.

 MPA Class of 2022 Post-HKS Employment by Sector

Unspecified employment sector is 3 percent. Numbers have been rounded up/down when necessary to help simplify reporting.

Employment Sector 10-Year Comparison: 2014 – 2022

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The one-year Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) Program trains highly accomplished mid-career professionals to learn how to tackle the world’s most complex public challenges.

MC/MPAs hone their skills, redefine their career goals, and pursue specialized interests through a flexible curriculum either at HKS, other Harvard graduate schools, or schools in the Boston area. They come from professions in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, and many become heads of state, cabinet ministers, military officers, diplomats, journalists, chief executives, and nongovernmental organization directors.

 MC/MPA Class of 2022 Post-HKS Employment by Sector

Unspecified employment sector is 12 percent. Numbers have been rounded up/down when necessary to help simplify reporting.

Employment Sector 10-Year Comparison: 2014 – 2022

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The two-year MPP, MPA/ID, and MPA programs allow a combined (joint or concurrent) degree track for students to earn a second graduate degree—an MBA, MD, or JD, for example—from a professional school either at Harvard or at a partner academic institution.

26 percent of the Class of 2022 graduates in a two-year program earned a combined degree.

 Class of 2022 Post-HKS Employment Sector Comparison

Employment Sector 10-Year Comparison: 2014 – 2022