Qualified for a Public Policy Master's/PhD?

Jayhawks135
Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:27:24 +0000

I’m looking into starting a Master’s or PhD in public policy and I want to know if I’m qualified, or what I might need to add to my academic resume to become more qualified. In particular I’m interested in going to Harvard’s Kennedy School.

I’m currently completing a master’s degree in economics at a mid-level school. My GPA is still a 4.0, and I would be done with it by the time I entered the PhD program.

My undergrad/other info (in case my screen name didn’t give it away it was at the University of Kansas):
BA in Economics and Spanish Literature
GPA: 4.0 in economics, 3.8 overall
GRE score: 167 verbal, 160 quant

I’ve also taken a variety of math/economics classes that might be relevant:
Linear Algebra (A)
Statistics (A)
Calculus I, II and III (B, A, A)
Differential Equations (A)
Econometrics (economic statistical methods) (I, II, III) (A’s)
Microeconomics (I, II, III, IV, V) (A’s)
Macroeconomics (I, II, III, IV) (A’s)
International Relations (A)
Game Theory (A)
I took a bunch of other somewhat less relevant econ classes too in a variety of subject areas like labor econ, African development, etc

I’ve also been a teaching assistant/taught Microeconomics for Business Majors.

I also was a pretty accomplished collegiate policy debater during my undergrad career if that seems relevant.