MPP Program Session

Hello everyone and welcome to today's virtual session, so we're going to start just making sure that our technology is working correctly. So if you can hear me right now. If you wouldn't mind confirming by typing into the chat box and then we'll get started.

Right sounds like we're working alright great. Thank you so much good morning. I'm a Lenny Cortis. I'm the director for the MPP program. An I'm joined by Jack very thrilled to hear. We're also joined by 3 students who are going to meet later in this presentation. We're going to give a quick overview and then we're really going to open the floor to your questions just as a recap and reminder. It seems like you already have found this chat box. You may ask questions throughout our presentations, so feel free to type in questions will curate them.

And keep an eye on those and make sure that if we aren't already planning to adjust some will answer during the Open Q&A. At the end. Please you can see very concise and that small text box. So we can make sure we address dress your questions and if you have a really personal or specific question. You'll see the admissions email address on the slide will recap it again at the end. Finally we will be recording this session, so will post the session along with the slide decks for you to take a look at later if you miss, something or want to go back to hear one of the answers that was.

Given so thank you so much for joining us as a brief overview of the MPP program is a 2 year full-time program in residence here in Cambridge. It's a combination of core curriculum so required classes plus room for electives on average or students are 26 an have about 3 years of work experience again. That's an average so we have folks that have less experience and then substantially more that all join us in this incoming class and you can see the incoming class is usually around.

Um 200 and 32140 students. We do break that class up into smaller cohorts. Once you're actually here, so that you don't have to feel overwhelmed by getting to know 240 other people. On day one. But hopefully you'll get to know all of them during the time that you're here in the program.

So you have the slide in front of you on the core curriculum is I'm not going to go down that in sort of read off this subject, but let me just give you a little bit of an overview of how we think about the required core in the MVP program.

One thing to be aware of is there is a substantial required core that roughly 80% of what you do in the first year and roughly 10% of what you do in the second year is based on things that we require you to take the rest is things are things you choose on your own electives and I think it's important to be aware of the fact that we do have a substantial fraction of the time you spend here is taking the requirements and if you know if your plan is to, if you don't want to spend 2 years.

Doing all electives try something else. This is actually a substantial required curriculum that said.

We are very mindful of the fact that it's a big deal to impose requirements on smart adults who are in most cases have some experience we try to take that very seriously. The obligations that imposes on us. We try to make sure that the requirements are solidly anchored in evidence about what's required and rewarded in professional practice and we do. Alumni surveys and interviews and focus groups recently we started doing employer surveys to make sure that.

We don't ask you to take something where we don't have a good reason to think that that's what's going to do you good and more importantly, going to do the world good when you get out into professional practice you can look at the list of things that are in the first year core and you might think that sort of rhymes with things that I might have taken in at University if we do our job right these will be quite distinctive quite different.

The economics will be different from what you might have taken an econ 101 in college. The ethics course will be something that's very different from what you might have taken in moral philosophy course.

The In addition to these particular discipline defined units. We try to make sure that there's plenty of room for interdisciplinary.

Integration and for application in the MVP coronal get into what that means in practice in a couple of minutes and it's also worth worth signaling that the required core is very much a work in progress. We make changes almost every year. Some years we make minor changes from New Years we make major changes this year. The first year. Students are encountering a core curriculum substantially different from what people did last year.

My expectation is the same will be true next year, so if you show up as a first year MVP next year. My guess is that there will be some significant changes and I very much hope some significant improvements over what we currently have. But this list of what's in the core curriculum will give you at least a little bit of a sense of the content mentioned integration and application. There are a number of kind of secondary ways in which we try to deliver on that commitment to integration application.

And a couple of major ways. One is the spring exercise that is the cap to the first year. This is something that's been going on in somewhat different forms for quite awhile more than 20 years. Actually, but the basic notion is that we stop the core curriculum for a couple of weeks and have all of the students in many of the faculty jointly obsess about a real world and more or less real-time policy challenge.

The topics vary a lot over the years we actually are still trying to figure out what it's going to be this year. Almost always this is something that the students. Find exciting challenging demanding and usually quite quite rewarding the way we think about spring exercises.

In the course is the required core courses while they are not traditional discipline divide forces. They do focus on one particular aspects of analytic or practical policy work. But in the real world. The aspects gang up on you and spring exercises waiting at swim practice at coping effectively with that. The other way that we try to deliver on the commitment to application integration.

Uh is the policy analysis exercise that you do in the second year spring exercise into the first year of policy and that's a team based project. The policy analysis exercise runs through most of the second year and that is something that you do individually or in smaller groups that you would choose so both of them are integrated applied capstones, but they differ in the sense that one is.

You do it in the teams that are assigned to in a compressed period of time. The policy analysis exercise. You do in teams that you choose and extends over the course of the second year, you might think of this as kind of like an applied thesis. You might think of it as kind of like a consultancy that you do with the advice of faculty member but it's a place where you actually have a chance to apply the full range of tools concept you learned.

In the required core and then your electives to a problem that you care about for a client, who cares a lot about the answer you come up with.

We've got some other ways. You can sort of do HKS. We also offer a series of combined degree programs that we have joint programs and we have concurrent degree programs just for a bit of a taxonomy like discussion first our joint degrees are only with Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School and we say their joint because they are truly a combined program and there are required. Joint seminars that that are part of both of those curriculum throughout the course of the 2 three to 4 years that you're doing that.

My degree the joint degree with the business will or the last goal. We also offer concurrent degrees, which is students who are pursuing a degree at the Kennedy School and another school. That's on this list often business, or law but also some of the other schools such as defending sign in Madison with Harvard. Those are concurrent because you're pursuing a degree at Kennedy and this other school. We both acknowledge that that you're doing this. Kennedy definitely forgives sometime and tuition and some credit requirements.

But there is no combined curriculum so it is on the student to really integrate and think about how the 2 degrees work together. I do think the PA that we were just talking about the policy analysis exercise is a great way to sort of make that case for why the 2 degrees fit together on how you can really use. Those 2 degrees and professional practice after you leave the 2 programs.

The other thing that's worth noting is that it is even as all students in the Kennedy school can take can cross register into classes at other schools, so we let you take for credit towards your MPP degree classes at all of professional schools at Harvard Additions limited courses at MIT. Sloan school and Tufts Fletcher School. So there are so many classes that candy that you could possibly take. But if you find something else that's of interest. At one of those other schools you can also complement your academic experience by taking classes that.

So many other places so there's just a wealth of opportunity on the classroom side that you can take advantage of while you're here.

Reminder of the sort of quick overview of the application process. The deadline is December 3rd that is just under a month from now. We hope that we can help you get to submitting your application in advance of that deadline don't forget that the required pieces include a transcript, 3 and only 3 letters of recommendation your resume essays and then professional sorry official scores for the Jerry or Gmat Toefl or the Ielts again. There's a link there For more information. If you're not sure about what you're submitting.

So that is the end of our formal sort of official programming. We I'm just going to reminder and we are going to pass the floor over the microphone over to have some students introduced themselves and tell you a little about their experience, but don't forget if questions are on your mind right now. If we skip something or you haven't heard something feel free to type in to the window. Anything that's on your mind and we're going to have the students introduced themselves. I'm going to ask them to sort of. There's a quick overview of who they are on the screen, but also I'm going to have everyone introduced themselves and maybe talk a little bit about there.

Path to the Kennedy School 'cause I think it's 3 pretty unique ones so go ahead and wants to start I guess you can get started. Everyone my name is Debbie. Alfred I am originally from Haiti, but I grew up in Florida. I studied finance in undergrad and after I completed a Fulbright Grant and put the bar and then after that, I lived in Germany and work for UNESCO on education policy in pain fellow so that means after HK assault be joining the USA foreign service.

Good morning, everybody my name is Nevena Bosnich. I'm also a second year. MPP I had about 6 years of work experience before coming to HKS which I think is a little bit of an outlier, but I was very committed and excited about coming here and my past took a little bit of a long way to get here. I studied economics in undergrad and Minored in political science and international relations. I knew that I wanted to do work relating to policy or economic development.

And so my path took me first to a global think tank working on international economic policy. I switch into the private sector working in commercial real estate and then I moved to Bosnian Herzegovina, which is where my family is originally from to work on a startup promoting economic opportunities in the tourism sector. I was also involved in a nonprofit that focuses on Bosnian women and children, which was really something that I felt very passionately about and really the main driver that brought me to HKS feeling the need to.

Hotel or maybe gather some more tools in order to be a more effective advocate on their behalf. HKS I am concentrating in the political and economic development concentration and this past summer. I interned with Deloitte in their government and public services sector pretty much doing government consulting which was quite an interesting experience and I'm happy to answer any questions regarding the internship or the experience at HKS.

Alright so hello, everyone, my name is Ashley said I'm a second year. MPP originally from Portugal before coming to the Kennedy school I did my undergrad and in economics, but soon realized that sort of the public sector and public interest type of jobs were the things that attracted me so right after that, I started working in the international affairs seen so I was working at the European Commission and then at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portugal always representing.

At my country in the multilateral fora and it was during that period that I sort of started realizing how relevant the interdisciplinary links work to the job and the things that we were dealing with, and everyone was getting with my job. And so the MPP definitely looked at the right fit in sort of offering that foundation to get us started since I'm at the Kennedy School. I'm concentrating international in global affairs in order surprise there. Take in consideration that.

Uh in terms of during the last summer I was working at the OECD. So also working sort of in the multilateral scene focused on higher education in science and technology policy in the United States. Anna happy to discuss any of the things you can see on the slide in terms of involvement with student organisations or any of the other things. Also being a full brighter and being an international student may also be relevant for the discussion. Maybe some of you aren't that situation so looking forward to this discussion.

Thank you so much I see a lot of questions coming in. I am going to ask one more sort of grounding question to understand a little bit more about your all background your background and that is about can you tell us all a little bit more about your PE topics. It's still a little bit early, but if so, no pressure, but else where you're working are you working independently are you working on the team and where you start thinking about going. I think that's just going to be some helpful Contacts and then we can dive into some of the other questions.

So for my policy analysis exercise. I'm working with USAID in Guatemala and we're going to be. I'm working with a classmate that we're going to be evaluating a bilingual program.

An indigenous population, so we're thinking about how we can decentralize it education system to bring it from the minister level, it's one municipal level.

Alice is never know I'm still ironing out the kinks to my PE. But I'll be focusing on air pollution policy and Bosnia, particularly in one Canton for the capital city of Sarajevo, an my client will be an NGO who is working on the ground.

So this is Carlos and so my client is the European Commission and I'll be working on the new research and innovation program that the European Union will be launching in twenty twenty one helping them design. The type of research and innovation initiatives that they will be supporting in the European Union member states to address societal challenges mostly climate change related.

Thank you guys this is so interesting like it's nice to see that they really there's a good broad swath of while international still broad swath of interests here and I think that's really important to see that across the MVP program. There is just such a variety of folks and students with so many different interests. So to dive in and look at your questions are sending in lots of great ones in sort of all over the map so it seems like there was a good bunch of questions about maybe dual degrees and I know we don't have adultery student here, but maybe we spend.

Couple minutes on that and then we can come back to some of your other questions. If that seems OK with everyone in the room here. So I can chat a little bit in the MPP program. There are probably a maybe 1/4 of the students are pursuing a dual degree. It's that it's definitely a small but significant I think in their pursuing dual degrees again with MBA programs law programs all over the country. Several medical school students as well as a few at Harvard Design School.

And the divinity school so good variety. It is possible to looking back at the joint versus concurrent and some of the other rules so if you would like to pursue a degree with HBS. The joint degree with Harvard Business School. You must apply and be admitted at the same time, so that's right now and that's the only way to get into the joint degree program with Harvard Business School. For every other program so the joint with the law school or any of the concurrent dairy programs, you can apply once here.

Or you could apply to the Kennedy while you're at the other school during that first year so if you're a first year. MBA student at and others at one of the schools on our list. You're welcome to apply. the Kennedy School and become a curtain be admitted as a concurrent degree student. You're also could start as an empty student and during your first year decide you'd like to add a lot agree to that and you could apply to HLS or to any of the other partner law schools and become a concurrent or joint degree student in that way, so that you don't have to make all the decisions right now and less Harvard Business School is.

Um your plan, but otherwise there is sort of that path sorry. I'm reading and talking are there other combined degree questions that I've missed?

So there's also a question about an Ms degree sort of sort of a concurrent degree. That's not on that list. We are not you're not able to pursue a concurrent meaning actually getting the reduced tuition do timing. MPP program at any of the program different than what is on our list, so we have a limited list. Those the only concurrent do programs if you'd like to pursue a degree somewhere in engineering or at another MBA program. You can absolutely do. That program and the Kennedy School. You would be doing the two year MPP and I'd be happy to talk.

Individually, with you about how to think about doing that and how you may move through the 2 programs. Consecutively, while doing both of them, but but actually pursuing them. Maybe in a way that you could combine in some ways, but it would be on your own and you be doing the full full MPP program and then whatever the other school was also requiring of you.

I see that there are some questions about policy analysis exercise topics. Whether you can come up with your own or that we assign them. The basic model is that we do have to sign anything. We do centrali solicit topics and organizations will over the course of the summer.

They've got a database where organizations can say this is something you know, we're kind of worried about we could would appreciate some MVP expertise to look at it and students can and do choose from, those but they're certainly not obliged to students are absolutely. Welcome to develop their own, they can develop their own as individuals or as teens. I have a faculty chair. I have a fairly notorious protein bias in terms of the PS I think you learn more working in a team I think you can take on.

Bigger weightier topic in a team as an individual. But if you on your own if there's something you want to explore if there's an organization might work with that's absolutely fine and in fact, the majority of students to pursue their PS as individuals, but pairs and teams. I think are something like pretty enthusia stick about as well. I think it's also worth adding and I think this is related to a few questions on the PS that students find their topics in a lot of different ways. It was noted that it sounds like you all sort of had existing relationships that you leverage.

Any topic that accurate or did you yeah, so I think maybe well let them share a little bit more about how they got their pH? But I think it's also worth we manage it. We create a P database. So a lot of organizations reach out to me and my team throughout the year and say how do we get a student to work with us. So we talked to a lot of folks and sort of proposed this PE idea and we manage a database in the lot number of students use that database and sort of take that idea that was submitted from a client sort of have a conversation with them and see what makes sense and how they might work together on a project.

A lot of students leverage their summer internships into projects. They talk to faculty. They talked appears I heard somebody, saying yesterday that they know that, like one of their friends is working on another friend summer internship. PA project, the student who had the summer decided not to pursue that project that someone else took it on that they sort of know I think there's a lot of ways to find your topic and client. There are a lot of support systems out there to help you on that, but also it can be very individual on your own if you have an idea and topic do you want to share a little bit about how you found your topic or your client or sort of wherever you are in the process.

Sure, so for me when I was working for USA over the summer. One of the projects. I worked on was looking into how do you? How do you choose a language of instruction at the fundamental level when there are 80 different languages in the country so I found that really fascinating not only because it looked like they feel so many other places as well. Like Haiti, where I'm from where 95% of people speak Creole, but the language of instruction.

So the French and then you find that in other places like wattamolla more about 40% of the population speak my language is so I really work with USA to think of where I could still do the work, but I think like at HPS? What really helped me was finding a really creative faculty advisor who will really help me like home down? How do we?

How do you bring down this big question into something that's really manageable IPA and she really helped me in think about some of their research methods to go about the beauty. But I know for USC specifically. They do have projects that are in the HTS database in which you can work with other topics as well.

Yeah, on my end I think I'd say, Uh, although maybe you would think Oh. It's the same organization with which you've worked in the past. I think that's definitely true but sort of in the last couple of years. A lot of things happen happening and I think one point is being studied at the Kennedy school or in the United States in general is being exposed to a whole different range of policy initiatives policy responses and with the opportunities. That then you have on campus, either with horses or research opportunities for the types of things you just listen and watch.

And you start understanding that there may be a different angle to approach things and you're certainly in a very privileged valuable position to help an organization that doesn't have that visibility and doesn't have that wealth of opportunities and time to mental space to think about those questions to help bridge that gap, so in my end is a lot about certainly doing stuff back in Europe, which where I hope to go back after I graduate, but sort of bridging that with the other side across the pond and with the experience as I get here with.

Organizations I've seen very interesting work on an help the client to do better work as a result of that.

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like the majority of students at HK S come in with a certain focus like a certain focus on a sector so they could be interested in education, health policy very like targeted kind of topic areas. Mine is a little bit broader for me. I really wanted my PC to focus on giving back to my community and in Bosnia and while I was living there 3 years ago, it went down in the books as the worst recorded air pollution ever recorded.

In the history of Sarajevo record keeping and so being there at that time really made me recognize a huge policy failure on the account of both the local the state and the federal federal government. And so that really inspired me to think about what it was that I felt like I could help move the needle or at least create some sort of progress in the direction that would be beneficial to the public so I had previously not worked.

An environmental policy, but at HK have taken classes about climate change climate. Justice really trying to understand what's going on in that arena. And so it's brought in my understanding, but also has enabled me, this PA has enabled me to really focus.

On applying the skills of the core curriculum on a very specific topic in a very specific context. And so you know what's great about the PA. It's it's a blessing and it's a curse right. You have the option to do anything in the world, which some consider that a good thing. Others find that a little bit challenging if you're really focused on one sector. I think it's a lot easier to work in teams because you can find people like minded individuals who are passionate about a certain topic area, or you might be interested in a certain.

Region of the world. Omm contributing to kind of policy in that direction. So yeah, that's how I ended up with my PA? Can I pick up on something advantages observed about people coming in with?

You know some people come in with a clear sense of what they want to do some people a couple different ways to think about the Kennedy School. One is you got your mission in life. You come here for that mission. You go on and do it. Another is you come in with a general commitment to work making the world a better place through applied intellectual work and you learn a lot of different ways. You might do that. You go out in a different direction. You came in MPs. We actually did some analysis a few years back, where we look at application essays and what people said they want to do with their lives and they came in.

And then this, this these folks were down about 8:00 or 10 years out and then we did an analysis of what they actually had been doing with their lives and we found it interesting pattern roughly speaking about 1/3 of people. The people continued on with very much what they said they were going to do about 1/3 of the people did something that was kind of in the same ballpark, but not really identical and about 1/3 were radically different from what they expected to do and I would say Probabilistic Lee speaking.

You should think that that's kind of your story. There's about one chance of 3 that you'll do exactly what you plan to do one chance in 3 will be in the same general area. But in different domain and one that you are like plans will turn around as a result of for 2 years here and I think I would add that to a higher level, thinking about your application as I think I got the question a lot of what advice do I take? How should I think about the application. I think some questions here. Sort of my background is X? Does this help or hurt me and I think this is a great way to sort of address that question as well, or a good segue into that night, I always suggest.

That folks really think about the whole application in all those different pieces as a story help you have this opportunity to tell us on the admissions committee like why you want to be here? Why isn't empty the right program for you? Why is the Kennedy School the right MPP in the right place for you as well and then why right now and I think that's sort of keeping those 3 questions in mind as you're thinking about how the different pieces coming together to help tell that compelling story of what I think I'm going to do I think right now? Is the time for me to take this step and do that, for whatever reason is accurate.

For you whether it is a pivot from a different sector or from a different field into a pivot or or just reaffirmation in sort of a furthering of what you're doing, and able to go a little bit farther in a little faster. Whatever is accurate for you think about how all those pieces come together? How your essays can be reinforced by your letters letters of recommendation by your transcripts and really help us understand why we need you here. I think a follow on to that is also that we really are looking at all the pieces of your application.

We're going to read every word that you right there are sort of no bars other than hopeful that sort of would be a deterrent from us reading further and sort of understanding more of who you are, and why you would be a good fit for our community. So I think really think about that and think about telling us what that story, isn't thinking about holistic Lee and all the pieces how we can be convinced that we really, really want need you and can see you in this community.

I said let me follow up on that because I see a lot of questions about what we're looking for in applicants, including some questions about quantitative and analytic preparation.

If this work program in applied economics. We call it a program in applied economics, rather than a master of public policy, it is not.

This is not you shouldn't think of this as fundamentally a qualitative program. However, there are important quantitative elements of it.

Um we don't necessarily don't expect people to show up already knowing how to do the quantitative working the economics courses need careful analysis courses. So you have to have an economics. Major absolutely not. Do we strongly prefer people with stem backgrounds know that said, We don't want you to be miserable in the quantitative parts of the core curriculum and so we look for evidence that you can.

Uh make it through those courses and that it will unbalance enjoy them that is not necessarily a.

Uh and economics or math degree by any means, it's not a perfect score on the GREQ. There are a lot of ways that you can show that you will make it through an benefit from those courses and sometimes our very best.

Uh most successful students are people who come without much in the way of quantitative preparation refer. Somebody had a few years ago, who had been a professional dancer for most of his life, he thrived in the core. It's mostly we just look for and there are a lot of ways. You can make that case. You know if you've got transcript shows that you've taken analytic courses and done well great if you don't have that on your transcript, but you've done very well on standardized test great.

If you have neither of those there still sometimes ways to make the case. I remember one student who went after we had a few years back, who had not taken a lot of E con or status courses. And who's Jerry was OK, but not not amazing. But he had a background in the arm services and we were able to look to see if somebody had done that particular work this person had done that reassure us that he?

Would be able to make it through the quantitative courses and we talked to some people in the arm services? Who do that specialty and that actually made the case so there's a lot of ways to establish your preparation.

Great thank you. I was going to turn hit a little bit towards on there. Some questions about connecting the folks at the Kennedy School. So I think that faculty advisors that research centers. That's how do you get involved with the school so I think I can quickly say in general all first year students are assigned a faculty advisor. An academic advisor typically at someone who's teaching in the core curriculum so that your assigned in the first year and in the second year, you do have the ability to choose that said, I always encourage everyone to seek out as many.

Unofficial advisers as they can while there here. I think there's a lot of ways. There are a lot of folks here that are very eager to talk to students and connect with them based on their area of interest. They want to talk. Talk to you so please go ahead and encourage everyone to do that and make those connections. From there, I'd like to have it and ask the students to talk a little bit like we've listed the activities like how you connect maybe you can talk a little bit little bit more about how you've connected with the various folks at the school. Whether that's research centers supporting faculty. You both many of you have done research assistants of course, assistant roles.

A little bit about more about those relationships and how you work with folks in any faculty here.

So I'm gonna bother the multitude of ways, one of the projects. I worked in was with professors. Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks and they were working on a project looking into solidarity and social movements. My part was particularly focus on the African continent and it was really just from a newsletter that I got from the car Center for Human Rights.

Got into the open houses at the beginning of the semester really helps into figuring out what's certain centers are working on and see what they? What kind of opportunities, they have for for students nothing. I'm working with the hardware. Minnesota ministerial leadership program and I was also something that was just posted online. But I got to work with ministers of Finance education and health across Africa, and Latin America and they got to travel to stop that forgets to do some work for that, so there.

Or incredible opportunities that you can find in a lot of different ways.

I think there's not saying like coming to HKSAR drinking out of a fire hose or whatever it is literally. The case here. There are so many opportunities in ways to get involved. Whether it's through clubs. The research assistant positions. The CA positions. They're just it's almost never ending in terms of ways that you can get involved or events that you can attend something that a lot of the professors really try to focus on is that your experience at HKS shouldn't just be the academic side like you should try to get involved in as many activities as you can.

Go attend events attend talks here, others learn from your peers get involved. And so over the past year and a half. Now I've been mostly focusing on working closely with other professors have worked as a course assistant for 3 classes. One of the classes. I had taken before about religion politics and public policy in the United States with one of I think the oldest serving faculty members at HKS and so it's just been very interesting experience to get.

You have the opportunity to get to know the professor better really learn the course material as well, but also just really like get to know the material and the professor well and then also for some core curriculum classes working with money and some of the other faculty members. But yeah, there are conferences that take place almost every single week. You don't necessarily have to be on the Planning Committee. But you can volunteer and then you get like a free ticket to attend all of these like really great talks with people who are coming and traveling from all over the world.

To share their expertise and their research in their fields of interest, yeah, totally sick and the points, made so far, and I think besides drinking out of a fire hose you also you'll start having in your routine in the morning. Besides scanning maybe the social media Instagram, Facebook. You also start scanning our daily email will you basically get the summary of everything that is happening it's quite long, but it works during your breakfast and it should be and you'll see, there's a lot of things in at this point, you might be thinking? How am I going to do.

All these things and there's a lot to process but you'll see as you get here that you find your path you find your way to do HPS and I've also been persistent where you learn a lot about the material you run around about how people learn that sometimes something that you on your side. You do it your own way. But then you sort of tailor it to how people do it and you think about how can I help someone that's going to be in the place that was last year at do that and I think that's also very valuable in terms of student organizations research centers.

There's there's so much offering and that you'll be able to find an and people really want to hear what you have to say that I think is great about everyone you'll find that the Kennedy School is you always have an open door. Even if it's a professor that you don't never had a class with, but you want to chat about the particular project. You're excited about or something you read on the news and you know, he's doing work on it. So I think sort of that openness is great and so 1 question also in sort of about digital HKS. I'll just get that very briefly another centers in general, I mean, you have stuff on science and technology policy.

Digital, which gas is about digital government. Then there's a couple of medium post so if you Google digital age. Gas you find a medium poster added there's human rights there's economic development. There's alot really happening and you also can take leadership or volunteer for particular things that you are engaged. I'm doing European government. So those are things in which you can also live leave a bit of impact in the time you spend with the Kennedy School and that's extremely helpful for everyone. I've observed doesn't even come.

To the Top of the list for things to that for them to mention but both Debbie and Carlos are involved in a current effort with myself and three other faculty members to develop a new unit of the core curriculum for the spring and they are total partners in the development effort and very involved. So we take our students seriously here. Maybe maybe I'm showing my hand away. I know you went very well.

Oh, it's good, it's fantastic. I think that is important to know that students have a really do have a hand in building the curriculum thinking about how it how it how it's evolving. What's changing an what's important In addition to all the other inputs that we take in thinking about what the core curriculum should have. I think there was a question about alumni and I think that's another important facet. We talked about. We do alumni. Surveys thinking about once folks get out of the school. What are they thinking about their time in the MVP program?

What skills do they still use and I think also I found in talking anecdotally with students might think you all can weigh in as well that are alumni network is vast and very willing to be helpful. We've got a really strong. Oneida database and students reach out to alumni.

All the time whether it's to help with a summer internship weather is thinking about a project that is looking for a full time job. There are we are everywhere. It feels like an that's amazing and really, really important, and I think I heard again anecdotally that alumni are very, very helpful. And when you send an email. There so willing to help. I think students that come to the Kennedy school just want to give back and do more in the world and therefore are very eager to have a conversation with someone else who has that same sort of basic goal an mindset of We're just trying to make the world a little bit better and how can we all help?

And do that there are some official path like I think someone notice. We do some shadowing opportunities during January session and many students take up take take that opportunity so wherever home is if there's an alumni there. We can sort of help partner up and do a day long shadowing activity with them, but also PE clients are often alumni summer internship hosts are often alumni do you all have anything that you'd like to add about sort of have you interacted with and I feel like I've heard anecdotal stories. But if you want to, if you have anything I'd love to share here.

Yeah, I don't know how someone mentioned in the chat box. I've done the shadowing program last year, which was really, really interesting. It happened because during the January term. I was one week and a half in Washington for one of the research projects. I was doing at the Kennedy School and then I said. Well, I'm in Washington. There's a lot of shadowing happening in Washington. So I applied and basically. I spent 2 days in the Department of Energy with one former HKS alumni.

Uh and it was absolutely amazing because of the I mean, just for me specially not being a US citizen and seeing how you form of government operates sort of how the policy of the political spheres interact how the thinking happens and especially then also having the chance of hearing from someone that has been at the same cruise. I've been doing MVP program. What were the things that she took away what were the things that she felt I wish I had done more an sort of collecting that piece of advice from someone that is extremely experienced.

Very significant role in shaping policy and was was very, very valuable so I would totally 2nd and also when I was in my summer internship. I was in Paris at UCD, the Harvard Club of France did a lot of activities and if students were around. You could participate in the activities. I participate in a couple of activities. They had, and it was really interesting and to see all the types of things that people do not just Kennedy School Specific. But we also have people from Business School law school so again, you start feeling sort of broader community building up as you go.

2 different places.

Just to pick up on that I should well. We're talking about alumni. I don't want to neglect. The fact that our alumni. MPP alumni are incredibly diverse in what they do and just as a data point. I did a couple weeks ago. I was out on the West coast for some some research and other things that I encountered 3 of our alumni. One had spent several years, running the wage and hour division of the US Department of Labor in the Obama administration.

Is currently the Dean of the brand? I school of public service. Another is the chief financial officer of mercy core a leading International Development Organization and another is after running several public transit agencies in London, New York and Hong Kong is now the CEO of organization called Virgin Hyperloop.

One, which has at least a 20% chance of transforming intercity transport over the next decades.

Great thank you always exciting to hear this is a little. I was going to transition and ask if Mary wants to talk. There were a bunch of questions about GRE. This is sort of Super Logistical. But maybe we can address those before the end of our hour do you want to go ahead? Yeah, so this is Mary down some kind a member of the office of admissions and as well. And he said. We notice a couple questions on the GRE so just to answer those really quickly, you do need to take your standardized tests on or before the application deadline. So December 3rd, 2019 if you're going to be applying this year.

We understand if you take the test very close to that deadline. We won't receive your official score report for a week or 2 and that's completely fine, but you do need to take the test by December 3rd.

Right and I think there was one other application question and it is not possible to use the same have the same person submit 2 different letters of recommendation that sort of a pretty specific question. But I think it is important. Then maybe to step back and think about how you think about your letters recommendation. We want 3 and only 3 if there's more than that will jump over the last one was we will toss out so don't send for an so please have 3. I think it's important to have them be 3 unique applications. I think you want to think about reflecting back on that story that I spoke about earlier.

Who can help who knows you best? Who can speak to the different parts of you and your preparation to be a Kennedy School student and what 3 three folks in your sort of world can help support that Best Inn Hotel is the best story. So I think it's really personal. We do like sort of a mix of professional and academic and I think you really have to think about what is best for you and what sort of best reflects where you are there isn't sort of a strict formula everybody wants that but there isn't for sure, a strict formula? Who should submit letters, but I think you want to know.

Again, who knows you well and who can really speak to your background in preparation to be a Kennedy School student.

Um there was a question about the implications of the continuous improvements in the core curriculum and what that means for what version of it. You need to worry about. That's actually a fairly easy question because the core curriculum is all in the first year so whatever the core curriculum is in your first year that's what you experience I don't want to overstate the rate of change in the curriculum. Maybe just by University standards, it seems lightning fast, but by.

Most real world standards.

Um gradual evolution.

Yeah, so includes a bit of a re imagining some classes or that one class that now. It is supporting the share is sort of re imagination of a class that we've had for a long time and as well as the class that Debbie and Carlos are working on are helping to support is a little bit of an expansion but also a bit of a reimagining of the class. We've had for awhile so it isn't sort of a fundamental shift on what we're covering it's adding some new things and really making sure we're reflecting what the world wants and needs of our graduates can give an example the change we made.

Actually, some years back, so that we've long had element ethics training in the MPP core about 6:00 or 8 years ago. We realized that the ethics course was kind of like you know a Arts and Sciences. More philosophy course, which is just fine if you're a philosopher, but if you're actually trying to do if you're actually trying to think straight about ethical choices and professional practice, it wasn't.

Wait, what was needed, and so we reshape that from kind of moral philosophy, 101, two more agents focused action oriented case based course in dealing with moral issues in professional practice in a very practical way. I think that kind of change that. We do tend to make if I can add just one thing about the core curriculum so for the MPP program. The first year is the only year that's dedicated to the core and even within that first year, you still have the opportunity to take electives.

So you're not completely constrained to just taking stats. Econ ethics, etc. You also have the opportunity to test out of these some courses. If you have extensive training in economics or extensive experience in statistics. You can you can make the case to test out of it, thereby enabling you to take more electives during the first year but the first year is solely dedicated to the core with the opportunity to add electives and the second year is a free for all you can take.

Whatever classes like Lenny mentioned you can take them at HKS you can take some courses at other schools affiliated with Harvard or at Tufts or MIT and I think just alone as well on the core and the first year. I think that cohort experience is something I think all of us as MP students really value. and I think it's a distinctive factor activity. MPP program just build sort of a very nice experience that follows you on the first year second year and after that.

So definitely something that you build and if you start thinking about particular concentrations. It's also a time where you can start testing whether you like that field or not, and so even if you have a poor curriculum. There's ways in which you can tailor in which you can find your path and I think that's really important still having flexibility while fulfilling some important things.

Great thank you guys, I was going to ask him to put you on the spot and ask if you guys can share maybe your favorite class ideally. I'll give you a minute to think about it. I'll ask like over a long period of time. But maybe like ideally at favorite core and a favorite elective because I feel like that would be great.

If you all have ideas on that that would be. I think would be interesting just to get a sense. I imagine you have some very different ideas and I feel like that's important to sort of see the breath of classes that we have.

I definitely have a favorite core so during the first semester. We take statistics. Debbie and I had this class together with Teddy Swara knows who is by far the most technologically technologically savvy professor. I have encountered in my life, he's very entertaining. He makes the he makes the material so relatable and so easy to digest and he makes it a lot of fun. You know throughout the process so that was my favorite core class.

Um my favorite elective so far has probably been so there's an entire area called management leadership and decision. Making scientist specialized services should Sciences. These courses teach a little bit more. There's a little bit more focused on leadership and so that's where you'll find like the public speaking classes. The public narrative classes, so they have been very helpful for me in terms of being able to present myself in a more.

Eloquent and effective way I've really enjoyed those and they're also very kind of like experiential so you're kind of like if you're taking a negotiation class for instance, there simulations involved and so you're really put in this position where you're actually exercising the skills that you're learning and thereby actually building them.

Yeah, so I think for me my favorite core of course, was definitely my second semester, economics class with Mark Sheppard.

And, which is going to say is that anything I'm just going to give love and you put it in a way that was so relevant to some of the topics that were discussing an everyday politics. When we talked about the implications of the Affordable Care Act more how universal basic income would actually play out in real life. We also talked about ATC as well as some welfare program so it's really interesting to talk to think about like some of these like super important topics in the economic model, but then they think about like the implications of.

You know how do you how do you really go about choosing welfare versus thinking about the costs that would that would put on the government. so I thought that was really interesting my favorite elective so far has been my Africans about politics class with Joy Marks, who just joined the faculty here. She's amazing professor talking about topics. That kind of like trickle down from the course I took.

Politics class and we talked about transition like knew Democratic regimes are in transition and what that has what that implies for economic development in this countries and we really see that being put onto the African continent as we talk about the 3rd wave of democracy so there's been no really interesting. Those 2 have been really interesting for me, OK, so on my end. I think the core class I like the most was.

Did negotiation module and so moving away from the quantitative not because I don't like it but I have to give a different flavor as well. I think because it was a new thing for me, so it was a new skill that I was acquiring and it's and it's kind of feels always that it's a soft skill. But that's professor. Mundell here at the Kennedy School tells you it was Assad scale. It wouldn't be so hard to learn it and sort of propelling the narrative and it is very hard to learn and you run it with your peers, which I think is also something that I really enjoyed so we had.

Simulations that we get every weekend just that learning about yourself about your peers about how you work in a group how you prepare how debrief there's just so many learning points, but then you also relate that with other negotiations that are happening in real life, it can be about the trade wars. It can be about Iran deal it can be about domestic issues. International issues with that is. I think the core would go for that I would say was class, I took last year.

When I was doing the core as my elective which was knowledge is power in law and science. So basically was about the power of legal and scientific expertise in decision making and it was, it was a classical. It's Cross Register at the law school and the Kennedys will talk by one professor at the last longer faster at the Kennedy school again sort of the mix of those communities was extremely valuable types of readings different types of learning points, you had the experiences.

The type of issues, you think about and didn't do it, along degree by option. But then I was like I do like that side and it's something so important that sometimes there's even things you don't think about how maybe a particular treaty is built in what are the types of things that come from so far away that you sometimes don't even question it may be worth questioning very different type of class but very enjoyable.

So exactly like we could sit and keep talking all day respect. Everyone's time I think there was a few questions about class and an curriculum and I think just relating as you heard these 6 examples of classes. They're all very different very different sizes. They are taught in very different ways. and I think that is pretty accurate description of sort of all of our classes. I think there's no one way to teach here there's no one class size. They really stand that probably some of the sort of more soft will save soft skill classes are smaller 'cause they need a lot of direct feedback and then some of the core courses. Maybe in some of the other elect.

Are much bigger in our lecture based so I think there's a good variety of all of those things between very case based learning to very hands-on experiential and then some lecture based classes as well. I think all those things are happening in all different formats throughout the school and in general. It's just sort of an exciting and fun place to be does anyone have other final thoughts before we act like this. Hopefully this has been a very interesting don't forget if we didn't get to your question or you have an individual question that still on your mind please. Feel free to write to the admissions office.

And will make sure we get back to you soon. Hopefully this has been helpful and we look forward to reading your applications.