Posted on in Admissions & Financial Support

Put your best foot forward: tips for preparing your Ford School application

Now is the perfect time to start preparing your Ford School application! Remember, fee waivers are available for military service members and alumni of our partnership programs. Read about each step by visiting our application checklist page.

Here are five key tips:

  1.   Answer “Why” with two complementary essays. The personal statement and the academic statement of purpose are different ways to show the admissions committee the reasons behind your educational and career choices and why the Ford School is the next logical step in your career.
  2.   A new, additional question in the application asks about your quantitative and analytical preparation. Respond with information about courses you may have taken in college and/or work experiences where you have utilized quantitative skills. This information will be helpful particularly if you are not submitting GRE scores (GRE scores are not required this year).
  3.   Use the space in your resume to provide details and context about the organizations with which you worked.
  4.   Three letters of recommendation are required and should reflect your academic and job capabilities and experience. Prepare your recommenders by giving them plenty of time and a copy of your resume and academic statement of purpose.
  5.   Transcripts: You can upload an official or unofficial transcript with your online application. Please do not upload a copy of your grade report.

Still have questions? Other important information can be found here:

12/10/20 @ 8pm: Join us for upcoming webinars about the Ford School! Register for the “Hands-on, practical experiences” webinar, featuring faculty and admissions staff.

Watch: Science, Technology, and Public Policy Graduate Certificate Program

Watch: PCLP & Detroit Hives: An Engaged Learning Project in Detroit

Want to hear from a current student about life at the Ford School? Connect with one now!

Did you know you can save your application as you go? Now is a great time to update your resume and upload it as part of your application.

NOTE: This announcement was released on December 8, 2020.

Posted on in Miscellaneous

Meet Our Faculty: World-class teachers, experts, mentors

Our faculty are enthusiastic teachers and mentors who prize the school’s close-knit, collaborative community.

Alongside their critical work in the classroom, Ford School faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized experts in vitally important policy areas. And they’re deeply engaged in the world of practice. They include senior government advisors, current and former members of the Council of Economic Advisers, leaders of international nonprofits, and more.

Hear from some of the experts who will be teaching a course you may take next year:

Listen to Javed Ali’s The Burn Bag podcast on national security.

Start your application today! Application fee waivers available to the first 150 who request and submit their application by December 15.

Meet our faculty at upcoming webinars on 12/3 and 12/10. Tune in to upcoming public events + sign up to receive a weekly schedule.

NOTE: This announcement was released on December 1, 2020.

Posted on in Programs & Courses

Explore Ford School courses and programs

We know you are passionate about public policy and committed to a successful career of real impact for the public good.

Ford School faculty are distinguished teachers and experts who care deeply about the impact of their work. Our curriculum is rigorous, interdisciplinary, and hands-on. Our students are diverse leaders who share a commitment to the public good. Our university is one of the best in the world.

Our top-ranked graduate programs include

  • Master of Public Policy: a renowned 2-year program recognized for its excellence in analysis, social policy, leadership development, diplomacy studies, and more.
  • Dual masters degrees with Business, Law, Education, Social Work, or another of the dozens of top-ranked University of Michigan programs.
  • Master of Public Affairs: a powerhouse 9-month mid-career degree focused on analysis, communication, and leadership.

Register for an upcoming information session:

  • December 3: Tools for influence and action w/Professors Lantz, Jonathan Hanson, and Brian Jacob
  • December 10: Hands-on, practical experiences w/John Ciorciari, Elisabeth Gerber, Shobita Parthasarathy, and Luke Shaefer
  • December 16: Careers in public policy with careers director Jennifer Niggemeier and Ford School alumni
  • January TBA: Final Q&A and meet Dean Michael Barr

Sign-up here to receive a special weekly admissions email.

NOTE: This announcement was released on November 24, 2020.

Posted on in Admissions & Financial Support

A Ford School Master’s Degree: The right place, the right time

You are someone who cares deeply about the public good.

We know you are eager to lead, to find creative solutions, and to make a big impact on your communities. The University of Michigan’s Ford School is the right place for you—at a most urgent time.

We invite you to get to know us. Take the next step.With a Ford School education, you will be leading the institutions and organizations that will shape our public policies for decades to come.

  • Register for an information session to learn how a masters degree from the Ford School can help you make an impact on the public good. Join us on Thursday, November 19 at NOON EST, with Luke Shaefer, director of Poverty Solutions and associate dean for research and policy engagement, and Paula Lantz, the James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy and associate dean for academic affairs.

We look forward to meeting you!

The Ford School difference

Follow us on social media

PS: Sign-up here for a special weekly email from our admissions team.

NOTE: This announcement was released on November 17, 2020.

Posted on in Admissions & Financial Support

Connect with the Ford School Virtually

Interested in speaking with a Ford School alumni? Join us for a coffee hour chat with alumni on November 13, 2020 at 12-1pm ET. Please click here for additional information and registration.

We also invite you to join us for the remaining session of a series of webinars about applying to graduate school, funding, research opportunities, and careers in international affairs, policy, and research. Click the link below to register.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 4:30-5:30pm PT 

 

The sessions, Public Partnership for Policy and International Affairs Education, will include representatives from:

University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

University of Maryland School of Public Policy

University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Policy and International Affairs

University of Washington The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies

 

Have questions or would like to be connected with a current student? Email fspp-admissions@umich.edu.

Thank you and we look forward to connecting with you.

NOTE: This announcement was released on November 12, 2020.

Posted on in Admissions & Financial Support

Learn More About the Ford School

Looking for ways to learn more about the Ford School of Public Policy?

We invite you to join us for the remaining two sessions of a series of webinars, Public Partnership for Policy and International Affairs Education, about applying to graduate school, funding, research opportunities, and careers in international affairs, policy, and research. Click the links below to register:

Tuesday, November 10, 2020, 5:30-6:30pm ET

Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 4:30-5:30pm PT

 

The sessions will include representatives from:

University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

University of Maryland School of Public Policy

University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs

University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Policy and International Affairs

University of Washington The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies

 

Interested in speaking with Ford School alumni? Join us for a coffee hour chat with alumni on November 13, 2020 at 12-1pm ET. Please click here for additional information and registration.

Have questions or would like to be connected with a current student? Email us at fspp-admissions@umich.edu.

Thank you and we look forward to connecting with you.

NOTE: This announcement was released on November 6, 2020.

Posted on in Admissions & Financial Support

Announcement from the Ford School of Public Policy

Master’s applications are now open for fall 2021

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy has opened applications for fall 2021 for our top-ranked graduate programs: Master’s of Public Policy and Master’s of Public Affairs.

The Ford School community is engaged in public policy at a critical time in our world’s history. The challenges—pandemic, rising inequality, climate change, refugee crises, a rancorous political landscape, and so much more—are complex. And so our opportunities for impact are enormous.

We are looking for students who are eager to lead, to find creative solutions, and to take on our communities’ and our world’s most pressing challenges.

Applications are due January 15, 2021.

How to apply

The application is available online through the Rackham Graduate School website. Review our application checklist for detailed information. You will need:

  1.     An academic statement of purpose about your professional and academic goals
  2.     A personal statement
  3.     Your resume
  4.     Three letters of recommendation
  5.     Transcripts

Recognizing the disruptions and hardships many are experiencing in the context of COVID-19, the Ford School will not require GRE scores from students applying to enroll in its master of public policy program for fall 2021.

Beth Soboleski, associate director of Student & Academic Services, says that in a typical year, “GRE scores are useful indicators of academic preparation for our core curriculum. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for many promising students to prepare for and take the GRE.” Applications without GRE scores will not be disadvantaged in the Ford School’s holistic application review process, Soboleski notes.

View additional information for International applicants and dual degree applicants on our website.

More questions? See our FAQs for master’s applicants or contact us at fspp-admissions@umich.edu.

Get to know us

Attend one of the upcoming virtual graduate school fairs or schedule an individual appointment with a member of our admissions team. And follow us on social media to get a better feel for all the news and events happening at the Ford School.

Why choose the Ford School?

We are a top-ranked policy school located within one of the world’s premier research universities—in one of America’s best college towns. Our rigorous curriculum prepares graduates to shape policies that affect their neighborhoods, their countries, and people around the globe. Our prominent and accessible faculty are world-class scholars—and also enthusiastic teachers and mentors. And we believe in a hands-on approach that provides practical policy experiences that help our students become better leaders.

We look forward to welcoming the next cohort of smart, engaged leaders to our community!

NOTE: This announcement was first released on October 2, 2020.

Posted on in Research Centers

Updates from the Youth Policy Lab and the Program in Practical Public Engagement

The Ford School is home to a number of excellent research centers. The work done by our various research centers greatly enhances the academic experience of our students. Two of our centers recently shared some updates about their work this past fall semester. Some of the highlights include:

The Youth Policy Lab , a partnership between the Ford School and the Institute for Social Research, seeks to improve the wellbeing of youth, leading to the improvement of families and communities. Directed by Brian and Robin Jacob, YPL has been involved in a variety of projects. Some of the highlights they have listed from their work include:

  • As a part of our Workforce of the Future data partnership with the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Detroit Drives Degrees effort, the State of Education report was launched and is already driving new attention to the issue of post-secondary credential and degree attainment and its impact on the workforce in southeast Michigan.
  • In our role as evaluation partners to the TRAILS program – an initiative bringing effective mental health services into schools – we launched a needs assessment effort for the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) that included district-wide surveys of instructional staff, administrative staff, support staff, and all students from grades 8 through 12. In addition to these survey data, we will be conducting analyses of administrative data from DPSCD to help inform the implementation of this mental health intervention and to lay the foundation for our multi-year evaluation.
  • Our partners at MDRC released a jointly authored interim report describing the findings to date on the Detroit Promise Path (DPP) program. Among other findings, our qualitative analysis indicated that while DPP college students continue to struggle with financial and other non-academic barriers to persistence, they highly value their DPP coaches and are much more likely than control group students to have a good understanding of college process like financial aid, academic requirements, and course selection processes.

The Practical Policy Engagement Program (P3E) is a university–wide resource housed at the Ford School where it can leverage existing expertise and interdisciplinary approaches to generate policy–relevant research, analysis and learning, as well as improvements in organizational practice. P3E centers around three objectives:

Engaged learning: The P3E Program is dedicated towards providing students with opportunities to learn about and to impact public policy by working with real-world organizations, government entities and individuals outside the University. Students engage in semester–long applied policy seminars, client–led class projects, capstone projects, summer internships, and a wide variety of engaged learning activities.

Policy research: P3E supports research that is timely and relevant to impact public policy. The P3E small grant program for faculty is currently being developed.

Policy impact: P3E emphasizes action as a result of thoughtful research and learning. A central goal of the Program is to translate social science research into policy impact to study that translational exercise for replication and dissemination. The Program hosts workshops, conferences, talks, and teach-outs to ensure that students and faculty able to learn the skills needed to translate their research and learning into practical policy action.

Information about the many opportunities available for students through P3E is available on their website.

Posted on in Student Life

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Ford School

Four years ago the University of Michigan began a five year strategic plan to address issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The plan has many different parts but the goal is to make the university a welcoming place for people from across a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.

One of the major pieces of the Ford School plan was the addition of our diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Stephanie Sanders. Stephanie creates programming related to DEI issues and also teaches classes for both the graduate and undergraduate students.

Stephanie also puts together monthly newsletters that detail activities related to our DEI plan. If you are interested in learning more about the ongoing work in this area, all of the newsletters are available at the Ford School website: http://fordschool.umich.edu/tags/dei-updates

 

 

Posted on in News, Research Centers

Information Session, fee waivers & WDC

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is a top-ranked policy school located within one of the world’s premier research universities–in one of America’s best college towns. We offer ready access to the world-class intellectual, cultural, and social resources of the University of Michigan and its impressive alumni network–the largest living alumni body in the world.

Our curriculum emphasizes research, analytic, communication and management skills that are highly transferable across sectors, issue areas, and geographical regions—all offered with an applied approach to policy training, providing hands-on learning around real-world problems.

In addition to the outstanding educational environment, the Ford School also host an impressive array of guest speakers, including this fall’s launch of the Weiser Diplomacy Center, which included former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to name a few.

The Ford School’s mission is to inspire and prepare diverse leaders grounded in service, conduct transformational research, and collaborate on evidence-based policy making to take on our communities’ and our world’s most pressing challenges. We are a community dedicated to the public good.

We will be hosting a graduate information session here in Ann Arbor on Saturday, November 9 from 10am – 3pm, and would be delighted to have you join us! Please RSVP by 11/4/2019 for the graduate information session.

The application is available online through the Rackham Graduate School website, and has a deadline of January 15, 2020 for the Fall 2020 term.

Detailed information about necessary application materials can be found on our application checklist page, as well as information for International Applicants.

Through partnership funding the Ford school is able to provide support to a number of incoming public policy students. In addition to financial assistance, the Ford School also offers application fee waivers.

  • Teach for America
  • Peace Corps (at least three months removed from their service)
  • AmeriCorps (at least three months removed from their service)
  • Active U.S. Military
  • U.S. Military Veterans
  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellowship
  • Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship
  • Rangel Scholar
  • Truman Scholar
  • USAID Payne Fellowship

To request these fee waivers, complete the Ford School’s volunteer service form.