The #2023APPAM Fall Research Conference will feature some fantastic sponsors from across the policy research spectrum. Today we're shining a spotlight on University of Washington, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance.
What types of programs does your school offer?
• Master of Public Administration
• Executive Master of Public Administration
• Ph.D. in Public Policy & Management
• Undergraduate minors in Public Policy and Leadership
• Graduate Certificate in Leading Public Innovation
How has your school changed in the last ten years?
In 2020, the Evans School renovated Parrington Hall, our home and one of the oldest academic buildings on the University of Washington campus. The reimagined Parrington Hall is an efficient, flexible, and inspiring learning environment for our current and future public service leaders.
In 2021, in partnership with our community, the Evans School articulated a new set of guiding principles by crafting a new mission statement, vision, and organizational values which influence our work daily, defining how we educate, convene, and contribute to the field of public policy. We also began taking steps to become a leading institution in the fight against racism, discrimination, and inequity. This includes constructing a new five-year Equity & Inclusion Blueprint (2021-2026), focusing our attention on constructing the organization we need. As part of that work, our faculty have led the integration of knowledge and about racialized policy and management practices into our MPA and Ph.D. ’s core curriculum.
We also proud of our continued investments in our community, which include deepening our mid-career programs (including the development of new executive certificates), strengthening support of our doctoral students, participating in strategic, national initiatives such as NextGen Civic Leader Corps (partnering with the Volker Alliance) and Junior Summer Institute (partnering with PPIA).
Why should students choose your school or program?
Evans offers MPA students well-rounded training in both analysis and management, carefully developed core curriculum with extensive elective options and areas of concentration including Analysis and Evaluation, Environmental Policy, International Development, Leadership and Decision-Making, Nonprofit Management and Social Innovation, Public Financial Management, and Social Policy.
Evans offers Ph.D. students field-leading training in policy and management research that provides them with deep substantive expertise and a strong analytic toolkit. Our students receive five years of secure funding and team-based mentoring from world-renowned faculty. Our Ph.D. graduates hold positions in top academic, government, and private research organizations.
What is your undergraduate/graduate divide?
Five out of six students are graduate students.
What advice do you have for prospective students?
Take time to look and compare programs carefully. Look at the faculty and ask questions about their level of engaged scholarship. The Evans School is a national leader in offering a program that balances attention to analysis and implementation, and policy and management.
What is something unqiue about your institution or program?
The Evans School is taking a action-oriented and long-term approach to addressing racial and other biases in our curriculum, our operations, and our external partnership. We are committed to helping students become practiced at identifying and addressing institutional biases, using policy and management to help us create the democratic systems and services that our country needs.