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Admissions

Message from the Dean

To prospective students...

"Thank you for your interest in the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP), one of the nation’s premier graduate institutions for education and research on the most pressing contemporary policy problems in American society and throughout the world. GSPP is a wonderful community of students, faculty, staff and distinguished visitors, all committed to the highest standards of policy analysis in a warm, collegial and beautiful setting.

From the new-student-orientation program in August through the student/faculty talent show in the spring to graduation in late May, GSPP students are exposed to the unparalleled intellectual, professional and social experiences that only Berkeley has to offer.

GSPP was established in 1969, one of the very first public policy schools in the United States. It has a preeminent reputation in the teaching of methods of policy analysis—utilizing microeconomic, statistical, political, management, legal and computer techniques in their application to solve real-world problems. The School is quintessentially multidisciplinary in credentials and orientation. Faculty are drawn from economics, political science, law, social psychology, demography, architecture, physics, and engineering. Great emphasis is placed on team projects, sharpening oral and written presentation skills, and thinking “outside the box.” First- and second-year students have the opportunity to work on policy problems for real clients as well as to address scholarly and methodological concerns.

Each year the School enrolls more than seventy of the most talented students in the U.S. and abroad from a variety of disciplines and professional experiences for our intensive and highly valued Master in Public Policy (MPP) program. In addition, a few select individuals are admitted to our doctoral program, a research-oriented degree. Students, faculty, staff and alumni coalesce into a wonderful learning environment marked by intellectual rigor and energetic policy debate. A strong sense of enthusiasm and a desire to produce positive social and governmental change permeate the School.

GSPP is situated in two lovely buildings on the north side of the Berkeley campus. The original building is a converted fraternity house, seismically upgraded, that is sometimes called the “gingerbread house.” It has a distinctly non-institutional ambience. Many GSPP courses are held in this building. A second state-of-the-art building has modern classrooms designed to facilitate case discussion, a social psychology laboratory, and a student affairs suite to meet student needs. The generosity of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund has made possible the renovation of the original building and the completion of the second.

In addition, students have the opportunity to study with leading scholars in a variety of other disciplines and fields outside the School. The University of California, Berkeley is world renowned as one of the most distinguished institutions of higher learning. Located adjacent to San Francisco Bay, the University resides in an area of breathtaking beauty and temperate climate marked by extraordinary geographical and social diversity. The result is an exceptional learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. It is no surprise that our graduates are to be found in leading positions in the federal government, at the state and local levels, and in the non-profit sector, think tanks, legislative bodies, the private sector and international organizations. Representatives of numerous organizations from the public and private sectors visit the School each year to recruit our graduating students.

These are enormously challenging and exciting times in public policy. The war on terrorism and the conflict in Iraq are the subject of intense analysis and debate. We are also in the midst of the globalization of the world economy, revolutions in information and biological technology, a resurgence of mediation efforts in ethnic conflict, and a significant modification of U.S. social, health, and education policies. There is much to study and much to change. Come join us in this exhilarating and transformative experience!"

Michael Nacht
Aaron Wildavsky Dean & Professor of Public Policy