June 15 - August 4, 2012 • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The institute will provide 20 students the opportunity to develop the skills needed for admission into the nation's top policy programs. This seven-week program will be held on the Carnegie Mellon campus and provide intensive training in policy, quantitative, communication and leadership areas. Introductory sections of quantitative methods and economics are offered. Students attend classes five days a week and receive course grades and an evaluation of individual progress at the conclusion of the program. Current H. John Heinz III College MSPPM students, PhD candidates and recent graduates serve as teaching assistants, leading discussion seminars and providing tutorial resources.
- Policy Analysis Seminar
The course is organized around a series of lectures on both international and domestic topics. The focus of the lectures is to provide the student with the analytical skills required to conduct policy analysis in different policy areas.
- Applied Economics
Microeconomics is the study of how individuals and firms make choices, and how these choices interact in society. Economics shares with other behavioral sciences the general goal of explaining and predicting human behavior. The distinguishing feature of the economic approach is the emphasis on rational decision making under conditions of scarcity. Because of the central role of markets and the price system in describing the outcome of individual and firm decision-making, microeconomics is often called "price theory." This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of microeconomics. We will study how markets work, with an emphasis on analysis of the effects of public policy on the welfare of society. At the end this course you should be able to:
- apply core concepts of microeconomics that are essential to good managerial decision making and informed analysis of any economic issue
- evaluate public policies using use key economic ideas
- critically analyze and discuss economic arguments put forth in public policy debates. For instance, you should be able to read and evaluate general material in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or The Economist.
- Applied Statistics for Public Policy
The purpose of this introductory statistics is to lay a foundation for success in future advanced or graduate level statistics. Students will become familiar with basic statistical concepts and applications, be able to perform statistical analysis of real data, and gain practical skill of using Microsoft Excel for statistical data analysis.
- Strategic Presentation Skills
Effective public speakers present a clear message, develop a deep understanding of audience and audience expectations, and practice their skills and strategies. This course is designed to help you to acquire strategies and experience to make you a better public speaker. In this course, you will be expected to become proficient in a number of areas:
- evaluating public speaking
- evaluating your own abilities
- providing feedback to others on their public speaking
- employing principles and strategies for effective public speaking.
The course is structured to move from more presentational (and therefore less interactive) public speeches to more interactive public speeches. Additionally, the course is structured to provide practice in several important building blocks of public speaking: building credibility, sharing your vision, defining a problem (i.e., structuring background information to ensure audience understanding), assessing needs, and developing an action plan.
- Spreadsheet Modeling Methods for Policy Analysis and Management
(Note: Students with sufficient background in statistics or economics will be registered for spreadsheet modeling methods.)
This course surveys five modeling methods useful for policy analysis and management, but unlike most surveys, it is a hands-on course designed to teach how-to do these methods, albeit at an introductory level, not just to learn about them and their strengths and weaknesses. It is intended both to prepare students for more advanced work in those areas (whether formally through further classes or self-teaching), and to enable students to use these methods in projects for other classes and on the job. The methods covered will typically include: sensitivity analysis, optimization, simulation, queueing, and multi-criteria decision making. There will be weekly homeworks and a mini-project that requires students to observe operational processes in the real world and/or to interview decision makers who manage such processes.
- Leadership
Each week, leaders in the public and non-profit sectors will meet with students to discuss issues, challenges and rewards in public and non-profit management.
- Co-Curricular
Students will enjoy a wide variety of opportunities to learn about policy and management in practice: site visits to key organizations; training in conflict negotiation techniques; faculty discussing their research and its impact on policy; and opportunities to get engaged in and enjoy the local community.
- Career Planning
- Career Services Workshops: Career Services provides top-tier services to students, alumni, and employers. They will partner with students to provide effective tools and resources for graduate school search and professional development.
- Office of Admissions & Program Directors: Students will have one-on-one meetings with admissions and program staff members to learn more about applying to graduate school and preparing for life after college.
- GRE preparation: Students will have the option to purchase a GRE voucher at a significant discount. Voucher prices depend on the option selected by the student. The Heinz College will cover 50% of the cost and participating students must use money from their stipend to pay for the remaining balance. For example (prices are subject to change):
- Classroom GRE voucher: $1000 (stipend) - $350 (student share of voucher) = $650 net stipend
- Live Online GRE voucher: $1000 (stipend) - $325 (student share of voucher) = $675 net stipend
- Regular Online GRE voucher: $1000 (stipend) - $225 (student share of voucher) = $775 net stipend
- No GRE voucher: $1000 (stipend) - $0 (student share of voucher) = $1000 net stipend
- Networking
In addition to a graduate and professional networking trip to Washington, D.C., the experiences and activities of the JSI will allow students to build a solid network with their fellow emerging leaders from across the country and in diverse policy domains. In addition, current Heinz College students and PPIA alumni volunteers will provide mentoring during the summer institute and throughout your senior year.
| Application deadline |
November 1, 2011 |
| Notification Sent |
February 1 , 2012 |
| Program begins |
June 14, 2012 |
| Program ends |
August 4, 2012 |
- Students who successfully complete any PPIA Junior Summer Institute and are admitted to the Master of Science in Public Policy and Management (MSPPM) or the Master of Science in Health Care Policy and Management (MSHCPM) programs at the Heinz College will receive a minimum of a half-tuition and up to full-tuition scholarship and a stipend of $6,000 per year.
- Program Administrators:
- Gladys Perez, Director, Carnegie Mellon PPIA Junior Summer Institute and MSPPM Program Director
- David Eber, Director of Admissions & Financial Aid
- Contact Information:
PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
H. John Heinz III College
Hamburg Hall 1118
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Email: heinz-ppia@andrew.cmu.edu
- Learn more about the H. John Heinz III College
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