• Special Fields of Interest

Requirements & Course Work

Program of Study

Doctoral students register for a full course load (four half courses each semester, or the equivalent of four semester credits in KSG terminology). Sixteen half courses are required to receive the PhD degree, at least eleven of which must be at the doctoral level. All students must complete at least six half-courses at Harvard Kennedy School.

During their course work, students are required to complete core requirements and field requirements, complete an oral general examination, and participate in the PhD Research Seminar.  All Public Policy written exams, or course work in lieu of exams, should be completed in the first two years.

By the end of the third year, candidates submit and defend a dissertation prospectus, and then go on to write and defend the dissertation.  Students generally complete their dissertation writing and research within three years of completion of the Oral General Examination.  

In principle, it is possible to complete the dissertation in the third year. However, students generally need more time for research and writing. Typically, students complete all degree requirements within five years.  The degree is conferred after the public oral dissertation defense is completed, and final revisions are submitted.

Those students who wish to receive the MPP degree must complete all MPP requirements in addition to the PhD curriculum. However, students admitted during the first year of the HKS MPP may substitute a research paper for the Policy Analysis Exercise and two PhD classes in the special field in place of the PAC Seminar.

Core Requirements

The core requirements for public policy can be met by completing a Master's Degree in Public Policy or an appropriate masters degree in a related field.

Those students who do not have an appropriate masters degree may meet the core requirements by completing a required distribution of Masters or PhD level courses that may include courses taken to meet the Field Requirements.

Field Requirements

Students wishing to advance to PhD candidacy must demonstrate PhD level proficiency in the areas of theory, methods, and a substantive special (primary) field. The general requirements include distribution requirements in six fields within these areas, with courses and exams as specified below:

Theory Fields

• Economics
• Politics, Political Philosophy, or Public Management

Methods Fields

• Analytic Methods
• Quantitative Empirical Methods
• Qualitative Empirical Methods

Special (Primary) Field

PhD-level special field courses of the student’s selection (e.g., in Environmental Policy, International Economic Policy, International Security Relations, Risk Assessment, Economic Regulatory Policy, International Development and Judgment and Decision Making).

Methods for Satisfying the Field Requirements

In years one and two, course plans for completion of the requirements are reviewed with the faculty advisor and submitted to the Doctoral Program Office. Students designate two of the six fields listed above as primary and secondary subject fields, and four as “minor” fields. The primary field is always the student’s special field. The secondary field may be a disciplinary or methodological area where the student has completed two or more PhD-level half-courses. In the minor fields, students may demonstrate proficiency by:

1. Passing a written field exam, known as a “qualifying exam,” if one is offered, or
2. Taking two PhD-level courses, except in both Quantitative Empirical Methods and Qualitative Empirical Methods, where only one doctoral-level course is required in each field.

Qualifying exams are routinely offered in Analytic Methods in January, and in Public Management in May.

Oral General Examination

The General Examination is an oral examination lasting from 60 to 90 minutes, in which the student’s mastery of two fields is tested. Students propose their fields, one being a primary field of substantive interest and one a secondary field which may be a disciplinary or methodological area. The fundamental purpose of the exam is to determine whether the student has achieved sufficient understanding of scholarship in the fields to be considered someone with expertise. In particular, the exam helps indicate whether the student has sufficient grounding in the literatures that are likely to be most pertinent for writing a successful dissertation. More broadly, the exam provides an assessment of the student's academic preparation and aptitude, as well as the student's interest in and prospects for a successful career after completion of the PhD.

Special Fields of Interest

The purpose of this requirement is to establish a solid foundation for future research. Students should seek PhD-level courses that broaden and deepen their knowledge in the special field. Most Harvard Kennedy School courses and seminars are targeted toward practitioners rather than scholars and do not normally serve as PhD-level courses. As a consequence, at least part of the special field work will normally be done in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or other graduate units outside the Kennedy School.

A plan of study that includes the syllabus for each proposed course in the special field must be submitted to the Program Office for approval at the beginning of each year.

Many tracks in a variety of fields are possible.  Three pre-approved tracks include Environmental and Natural Resource Policy; International Development; and Judgment and Decision Making.

Dissertation

Following the preparation of a written prospectus at the end of the third year, students usually complete their dissertation research and writing within two years.

Dissertations may be written as either one multi-chapter work, or a collection of three independently publishable, substantively linked essays. The degree is conferred by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after the public oral thesis defense.

View a complete list of dissertations written from 1972 to the present in the Public Policy Dissertations Archive.

Guidelines for Dissertation Prospectus

It is important to identify possible dissertation committee members by the end of the second year in residence. Two principle advisors must approve the dissertation prospectus in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies after the oral presentation at the end of the third year. The prospectus for a multi-chapter thesis should include at least the following:

• A statement of the question, or set of questions, to be investigated
• A succinct summary of what is known and not known about the research questions
• A careful discussion of the methodology(ies) to be employed
• An evaluation of data and qualitative evidence sources to be tapped, identifying, inter alia, risks that needed materials might not be available and a strategy for dealing with those risks
• A time schedule for completing the dissertation; and the names of two faculty members who have agreed to serve on the three-person dissertation committee

The prospectus for a 3-paper dissertation must include:

• One completed paper
• Written plans for two papers
• The executive summary linking the three papers is not done until the dissertation is completed