The Joint PhD Program (2019)

Economics and Public Policy Political Science and Public Policy Sociology and Public Policy

The Joint PhD Program

The Ford School Joint PhD Program PhD in Economics and Public Policy PhD in Political Science and Public Policy PhD in Sociology and Public Policy Details: fordschool.umich.edu/PhD

T

“DI SCI P L I NE P L U S” he Ford School’s joint doctoral program—in which candidates combine their public policy studies with disciplinary work in economics, political science, or sociology—represents a unique approach. Pioneered

here at the University of Michigan in 2001, the model is still shared with just a handful of other universities.

All of our doctoral students complete a PhD in one of the University of Michigan’s world-class social sciences—economics, political science, or sociology. They become full members of their disciplinary departments, taking a rigorous sequence of theory and methods courses.

In addition, our students become active participants in the Ford School’s collaborative, interdisciplinary, outstanding public policy community, working with world-renowned faculty who are also enthusiastic teachers and mentors.

The program is designed to appeal to students who want to pursue research careers in a traditional social science discipline and who see themselves as deeply committed to the study of public policy.

Our goal is for joint PhD students to bring the most rigorous tools of social science to bear on critical public policy questions.

M eet a f ew o f o ur

graduates

The Ford School at Michigan

Angel Harris (PhD ’05) Professor of Sociology, Duke University Harris’ dissertation, “Do African Americans Really Resist School: An In-Depth Examination of the Oppositional Culture Theory”, won the 2005 Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award.

● Academic

FIRST J O B S

● Consulting

PhD in Economics and Public Policy (32 graduates)

Eighty six students have completed our program since its founding in 2001, and they’ve had impressive success on the job market. They’ve earned tenureMinnesota, and more; prestigious post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and others;

13%

and research posts with organizations such as Mathematica, the Gates Foundation, the Federal

● Research

PhD in Political Science and Public Policy (26 graduates)

8% 4%

16%

track faculty positions at Cornell, Duke, Penn State,

● Government

53%

PhD in Sociology and Public Policy (28 graduates)

11% 11% 3%

19%

19%

● Foundation

69%

75%

Reserve Board, and the U.S. Department of State.

A Diverse

Community Current class (37 students)

G ENERO US SUP PORT All of our PhD students receive five years of funding, contingent on satisfactory performance. The funding covers tuition, health insurance, and a stipend. Support may be in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, and/or teaching assistantships. Students are strongly encouraged to seek both teaching and research experience while in the program.

3% 22% 57% 43%

Non-U.S. Students of color

(U.S. only)

Female Male

Jessica Goldberg (PhD ’11)

Christina Cross (PhD ’19)

Associate Professor of Economics, University of Maryland

Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor of Sociology, Harvard University

Dissertation: Experimental Evidence about Earning, Saving, and Borrowing Money in Rural Malawi

Dissertation: The Color, Class, and Context of Family Structure and Its Association with Children’s Educational Performance

Co nta ct us Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan Joan and Sanford Weill Hall 735 S. State Street

HOW TO A PPL Y Admission to our joint doctoral programs is highly competitive.

Prospective students apply directly to the Ford School of Public Policy.

Students must designate one of the three social sciences—economics, political science, or sociology—at the time of application. The application files of those recommended for admission by the Ford School are simultaneously

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091 fspp-admissions@umich.edu 734-764-0453 (phone) Regents of the University of Michigan Jordan B. Acker, Huntington Woods Michael J. Behm, Grand Blanc

reviewed by the appropriate social science department for consideration.

Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor

Prospective students do not need to seek or secure a faculty advisor

Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe

prior to application.

Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms

2017–2019

Paul W. Brown, Ann Arbor

Ron Weiser, Ann Arbor

Applied

Accepted Matriculated

Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor Mark S. Schlissel, ex officio

Economics

387 19 9

© 2019 The Regents of the University of Michigan

Political Science

149 10 5

A Non-discriminatory, Affirmative Action Employer

Sociology

188 9 4

D EAD L I N E: D ecember 1 5

Alexandra Resch (PhD ’08) Senior Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research Dissertation: ”Three Essays on Resources in Education”

The Ford School at Michigan

LaGina Gause (PhD ’16) Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California–San Diego Dissertation: The Advantage of Disadvantage: Legislative Responsiveness to Collective Action by the Politically Marginalized

Details: fordschool.umich.edu/PhD