Economics and Public Policy

Political Science and Public Policy

Sociology and Public Policy

The Joint PhD Program

The Ford School at Michigan

“DISCIPLINE PLUS”

The 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.

Angel Harris (PhD ’05)Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies, 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.

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

MEEt a fEw of oUr

gRADUATES

GENEroUS SUPPortAll of our PhD students receive five years of funding, contin-gent 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.)

Rachel Potter (PhD ’14)Assistant Professor, Department of Politics, University of Virginia

Potter won the 2013 Founders Award from the American Political Science Association (APSA) for her paper, “Strategic Transparency in Agency Rulemaking.”

fIrSt JoBSSixty-one students have completed our program since its founding in 2001, and they’ve had impressive success on the job market. They’ve earned tenure-track faculty positions at Cornell, Duke, Penn State, Minnesota, and more; prestigious post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and others; and research posts with organizations such as Mathematica, the Gates Foundation, the Federal Reserve Board, and the U.S. Department of State.

11%

16%

73%

20%

20%60%

14%

9%5%

72%

PhD in Economics and Public Policy

(20 graduates)

PhD in Political Science and Public Policy

(19 graduates)

PhD in Sociology and Public Policy

(22 graduates)

27.421%42%67%33%

Average age

Non-U.S.

a DIvErSE

COMMUNITyCurrent class (42 students)

Students of color (U.S. only)

Male

Female

● Academic ● Private Sector ● government ● Research ● Foundation

Robert Garlick (PhD ’13)Assistant Professor of Economics, Duke University

Dissertation: “Essays in Development Economics and Econometrics”

The Ford School at Michigan

How to aPPLYAdmission 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 reviewed by the appropriate social science department for consideration.

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

2012–2014 Applied Accepted Matriculated

Economics 312 15 6

Political Science 168 9 5

Sociology 130 13 6

DEaDLINE: DECEMbER 15

Alexandra Resch (PhD ’08)Senior Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research

Dissertation: ”Three Essays on Resources in Education”

Details: fordschool.umich.edu/PhD

CoNtaCt USgerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of MichiganJoan and Sanford Weill Hall735 S. State StreetAnn Arbor, MI 48109-3091fspp-admissions@umich.edu734-764-7508 (phone)

Regents of the University of Michigan

Mark J. bernstein, Ann Arbor

Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor

Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield Hills

Shauna Ryder Diggs, grosse Pointe

Denise Ilitch, bingham Farms

Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor

Andrew C. Richner, grosse Pointe Park

Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor

Mark S. Schlissel (ex officio)

© 2014 The Regents of the University of Michigan

A Non-discriminatory, Affirmative Action Employer

Anju Mary Paul (PhD ’12)Assistant Professor of Social Sciences, yale–NUS College

Dissertation: “Multinational Maids: Multistate Migration among Aspiring Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers”