The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (also known as Harvard Kennedy School and HKS) is a public policy and public administration school, of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public administration, and international development, grants several doctoral degrees, and many executive education programs. It conducts research in subjects relating to politics, government, international affairs, and economics.
The School's primary campus is located on John F. Kennedy Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The main buildings overlook the Charles River, southwest of Harvard Yard and Harvard Square, on the site of a former MBTA Red Line trainyard. The School is adjacent to the public riverfront John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.
In 2015, Douglas Elmendorf, the former director of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office who had previously served as a Harvard faculty member, was named Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy. From 2004 to 2015, the School's Dean was David Ellwood, who was also the Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy at HKS. Previously, Ellwood was an assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration.
A major expansion and renovation of the campus began in 2015, with completion expected in 2018.
Harvard Kennedy School was originally the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration (GSPA), and was founded in 1936 with a $2 million gift (equivalent to ~$30 million in 2010) from Lucius N. Littauer, a graduate of Harvard College. Its shield was designed to express the national purpose of the school and was modeled after the U.S. shield. The School drew its initial faculty from Harvard's existing government and economics departments, and welcomed its first students in 1937.
The School's original home was in the Littauer Center north of Harvard Yard, now the home of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Economics Department. The first students at the Graduate School were so-called "Littauer Fellows," participating in a one-year course listing which later developed into the school's mid-career Master in Public Administration program. In the 1960s, the School began to develop today's public policy degree and course curriculum in the Master in Public Policy program.
Renaming and move
In 1966, the School was renamed for President John F. Kennedy. By 1978, the faculty—notably presidential scholar and adviser Richard Neustadt, foreign policy scholar and later dean of the School Graham Allison, Richard Zeckhauser, and Edith Stokey—had orchestrated the consolidation of the School's programs and research centers in the present campus. Under the terms of Littauer's original grant, the current HKS campus also features a building called Littauer.
In addition to playing a critical role in the development of the School's modern era, Neustadt, who at the time served as the Assistant Dean, was also the founding Director of the Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP), created in 1966 in honor of President Kennedy. The IOP has been housed on the Kennedy School campus since 1978, and today the Institute puts on a series of programs, speeches and study groups for Harvard undergraduates and graduate students. The John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum in the new Littauer building is both the site of IOP forum events as well as a major social gathering place between HKS courses.
In 2012 the school announced a $500m fundraising campaign of which over $120m was to be used to significantly expand the campus adding 91,000 square feet of space that will include six new classrooms, a new kitchen and dining facility, offices and meeting spaces, a new student lounge and study space, more collaboration and active learning spaces as well as a redesigned central courtyard. Ground breaking commenced on May 7, 2015 and is expected to be complete in early 2018. The school has stated that the new space will be used exclusively to cater to the needs of the existing class sizes and that there will not be a major expansion in the size of the student body.
Currently, Harvard Kennedy School offers four master's degree programs. The Master of Public Policy (MPP) program focuses on policy analysis, economics, management in the public sector, and policy design.
There are also three separate Master in Public Administration (MPA) programs: a one-year "mid-career program" (MC/MPA), intended for professionals more than seven years after college graduation; a two-year MPA program intended for professionals that have an additional graduate degree and are more recently out of school; and a two-year International Development track (MPA/ID) focused on development studies with a strong emphasis on economics and quantitative analysis.
Among the members of the mid-career MPA class are the Mason Fellows, who are public and private executives from developing countries. Mason Fellows typically constitute about 50% of the incoming class of Mid Career MPA candidates.
In addition to the master's programs, HKS also administers four doctoral programs. PhD degrees are awarded in Political Economy and Government, Public Policy, and Social Policy, in conjunction with the Departments of Government and Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as well as in Health Policy, in conjunction with FAS and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Joint and concurrent degrees
The Harvard Kennedy School has a number of joint and concurrent degree programs, within Harvard and with other leading universities, which allow students to receive multiple degrees in a reduced period of time. Joint and current students spend at least one year in residence in Cambridge taking HKS courses. At Harvard, HKS joint degree programs are run with Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, and concurrent programs are offered with Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Medical School.
Beyond Harvard, HKS has concurrent degree arrangements with other law, business, and medical schools. These include: MIT Sloan School of Management; Stanford Business School; Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Columbia Law School; Duke University School of Law; Georgetown University Law Center; New York University School of Law; Northwestern University School of Law; Stanford Law School; University of California, Berkeley School of Law; University of Michigan Law School; University of Pennsylvania Law School; Yale Law School; and UCSF Medical Center.
Abroad, HKS offers a dual degree with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
HKS courses are organized across six areas, called a Policy Area of Concentration, on which they focus their coursework, take a year-long research seminar in their second year, and prepare a master's thesis, called a Policy Analysis Exercise. The school divides the school and HKS course listing into six areas, each headed by a faculty "area chair." The areas and chairs for HKS courses are:
Management, Leadership and Decision Sciences (MLD) – Hannah Riley Bowles
International and Global Affairs (IGA) – William C. Clark
Democracy, Politics and Institutions (DPI) – Arthur Applbaum
International Development (DEV) – Rohini Pande
Social and Urban Policy (SUP) – Amitabh Chandra
Markets, Business and Government (MBG) – Brigitte Madrian
Digital Government: Technology, Policy, and Public Service Innovation (DPI) - David Eaves
In addition to offerings in the HKS course listing, students are eligible to cross-register for many courses at the other graduate and professional schools at Harvard. Students are also able to sample beyond the Harvard and HKS course listing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.
Harvard Kennedy School receives high rankings in the U.S. News & World Report listing of top graduate schools of public affairs. In the 2015 rankings, HKS is ranked third overall, and is ranked first in the subcategory of health policy, second in public policy analysis and social policy. Kennedy's foreign affairs offerings are also ranked at or near the top of Foreign Policy magazine's Inside the Ivory Tower survey, which lists the world's top twenty international relations programs at the undergraduate, Master's and Ph.D. levels. In 2012, for example, the survey ranked HKS first overall for doctoral and undergraduate programs and third overall in the Master's category.
There is an active student life at HKS. Most of the activities are centered on interest-driven student 'caucuses,' the student government (Kennedy School Student Government, known as KSSG), student-edited policy journals, such as the Kennedy School Review and the Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, a student newspaper (The Citizen), and a number of athletic groups.
Elections for HKS student government are among the most lively of the activities at the School. The KSSG is led by a President, Executive Vice President, functional Vice Presidents (Academic Affairs, International Student Affairs, Professional Development, Diversity and Inclusion among others) and Class Representatives from all the graduate programs of HKS. The KSSG is also responsible for overseeing the interest caucuses at the School.
Kennedy School Student Government Presidents and Executive VPs List
2007–2008: Doug Levine
2008–2009: Ben Polk – Marcos Santiago
2009–2010: Dave Baumwoll – Ryan Andersoff
2010–2011: Imran Alimohammed – Zach Kushner
2011–2012: Sherry Hakimi – Georgeta (Geta) Dragoiu
2012–2013: Rohit Malhotra – Lara Rosner
2013–2014: Jieun Baek – Maggie Williams
2014–2015: Allister Chang – Justin Hartley
2015–2016: Pitichoke Chulapamornsri – Derek Pham
Students can join the Harvard Graduate Student Government, colloquially known as "the HGSG" and formerly known as the "Harvard Graduate Council" or "HGC", is the university-wide representative student government for the twelve graduate and professional schools of Harvard University. The HGSG is responsible for advocating student concerns to central administrators – including the President of Harvard University, Provost, Deans of Students, and Deans for the nearly 15,000 graduate and professional students across the twelve schools, organizing large university-wide initiatives and events, administering and providing funding for university-wide student groups (USGs), and representing the Harvard graduate student population to other universities and external organizations. The HGSG has become well known for creating and executing on advocacy initiatives and events focused on the "One Harvard" movement.
The courtyard between the main Kennedy School buildings is a key attraction for students, who gather there to work on their assignments, have lunch, or relax. During the warmer months, the School frequently sponsors beer and barbecue events which give students the opportunity to socialize. During the colder months, "Quorum Calls" are held in one of the indoor atriums, to celebrate the end of each week of HKS courses with friends.
Harvard Kennedy School is home to 14 centers, several of which are located at HKS but University-wide.
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Center for International Development
Center for Public Leadership
Institute of Politics
Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Taubman Center for State and Local Government
Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Joint Center for Housing Studies
Women and Public Policy Program
Government and politics
Heads of State
Juan Manuel Santos (MPA '81) – President of Colombia, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (MPA '71) – President of Liberia, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Lee Hsien Loong (MPA '80) – Prime Minister of Singapore
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (MPA '00) – former President of Mexico
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (MPA '02) – President of Mongolia
Miguel de la Madrid (MPA '65) – former President of Mexico
Jamil Mahuad (MPA '89) – former President of Ecuador
Eduardo Rodríguez (MPA '88) – former President of Bolivia
Carlos Salinas de Gortari (MPA '73, PhD '76) – former President of Mexico
José María Figueres (MPA '91) – former President of Costa Rica, CEO of the World Economic Forum
Pierre Elliott Trudeau (MA '45, GSPA) – former Prime Minister of Canada
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali (MPA '99) – former Prime Minister of Somalia
Tshering Tobgay (MPA '04) – Prime Minister of Bhutan
Frederick Sumaye (MPA '07) former Prime Minister of Tanzania
Sir Donald Tsang (MPA '82) – Hong Kong Chief Executive
Others
Muhammad bin Ibrahim (MPA '93) – 8th Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia
Nóirín O'Sullivan (Exec '07) – Police Commissioner of Garda Síochána, Ireland's national police service
Keith Hennessey (MPP '94) – former director, White House National Economic Council
T. N. Seshan (MPA '68) – former Chief Election Commissioner of India
T. S. R. Subramanian (MPA) – former Cabinet Secretary of India
Taku Otsuka (MPP '05) – a member of the House of Representatives of Japan
Toshimitsu Motegi (MPP '83) – Financial Services Minister of Japan
Yasuhisa Shiozaki (MPA '82) – former Chief Cabinet Secretary, Japan
Pete Rouse (MPA '77) – White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama
Rafael Hui (MPA '83) – former Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong
Božidar Đelić (MPA '91) – Vice-President of Serbia, former Minister of Finance
Paul Volcker (MA '51, GSPA) – former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve; economic advisor to President Barack Obama
Syahrir (MPA '80, PhD '83) – Economic Adviser in the Republic of Indonesia's Council of Presidential Advisors
David Cunliffe (MPA '95) – Leader of the Opposition, Parliament of New Zealand
John Tsang (MPA '82) – Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
Natalie Jaresko (MPP '89) – former Minister of Finance in Ukraine
Lim Hng Kiang (MPA '85) – Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore; member of the Cabinet of Singapore
Hector Gramajo (MPA '95) – former Defense Minister of Guatemala
Teo Chee Hean (MPA '86) – Deputy Prime Minister, Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore
Tharman Shanmugaratnam (MPA) – Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower of Singapore
Adolfo Aguilar Zínser (MPA '78) – former Mexican National Security Adviser and Ambassador to the United Nations
Yam Ah Mee (MPA '91) – Chief Executive Director of People's Association, Singapore
Bob Anthony (MPA) – Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Ami Ayalon (MPA '92) – member, Israeli Knesset
Marilinda Garcia (MPP '10) - State Representative, New Hampshire House of Representatives
Ed Balls (MPA '90) – former British Member of the Parliament and Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Nisrin Barwari (MPA '99) – Minister of Municipalities and Public Works of Iraq
Doug Bereuter (MPA '73) – former U.S. Congressman, Nebraska
Charles A. Blanchard (lawyer) (MPP '85) – General Counsel of the Army 1999-2001, General Counsel of the Air Force 2009-2013
J. Richard Blankenship (MPA '08) – former U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas
André Boisclair (MPA '05) – former leader of Parti Québécois, former Quebec Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Nicholas Boles (MPP '89) – former director of Policy Exchange, now Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)
Emilia Boncodin (MPA '86) – Secretary of the Philippine Department of Budget and Management in the Philippines
Brendan F. Boyle (MPP '05) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 13th District of Pennsylvania
David A. Bray (Exec '11) – recipient of the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership for lifelong public service
Piper Anne Wind Campbell (MPA '99) – American diplomat, currently serves as the 9th U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia
Robert Castelli (MPA '96) – member, New York State Assembly, 89th District
Rajkumar Chellaraj (MPA '86) – former Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, United States Department of State
Frank Chikane (MPA '95) – member, African National Congress; South African adviser to the President
Aneesh Chopra (MPP '97) – U.S. Chief Technology Officer under President Barack Obama
Albert Chua (MPA '00) – former Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations
Henry Cisneros (MPA '73) – former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Jacqueline Y. Collins (MPA '01) – Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 16th district since 2003
Gerry Connolly (MPA '79) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 11th District of Virginia
Joseph Curtatone (MPA '11) – mayor, Somerville, Massachusetts
Mark Daly (MPA, '11) – Irish Senator
Stephen Donnelly (MPA '08) – Irish Teachta Dála (Member of Parliament) for the Wicklow constituency
Shaun Donovan (MPA '95) – U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Theodore L. Eliot, Jr. (MPA '56) – former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
Anna Escobedo Cabral (MPA '90) – former U.S. Treasurer
Roy Folkman (MPA '13) – member, Israeli Knesset
Marilinda Garcia (MPA '10) – member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
Fernando Martín García (MPP '74) – Puerto Rican politician and former Senator
Robert S. Gelbard (MPA '79) – former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia and Bolivia
Alan Grayson (MPP '83) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 8th District of Florida
Katherine Harris (MPA '97) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 13th District of[Florida; former Florida Secretary of State
Yoshimasa Hayashi (MPA '94) – former Minister of Defense, former Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Japan
Paul Heroux, (MPA '11) State Representative from Massachusetts
Brian Higgins (MPA '96) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 27th District of New York
Stephen Horn (MPA '55) – former U.S. Congressman, California
Vuk Jeremić (MPA '03) – 2012 President of the United Nations General Assembly; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia
Shane Jones (MPA '91) – member, Parliament of New Zealand, and chair of finance committee
Mitzi Johnson (MPA '13) - Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives
Ban Ki-moon (MPA '84) – United Nations Secretary General
Raymond W. Kelly (MPA '84) – New York City Police Commissioner
Jim Langevin (MPA '94) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District of Rhode Island
Andrew Leigh (PhD '04) – member, Australian House of Representatives
Mark D. Levine (MPP '95) – member, New York City Council, 7th District
Stephen F. Lynch (MPA '99) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 9th District of Massachusetts
Dan Maffei (MPP '95) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 25th District of New York
Nabiel Makarim (MPA '84) – former Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Indonesia
Mark McClellan (MPA '91) – former Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration
Jim Moody (MPA '67) – former U.S. Congressman, Wisconsin
Elias Mudzuri (MPA ) – former Mayor of Harare
George Muñoz (MPP '78) – former CFO of the U.S. Department of Treasury; former president and CEO of OPIC
Charles A. Murphy, (MPA '02), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
Andrew Natsios (MPA '79) former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, and administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development
Naheed Nenshi (MPP '98) mayor of Calgary since 2010
Christine Nixon (MPA '85) – Chief Commissioner of Victoria, Australia Police
Herbert S. Okun (MPA '59) – former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Francis Pangilinan (MPA '98) – Senator and the Majority Leader of the Senate of the Philippines
Marcus Peacock (MPP '86) – former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Yohanan Plesner (MPA '04) – member, Israeli Knesset
Larry Pressler (MPA '66) – former U.S. Senator from South Dakota
William Proxmire (MPA '48) – former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
Jack Reed (MPP '73) – U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
Angelo Reyes (MPA '90) – Secretary of Energy of the Philippines; former Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines
Jesse Robredo (MPA '99) – Secretary of Interior and Local Government of the Philippines; received the Quezon Service Cross
Joe Sestak (MPA '84) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District of Pennsylvania
Rob Simmons (MPA '79) – former U.S. Congressman, Connecticut
Barry Smitherman (MPA) – member of the Texas Railroad Commission
Nancy Sutley (MPP '86) – Director of White House Council on Environmental Quality
William B. Taylor, Jr. (MPP '77) – U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Peter G. Torkildsen (MPA '90) – former U.S. Congressman, Massachusetts; former chair of Massachusetts Republican Party
Robert Torricelli (MPA '80) – former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
Chris Van Hollen (MPP '85) – member, U.S. House of Representatives, 8th District of Maryland
Kevin White (MA '57, GSPA) – former Mayor of Boston
David Wilhelm (MPP '90) – campaign manager, Clinton/Gore '92; former chair, Democratic National Committee
Anthony A. Williams (MPP '87) – former Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Gita Wirjawan (MPA '00) – Minister of Trade, former Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, Republic of Indonesia
Ayisha Osori – former CEO, Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund
Lester R. Brown (MPA '62) – founder and President of the Earth Policy Institute
Robert Kagan (MPP '91) – co-founder, Project for a New American Century
Nancy LeaMond (MPP '74) – Executive Vice President, AARP
Michelle Rhee (MPP '97) – founder of The New Teacher Project; Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system
Bryan Stevenson (MPP '85) - founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and author of Just Mercy
John C. Acton (Exec '05), a retired United States Coast Guard rear admiral who serves as the Director of Operations Coordination for DHS.
John R. Allen, Jr. (Exec '85) – retired United States Air Force brigadier general and highly decorated command pilot
William J. Begert (Exec '95) – served as commander, Pacific Air Forces, and Air Component Commander for the Commander, United States Pacific Command
Franklin J. Blaisdell (Exec) – U.S. Air Force Major General
Sally Brice-O'Hara (MPA '93) – 27th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard
Michael E. Fortney (Exec '11) – U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
Jeffrey Fowler (MPA '90) – United States Navy, Vice Admiral; Superintendent, United States Naval Academy
John C. Harvey (MPA '88) – United States Navy, Admiral; Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command
Robert C. Hinson (Exec) – U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General
William E. Ingram, Jr. (Exec '02) – U.S. Army Lieutenant General and Director of the Army National Guard
Richard C. Johnston (Exec) – U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. (MPA '80) – United States Army, Lt. Col.; author of The Army and Vietnam
Rick Linnehan (MPA '09) – astronaut
Christopher Loria (MPA '04) – astronaut
Robert W. Parker (Exec '91) – U.S. Air Force Major General
Timothy S. Sullivan (Exec) – U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral
Guy C. Swan III (MPA '86) – U.S. Army Major General, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington
Jack Weinstein (Exec '06) – U.S. Air Force Major General
William Alonso (MPP '56) – economist, former director of Harvard Center for Population Studies
Lawrence S. Bacow (MPP '76, PhD '76) – President of Tufts University
Steve Charnovitz (MPP '83) – associate professor, George Washington University
Ronald A. Heifetz (MPA '83) – co-founder, Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University
Stephen Horn (MPA '55) – former president of California State University, Long Beach
Ira Jackson (MPA '86) – Dean, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University
Mark Lilla (MPP '80) – professor, Columbia University
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (MPA '66) – former president of George Washington University
Jonathan Zittrain (MPA '95) – professor, Harvard Law School; co-founder Berkman Center at Harvard
Komla Dumor (MPA,'03) – television news presenter, BBC World News and Africa Business Report
Mark A. R. Kleiman (MPP, PhD '85) – author
Caroline Glick (MPP '00) – deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post
Kaj Larsen (MPP '07) - Former U.S. Navy SEAL, journalist for Vice News
Dambisa Moyo (MPA '07) – Economist and New York Times best-selling author
Bill O'Reilly (MPA '96) – political commentator
Malik Siraj Akbar (MPA, '16) – editor-in-chief The Baloch Hal, exiled Pakistani journalist
Andrew Sullivan (MPA, PhD '90) – journalist, The Atlantic Monthly
Klaus Schwab (MPA '67) – founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
Faryar Shirzad (MPP '89) – managing director, Goldman Sachs, former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor
Peter Sands (MPA '88) – Group CEO, Standard Chartered
Daniel Mudd (MPA '86) – former president and CEO of U.S. Fannie Mae
Noam Bardin (MPA '03) – CEO of Waze, acquired by Google for $1.1 billion in 2013
Rune Bjerke (MPA '97) – CEO, DNB ASA
Gregory C. Carr (MPP '86) – founder, Boston Technology
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. (MPA '75) – former president of the National League
Debra L. Lee (MPP '80) – President and CEO, Black Entertainment Television
Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg (MPA '71) – founder, President, CEO of Strategic Investment Group
Greg Rosenbaum (MPP '77) – CEO, Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc.
Chris Voss – adjunct professor at McDonough School of Business
Ashley Judd (MC/MPA '10) – Actress, Activist
Hill Harper (MPA '92) – Actor
Thor Steingraber (MPA '09) – Opera Director
Damian Woetzel (MPA '07) – former Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet
