Financing your graduate school degree can make or break your ability to attend your dream school. No matter what program or school you attend, you will need to figure out how to make your dreams a financial reality. Fellowships are a great way to cover a portion of a program’s cost or sometimes the entire amount.
In this month’s Ask The Art of Applying® series question, we will focus on fellowships for a few specific programs. We recently worked with a client interested in obtaining a joint degree MPA/ID from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MUP from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. The client was also interested in applying to the MPA program at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Our client asked:
“Are there any suggestions for fellowship opportunities at Harvard Kennedy School – MPA/ID, Harvard Graduate School of Design – MUP, and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs MPA?“
Before we get into specific fellowship opportunities, let’s talk a bit about each of these programs.
Harvard Kennedy School – MPA/ID
The Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School is a 2-year program for students interested in solving global problems. Our consultant, Adam, shared that this program is highly technical. Regarding coursework, he said, “A lot of the courses are going to be similar to if you were doing a Master’s in economics or a Ph.D. in economics.”
So who is a good fit for the program? Adam shared, “Usually, they’re looking for someone who doesn’t necessarily have to have that much more work experience than someone getting their Master’s in Public Policy…but you do have to be very familiar with quantitative subjects…You might even be doing a little bit of coding in R or Stata…This generally is for folks who want to jump into the numbers to solve big international issues.”
Harvard Graduate School of Design – MUP
The client was interested in obtaining a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) joint degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Our consultant Adam affirmed that this degree would make a lot of sense to pursue concurrently with an MPA. He shared, “[This program is] all about designing the way that cities work, so if you also understand public policy, it’s going to be very helpful in actually getting some of those projects done at a local level.”
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs MPA
The MPA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, formerly known as the Princeton Woodrow Wilson School, is also a 2-year program. The most important thing to know is that this program is that it is fully-funded.
According to Princeton, “All MPA students receive 100% of tuition and required fees support. Additionally, the School offers a need-based stipend for living expenses for two years of study… Applicants must complete the Statement of Financial Resources as a part of the online application.”
Scholarship opportunities at Harvard
While being accepted into Princeton’s MPA program may not require much additional financial help, Harvard programs are a different story.
One of our consultants, Virginia, chimed in with an important reminder about fellowship information in general, “The best resource for these scholarships/fellowships are the schools themselves.”
With that in mind, Virginia shared a list of places to look for more information about the fellowship and scholarship opportunities from the schools’ websites.
- Harvard Kennedy School – Student Financial Services Funding Resource Database
- Harvard Graduate School of Design – Financial Aid application
Virginia also shared some additional resources from outside of the schools:
- (Related to the MUP) American Planning Association Scholarships
- University of Chicago Fellowship Database
Our CEO and founder, Kaneisha, followed up with a link to some Center for Public Leadership fellowships to help fund the MPA program.
Harvard describes the benefits of the fellowships: “In addition to receiving tuition support, our students participate in a robust cohort-based co-curricular program grounded in servant leadership and experiential learning designed to deepen self-awareness, cultural humility, collaboration, and social responsibility.”
Every applicant is different, so some fellowships that may have applied to our client might not make sense for you. Here is the full list of Center for Public Leadership fellowships. Note that each of them requires a separate application:
| Louis and Gabrielle Bacon Fellowship | For students interested in protecting the environment | ||
| Black Family Fellowship | For U.S. veterans | ||
| Dubin Graduate Fellowship for Emerging Leaders | For students committed to creating community change | ||
| Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellowship | For students from the UAE or Middle East | ||
| Fellowship for Serving African American Communities | For students from any race or ethnicity working to reduce disparities in African American and other underserved communities in the U.S. | ||
| George Leadership Fellowship | For students pursuing a joint degree with Harvard Business School | ||
| Gleitsman Leadership Fellowship | For students interested in social change | ||
| U.S. Latino Leadership Fellowship | For students from any race or ethnicity who are committed agents of transformation in underserved communities in the U.S. | ||
| David M. Rubenstein Fellowship | For students interested in the intersection of public policy and business | ||
| Wexner Israel Fellowship | For students from Israel | ||
| Zuckerman Fellows Program | For outstanding students in any field – business, law, or medicine | ||
The Center for Public Leadership fellowships can help fund degrees for people from various backgrounds. Of course, managing scholarship applications on top of your school application can be a lot to handle. Having an expert to help you along your application process can make a big difference.
Adam shared, “If you’re working with The Art of Applying®, your consultant is going to look at [your application] materials alongside you and probably has gone to a program like the ones you’re looking at yourself, so will be very familiar with what goes into each of these [applications].”
If you’re looking for some feedback on your application or want to know how to give yourself the best shot at receiving funding, our team can help. Sign up for a quick call, and we can talk through your questions. Keep an eye on our blog for next month’s edition of Ask The Art of Applying®!
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