Connecting fellowship and public service

Graduate students with aspirations for public service are more inclined to follow their dreams when they have opportunities to connect their coursework with the world of practice. That is the takeaway from a new analysis of the Rappaport Public Policy Fellows Program carried out by Professor Edward Glaeser, who directs HKS’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, and others affiliated with the Institute.

Titled “The Impact of the Rappaport Public Policy Fellows Program on Career Trajectories,” the analysis compared career paths taken by more than 100 former Boston-area graduate students who received the Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship with the career trajectories of almost 100 applicants who made it to the final selection round but did not receive the fellowship (or were offered one and did not accept it).

Now in its twelfth year, the fellowship each year gives about a dozen graduate students in policy-related programs from throughout greater Boston, the opportunity to work full time for a public-sector entity in the region. Throughout the summer, Institute staff and outside mentors work with the students throughout the summer to ensure that their experience is going well. Each week the students meet as a group to discuss their work, hear from outside speakers, or go on field visits to a variety of sites in the region.

The full analysis is available on the Rappaport Institute’s website.