Yale University- Jackson School of Global Affairs

About this program

Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs builds on Yale’s centuries long tradition of educating global leaders. Yale’s graduates include five U.S. presidents; seven U.S. Secretaries of State; the presidents or prime ministers of Mexico, South Korea, Germany, and Iceland; numerous ambassadors; and many heads of private and non-profit enterprises that contribute to the public good such as Human Rights Watch, Mercy Corps, Ashoka, Unite for Sight, and the Peace Corps.

Jackson’s M.P.P. program is designed to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of global affairs. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides students with a shared intellectual foundation focused on acquisition of the ideas, ways of thinking, and skills needed for leadership in global affairs. Students also have unusual flexibility to design an individualized course of study around those issues by taking advantage of the extraordinary breadth of courses and resources at Jackson and across Yale. All students admitted to the M.P.P. program receive a 100% tuition fellowship.

The M.P.P. program is small by design, with about 40 students in each entering class. Coming with diverse backgrounds and career interests, Jackson’s graduate students form an intimate and close-knit community. Our size and approach create a dynamic atmosphere as students become a resource to each other and a window to the diversity and complexity of the global affairs field.

Our students leave Jackson with lifelong connections to colleagues working around the world in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors in diverse fields that include policy analysis, security analysis, trade and economic development, foreign affairs, human rights, international finance, and environmental policy.

Take classes from across all of Yale's schools and departments, and take advantage of joint degrees with Yale Law School, Yale School of Management, Yale School of Public Health, and Yale School of the Environment. Study with Yale Faculty and Senior Fellows who include former ambassadors, intelligence officials, and military leaders.

• Year partnership began: 2003
• Fellowships awarded per year (average): 1-2

Application requirements

Online application, all transcripts, GRE, resume, three letters of recommendation, statement of purpose

Admissions process

All RPCVs interested in being considered for the Coverdell Fellowship must upload a 500 word-max Peace Corps Fellowship Statement to the online application indicating how the fellowship fits into their academic and professional plans, and how they plan to fulfill the Coverdell requirement of completing an internship in an underserved American community. Coverdell Fellows are named after intent to matriculate decisions are made.

Degrees awarded

Master in Public Policy (M.P.P.) in Global Affairs

Benefits and opportunities

Net cost is equal to tuition/fees minus fellowship value. For some universities, the fellowship value includes non-tuition/fee benefits such as health insurance or housing. See cost savings details for more.

Estimated annual cost of living: $26,000

Cost savings details

Coverdell Fellows receive an application waiver and a full tuition scholarship.

Internship

All M.P.P. students at Jackson are eligible to receive funding for unpaid summer internships. Since most Jackson summer experiences are international in nature, most Coverdell Fellows complete their 150 hour Coverdell internship requirement during the academic year over the course of their two years.

Other opportunities

Coverdell Fellows are eligible for additional merit-based and need-aware scholarships for living expenses. Coverdell Fellows are also eligible to apply for teaching, research, and residential assistantships.

Jobs for alumni

Recent graduates have been successful in landing impressive positions in the United States and abroad. Some examples include: Associate Expert with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee; Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of Policy at the Department of Energy; Information Officer at USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs; Senior Policy Associate with Innovations for Poverty Action; Foreign Service Officer with the US State Department, and Fellow at NATO in Brussels. Others have gone into threat analysis with Microsoft, Google, and Graphika. Joint School of Management alumni are working for Goldman Sachs and McKinsey, and one is a Climate Tech Investment Associate with CT Innovations. A joint Law School alumnus is a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice. In addition, five Jackson alumni were selected as Presidential Management Fellow finalists, another is a McCain Fellow, and another is a National Security Fellow working for a US Senator.

Please click here for more information about careers.

Nontraditional options

University website