<p>I'm currently in a top PhD program in astrophysics, but have decided I'd much rather leave here with a masters and pursue science policy. I'm in the middle of filling out applications, but I have very little idea what programs look for (I've tried to reach out to my connections, but at best people have heard of people who have done policy after finishing their PhD). I have several questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What do policy PhD programs look for in their personal statements in terms of what you want to do in their program? I have the advantage of also having a degree in international studies from undergrad and a lot of background in sustainability, but it's unclear to me how broad/narrow you need to be in your statement, given that you often need to be a jack of all trades in policy. Do you need to suggest something thesis topic-esque?</p></li>
<li><p>Most places I'm applying ask for writing samples. I'm unclear what's best to give them-- I can give them one of my first-author journal papers, but they wouldn't understand it. I could give them a review paper I had to write for a class which might be slightly more readable for the non-astrophysicist, or I could give them one of the many German literature papers I've written (English version), which they might actually understand.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If anyone has science policy program recommendations, let me know too; I'm just going for the applying to a bunch of places and figuring it out later approach, but I have no concept of how competitive everything is or how good most of the programs are.</p>