<p>I am on track for graduation in 2008 with a BA in History, and possibly Political Science, from Hunter College in NYC. It is my intent to continue on to a MA/PH.D. Social Policy program in Fall 2008, unfortunately I have only been able to find one such program at Berkeley (<a href="http://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/jsp%5B/url%5D">http://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/jsp</a>) and would appreciate a few recommendations for possible safeties.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.65ish at graduation
GRE (General): Taking fall 2007 (decent practice scores)
Ecs: very few, mostly NPO volunteer
Great Recs
Good options for writing samples</p>
<p>Take a look at the School of Social Service Administration at U of Chicago for starters. </p>
<p>As far as the field of social policy, getting into a research-centric social work program (Michigan, Chicago, Berkeley) would be one way of going about it. Programs that have macro, less clinically based coursework, are legitimate feeders into phd track programs.</p>
<p>I've heard from others in the field that going the route of simply public policy (of which there are plenty of great programs) lacks a solid focus on social issues. </p>
<p>btw, I was there a few years ago. I majored in U.S. History and am heading off to get a master's in social work / community development.</p>
<p>Thank you for the recs!
Although I am looking for a social policy program that includes a strong focus on law, labor, or political science -- U Chicago's looks fairly open to individual design.</p>
<p>You might already be thinking along these lines, but if you do go to a "pure" policy program, aim for a university that has strong programs in the other fields you are interested in.</p>
<p>I'm not quite as policy focused, but I wanted to study about key social issues and look at ways that communities can mitigate adversity (in a social sense). As such, the program I will be attending is at a university with a good law school, strong MBA, and well-reputed policy grad program. I have loosely mapped out of my curriculum for the next 3 semesters and I will be able to take a few extra-curric classes in those areas and tailor-suit my coursework to my liking (I say with fingers crossed!)</p>
You might already be thinking along these lines, but if you do go to a "pure" policy program, aim for a university that has strong programs in the other fields you are interested in.</p>
<p>I'm not quite as policy focused, but I wanted to study about key social issues and look at ways that communities can mitigate adversity (in a social sense). As such, the program I will be attending is at a university with a good law school, strong MBA, and well-reputed policy grad program. I have loosely mapped out of my curriculum for the next 3 semesters and I will be able to take a few extra-curric classes in those areas and tailor-suit my coursework to my liking (I say with fingers crossed!)</p>
<p>Best of luck!
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I think we are pretty much on the same track. Before finding Berkeley, I decided if I couldn't find a program that completely met my needs, a university that offered programs in each field could be shaped into a dream doctoral program. Thank you for the good wishes! Good luck to you as well!</p>
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[quote]
Harvard has a very good social policy program. You can use this as your safety.
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<p>Haha, Harvard really isn't a safety. Probably many would disagree, but Harvard has never impressed me, and those who truly covet a Harvard degree will not miss my non-competition, lol. Thanks for the rec!</p>