Doctoral Programs
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The Andrew Young School continues to have broad international representation within its entering doctoral classes. The cross-cultural exchanges that occur between AYSPS students enhance their educational experience and broaden their perspectives on the pressing international issues within each of their academic disciplines. Countries represented by new doctoral students include: Turkey, India, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Kenya, China, Nigeria, Korea, Argentina, Zimbabwe and the United States.

Newly Admitted Doctoral Students

Twenty-six new students joined the school's doctoral programs in 2004; 17 in Economics and nine in Public Policy.

In the economics program, 10 newly admitted students are male; seven are female. Their ages range from 21 to 34 years of age, with an average age of 26. In our public policy program, five are male and four are female. The age range is considerably broader than in the economics program, extending from 23 to 48, with six of nine over the age of 30. Interestingly, only four of the 17 economics students are over age 30. But whether the students have had a strictly academic career to date or whether they come from extensive professional backgrounds as policy analysts or directors of local governance, a consistent theme between both programs is the desire of the students to make significant contributions to the world by influencing economic development and policy decisions.

Professions represented in this year's class of doctoral students reflect a broad range of life experiences, including: a foreign exchange trader, an economist, a credit manager, an engineer analyst, a lawyer, a policy analyst with the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning in Seoul, Korea, a biostatistician, an agricultural officer and a president/CEO of a consulting firm.

The school's mission statement is "to create and disseminate knowledge and analytic methods that are highly valued by policy makers and leaders in the public, nonprofit and business worlds; and to educate students who are highly qualified and sought after as policy analysts, program evaluators, and designers of administrative systems." Without question, this year's entering class of outstanding doctoral students in both programs provides the Andrew Young School with this opportunity.