Harvard Kennedy School Application Advice for 2022
Note: As of October 18, 2022, the content in this article is currently being updated by Kaneisha Grayson.
originally written July 13, 2011
As the founder of The Art of Applying® and an MPA/MBA alumna of Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, I have spent 12+ years leading a consultant team that has helped 100+ paid clients successfully apply to Harvard Kennedy School.
Below is some clear, actionable advice to help guide you as you work on your 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application for the MPP, MPA, MPA Mid-Career, MPA/MC Mason Fellow, MPA-ID, and the MPP/MBA, MPA/MBA, and MPA-ID/MBA joint degree applications.
Be sure to return to this post as you work on your HKS application. My team and I will update this article with more tips, advice, and guidance as we approach the application deadline.
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Book a free Quick CallSkip to the Harvard Kennedy School application advice that matters most to you:What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?Which degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?When is the 2022 Harvard Kennedy School application deadline?What is the required GPA for Harvard Kennedy School?Harvard Kennedy School does not have a minimum required GPA for admission.
The most competitive applicants to Harvard Kennedy School have an undergraduate GPA of 3.6 or above.
If your undergraduate GPA is 3.4 or below, or if you have several C’s, D’s, F’s, or W’s, I suggest you write the optional essay to explain your low grades and reassure the Harvard Kennedy School admissions committee that you are prepared for the rigors of the Harvard Kennedy School classroom.
Among our paying clients who were admitted to Harvard Kennedy School, the lowest GPA of an admitted applicant was slightly below 2.5. That client worked with us for the 2021 application season.
Click here to read our articles on writing the Harvard Kennedy School optional essay:
Tips for Writing the Harvard Kennedy School Optional Essay
How to Structure the Optional Essay for Harvard Kennedy School
What personal and professional qualities should I highlight in my Harvard Kennedy School application?You want your essays, resume, short answer responses, and letters of recommendation to highlight the personal, professional, and academic qualities that Harvard Kennedy School values in its applicants.
The qualities that Harvard Kennedy School would like to see highlighted in your application are the following:
demonstrated leadership abilities (at work, school, and in community service)experience working on and leading teamsexperience living and/or working abroada demonstrated commitment to public service (in your full-time job and/or extracurricular/out-of-work activities)openness to providing and receiving feedbackability to handle challenging courseworkthe ability to analyze a problem or situation and draw conclusions and make decisionsa high degree of ethics and integrityWhich degree program should I apply to at Harvard Kennedy School?It can be a little confusing keeping all of HKS’ degree programs straight. There’s the MPP, MPA, MC/MPA, MC/MPA Mason Fellows, MPA-ID, and PhDs.
Then, there are all the joint degrees and concurrent degrees to keep track of as well!
While at Harvard Kennedy School, I had friends in every program, and while we are all students at the same school with access to almost all of the same courses, you can have very different academic experiences depending on your degree program.
How to figure out if you should apply to the MPP, MPA, or MPA-ID program at Harvard Kennedy School:Some helpful hints on figuring out if you should apply to the MPP or MPA progam at HKS:
If you have 0-7 years of work experience, you’re probably looking at the MPP.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at Harvard, you’re probably an MPP applicant.If you have 0-7 years of work experience and you’re applying to a joint degree at another school, you might be an MPA applicant.If you have 7 or more years of work experience, look into the Mid-Career MPA program.If you are an economics genius, look into the MPA-ID (I kid, I kid, but know that it is hard).Obviously, you should read up on each of the degree programs yourself, speak to current students, have informational interviews with recent alumni, attend admissions events, and decide which Harvard Kennedy School degree is the right for your profile and goals.
What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPP degree?The Harvard Kennedy School MPP is the Master in Public Policy degree. The MPP is the most popular degree at Harvard Kennedy School. The HKS MPP has the largest graduating class size of all the degree programs. It is a two-year program with one full year of core classes (one elective each semester) and then all electives the second year.
What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA degree?The MPA (the HKS degree that I have) is the Master in Public Administration. It is also a 2-year program, but is all electives. The MPA is now primarily for non-Harvard concurrent degree students (such as Wharton MBAs, Tuck MBAs, and MIT MBAs) and/or established professionals who already have a Masters in a field that closely resembles MPP coursework.
What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA?The Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA is an all-elective one-year program for professionals with extensive work experience. You must have at least seven years of full-time work experience, but the most competitive applicants usually have 14 years or more of full-time work experience.
What is the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program?The Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows program is for established professionals from developing and transitional economies.
You might be unsure if you should apply via the standard Mid-Career MPA or the Mason Fellows program. You aren’t alone!
Read our article “Which Countries Qualify for the Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career MPA Mason Fellows Program?” to learn more.
What is the Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID / MPA in International Development?The Harvard Kennedy School MPA-ID is intense and highly focused on (you guessed it) international development and economics. Applicants should pay close attention that they fully meet all of the prerequisites for the HKS MPA-ID.
In my company’s experience helping people apply to various degrees, it can be more difficult for a highly competitive applicant to get into the HKS MPA-ID than to even be admitted to Harvard Business School.
Story Time: On several occasions, I have advised joint degree applicants to apply to the MPP rather than the MPA-ID, and they have been admitted to the MBA at HBS but not to the MPA-ID at HKS. I don’t share this to discourage interested and eligible applicants from applying to the MPA-ID. I just urge you to not simply look at the phrase “international development,” and think, “I would love to spend two years focused on international development. That must be the degree for me,” and put yourself at a disadvantage if you are not a strong fit for the program.
Know and meet the prerequisites.
Each degree program has its own list of prerequisites for admission. For example, for the MPP the pre-requisites are a Bachelor’s degree and some knowledge of college-level economics, statistics, and calculus is preferred. They also prefer 2-3 years of full-time professional work experience, but there’s no hard line saying that you absolutely must have full-time professional work experience. If you are currently in college and think you want to pursue an MPP in the future, I suggest you take the aforementioned classes. If you have already finished college, you can take supplemental courses online or at your local community college before applying. The prerequisites for the other degree programs are more detailed, so be sure to know what they are and give yourself enough time to meet them. Click here for a list of prerequisites for Harvard Kennedy School degrees.
Submit all required materials.
Having missing materials is not only annoying to the Adcom, it could mean the kiss of death. Get organized and make sure you have all the necessary parts of the application. The requirements for all applicants to HKS are:
a submitted online application,payment of the application fee,essays,three letters of recommendation,official academic transcripts, andstandardized tests: GRE, GMAT, TOEFL (requirements vary; see online application instructions for details).Pitch yourself to the Admissions Committee.
In your essays and resume, make it very easy for the Adcom to understand why HKS is a great fit for you academically, personally, and professionally. Connect your academic background to the coursework you’ll take at HKS. Explain the preparation you’ve had thus far that will help you be successful at HKS, the gaps in your education that you plan to fill at HKS, and cite specific courses at HKS that you plan on taking to gain the knowledge you need to move forward in your career. HKS has a collegial and tight-knit culture. Research the extracurricular activities of the school, and learn about some of the activities you plan to engage in (especially if you plan to be a leader in one of the clubs), and discuss how those will be an important part of your experience if admitted. Most importantly, discuss your professional experiences thus far and how they have prepared you for making the most of your time at HKS.
Have a clear and compelling vision for your career.
HKS is a professional school. This means that its primary purpose is to prepare people to be leaders in their respective professional fields. The goal is not to pump out a bunch of academics (besides the PhD candidates). Therefore, you need to be able to articulate clearly why you need to attend HKS at this time to achieve your professional goals. You need to have a clear vision for your career and a map for how HKS can help you achieve that vision. If the Adcom can’t figure out what you want to be after leaving HKS, it’s hard for them to give you one of the spots in the class.
Show that you have done your research on the school.
Read about the research centers, classes, extracurricular activities, leadership programs, and fellowship programs. SO FEW PEOPLE DO A GOOD JOB OF THIS. If you take the time to read about and understand the various research centers, career resources, courses, and extracurricular activities available at HKS, and then identify the ones that are good fits for you in your application, connecting them all together with your career vision, and your past experiences, you will present a compelling and cohesive case for why you should be admitted. For example, below is a little information about my specific experience at HKS. Each HKS-specific resource is highlighted in bold. (Note: This is NOT a sample essay or anything like that. I am just showing how many resources there are at HKS to motivate you to do some research.)
While at HKS, I was involved with a number of extracurricular activities and really loved my classes. Some of my favorite classes were Arts of Communication, Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector, Public Narrative, and Followership. While I was not required to do a thesis to graduate, I did complete a Reading and Research project about Black women and digital entrepreneurship which also tied in nicely with my course Leadership for a Networked World. I was a Women in the Oval Office program participant, which was offered by the Women and Public Policy Program. I also learned a tremendous amount and really enjoyed being a George Leadership Fellow, which is a part of the Center for Public Leadership. I was active in the African and African Diaspora Collaborative (AADC), and attended many of the speeches held in The Forum by the Institute of Politics.
That’s just a taste of the many, many resources at HKS. Show the Adcom that you really intend to go to HKS if admitted, and let them know about the kinds of things you’ll be involved in. Here is a list of HKS courses. Here is a link to the many centers and programs at HKS.
Choose your recommenders wisely and make sure they are prepared to write you great recommendations. Make sure your three recommenders are well-equipped to write you a stellar recommendation. For MPP applicants, I recommend you having 1-2 professional recommendations, an academic recommendation, and perhaps a recommendation from someone who has supervised you in a public service / volunteer / nonprofit capacity. Make sure your recommenders know what your degree program is, what qualities HKS is looking for in a candidate, and that they are able to cite specific examples and stories to back up their recommendations of you.
Attend an admissions event.
Throughout the year, HKS admissions officers will travel around the country providing information about the school and the application process. Check to see when they are coming to your area and be sure to attend. The Adcom members do remember people, and it’s an opportunity to make an impression, get some great information, and meet other people in your area who are applying. Here is the calendar for the admissions events.
Submit your application by the Harvard Kennedy School application deadline.You can’t get into a school if you miss the deadline! Make sure that you are 100% clear on when the application for your degree program and any fellowships to which you are applying are due.
The HKS deadline is usually in early December, but it has been as early as late November in some years.
The Harvard Kennedy School application deadline is Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3 pm Eastern Time.
Research and apply for financial aid and fellowships.
Graduate school is expensive! HKS has lots of fellowship money available, but lots of people get admitted with only loans as their financial aid. Make sure you keep your student debt as low as possible by applying for as many fellowships as possible that you are a good fit for. Here is the website for Harvard Kennedy School financial aid for incoming students. Whether you’re working through the process alone, with a friend, or with a consultant, you want to be well prepared in putting together your application to Harvard Kennedy School.
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