For Students

College students Michael Krone, Jenna Liu, Natasha Menon, and Kevin Myers won the 6^th annual PPI public policy case competition. The focus this year was on automation—specifically, ameliorating the effects of job displacement caused by advancements in technology. Their project, “New Horizons,” is a proposal to help shift administrative workers in Pennsylvania into jobs that are low risk for automation and fit their skills and aptitudes, and to encourage them to gain further career development, using the PA CareerLink website.  The four of them were excited to get involved in a case competition but were nervous that they did not know much about the topic.  To start, they looked at research on automation and spoke to experts they had met through course work and internships.  As they went along, they were then able to gain feedback from people with different perspectives on the subject, which helped them continually refine their thinking. 

The second class of Public Policy Research Scholars (PPRS) began their journey through this rigorous honors program in 2017. Now, just two years later, ten students are graduating from Penn with a solid understanding of economic and political analysis of public policy; knowledge of the policymaking process; and the application of theoretical and quantitative tools to practical, real-life policy questions. Learn more about the cohort by clicking into each student’s PPRS profile.

Wharton PPI welcomed the former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, as our Visiting Fellow for Spring 2019. He also was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at Penn Law this semester.

It is never too early to start thinking about what you want to do next summer. Some government agencies start their recruiting for summer interns in the fall, while most look for interns later in the winter or early spring. Here are some tips for how to find, apply, and fund a summer internship in DC.

Two representatives from the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington DC, shared their expertise with Penn students to help prepare them for applying for government internships and jobs. The Partnership strives to revitalize the federal government by transforming the way government works and inspiring a new generation to serve.

This competition, open to all undergraduate and graduate students across the University of Pennsylvania, is intended to foster discussion and collaborative research on key public policy issues. One team will win the grand prize of $5,000.  Two teams will earn honorable mention awards of $2,000 each. (Registration is now closed.)

For the fourth consecutive year, Wharton PPI is pleased to fund a large cohort of 99 Penn students who are serving as public policy interns in DC. The interns, chosen through a competitive application process, represent undergraduate and graduate programs across six different Penn Schools — Wharton, Arts and Sciences, Law, Social Policy and Practice, Engineering, and Education.

Wharton PPI held its 4^th annual Public Policy Case Competition this spring, focusing on the issue of financial inclusion. About 7 percent of American households are “unbanked,” meaning they lack access to a bank account, while another 20 percent are considered “underbanked”—they have a bank account but may supplement it with non-traditional financial services like check cashing or payday loans.

The American Enterprise Institute and the Wharton Public Policy Initiative are pleased to co-present a special two-part program examining the first 100 days of the Trump Administration.

It is never too early to start thinking about what you want to do next summer. Some government agencies start their recruiting for summer interns in the fall, while most look for interns later in the winter or early spring. This infographic provides some helpful tips for getting a public policy summer internship in DC.

The Wharton Public Policy Initiative is pleased to announce that Samantha Vinograd (C’05) will be our Visiting Fellow for the Fall 2016 semester.

With an impressive proposal to improve America’s aging water infrastructure, three Wharton MBAs took home the $5,000 top prize in Wharton PPI ’s Public Policy Case Competition earlier this year.

But the winning policy proposal earned Aroon Vijaykar, WG’18, Alex Bolano, WG’17, and Michael Weigley, WG’16, something even more valuable–an invitation to present their ideas to policymakers at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Arjun Nath, second year MBA student at the Wharton School, interned with two different groups within the World Bank in DC. He sat down with Wharton PPI to share his experience working and living in DC for a summer. Listen to the interview on iTunesU or read the transcript below.

The current water contamination scandal in Flint, Michigan, is a multi-layered crisis. For local citizens, it obviously is a health crisis, as well as a crisis in government management and public trust. But for the citizens of Flint, and for populations across America’s many aging cities, it also embodies the crisis looming in America’s aging infrastructure—not just its rusting water pipes, but its many dilapidated and outdated roads, bridges, and rail lines. Beyond being an issue of public safety (think of last year’s Amtrak disaster), economists and policymakers point to infrastructure investment as perhaps the key driver for America’s future economic growth.

Wharton PPI is partnering with a Bay Area tech nonprofit, the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Foundation , to offer a unique opportunity for six Wharton students to participate in an industry research project. Led by two principal investigators, Professor Lorin Hitt of Wharton and Gregory Miller of the OSET Foundation, the six students will fill a void in the literature by completing a comprehensive analysis of the global election technology industry.

The Wharton PPI Summer Internship Program offers financial and programmatic support to Penn students who intern in Washington, DC. 90-Second Stories is a series of videos featuring interns talking about their experiences in DC. Emily Zhen kicks off this year’s video series with her account of interning at the Treasury.

For the second year in a row, Wharton PPI is pleased to offer funding to a large cohort of Penn students who will serve as public policy interns in DC. The students, chosen through a competitive application process, represent both undergraduate and graduate programs in seven different Penn Schools – Wharton, Arts and Sciences, Law, Social Policy and Practice, Medicine, Design and Engineering and Applied Science. 

Earlier this spring, PwC US donated $50,000 to the University to establish a two-year PwC Scholars program. The program was established to recognize the accomplishments of undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania who have contributed significantly to faculty-led public policy research. The first three PwC Scholars to be named are Steven Knauer, Biruk Bekele, and Shane Murphy. Wharton PPI interviewed the students to learn more about their interest in public policy and the faculty-led research they contributed to.

PHILADELPHIA, PA March 6, 2015 – PwC US today announced that it will donate a total of $50,000, for the establishment of a two-year PwC Scholars program.  The gift, which will be administered through the Wharton Public Policy Initiative (PPI), will be used to recognize the accomplishments of undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania who have contributed significantly to faculty-led public policy research.