History

The Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) program began with a 1981 grant to the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This grant included two components:

•  That undergraduate students of color could learn about public policy and prepare for admission to graduate school through summer public policy institutes at leading public policy graduate schools; and

•  That participating students would be provided with substantial graduate student fellowships upon admission to a graduate program (participating graduate schools were required to match the Sloan fellowship money).

Since 1981, the program has been funded by the Sloan Foundation, the Ford Foundation (1989-99) and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation under the title Woodrow Wilson Fellowships in Public Policy and International Affairs. APPAM has continued to be the major institutional sponsor for the program along with the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).

The University of Maryland – College Park became a host institution for the PPIA program in 1995. At that time they expanded the program with support from the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP)/Department of Education and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation/Department of State. Additional summer programs take place at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, and Princeton University.

Program Objectives
The objectives of the Maryland Leadership Institute are to increase the likelihood that each program participant will successfully apply to and complete graduate programs in public policy and international affairs, and to increase the involvement of minority voices and perspectives in domestic and international policymaking.

Curriculum

The Maryland Leadership Institute curriculum is based in part on our own graduate program in public policy at the Maryland School of Public Policy (MSPP). Students complete graduate-level coursework in microeconomics and international policy or macroeconomics; statistics (intermediate and advanced); leadership theory; and foreign policy analysis. Students also participate in the Professional Development Series, which affords them an opportunity to examine their personal leadership styles and strengths through the use of various personal assessment exercises and leadership assessment instruments. Courses are taught primarily by University of Maryland faculty who are assisted by graduate-level teaching assistants.

Classes meet most week days for a morning session ( 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM ) and afternoon session ( 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM ). Discussion sessions, as needed, take place during evening ( 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ) and weekend hours.

Speakers and Events

In previous years, fellows have had the opportunity to personally meet such notable figures as Thomas Pickering, Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Dr. Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Susan Schwab, Dean of Maryland School of Public Affairs; Frm. Ambassador to Nepal, Amb. Julia Chang Bloch; Shibley Telhami, PhD., Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland and Middle East scholar and Maryland State Delegate Pete Rawlings.

Click here to view past speakers and events

Click here to view past site visits and skills development training

Alumni Reflections/Profiles

IIPP Fellow, Zaahira Wyne

Pickering Fellow, Sandya Das

PPIA Fellow, Claudine Kanku Page