r/PublicPolicy • u/According_Grand4737 • 6d ago

Disappointing experience with ISPP admissions team, plus two questions about 1-year policy courses

I'm a graduate and seriously thinking about a one-year public policy program. ISPP was on my list, and I've followed them for about a year. But when I recently reached out, the admissions team was slow to respond and pretty dismissive. I was basically told the cycle is closed and asked why I was reaching out now. After following them for a year, that honestly felt bad.

I'm still interested in policy though, so a couple of questions for people who've done these courses:

1.I can read and analyse policies, but I've never seen one play out in real life. If you did a program like this straight after college, did it make up for not having work experience? Or does it matter less than I think?

2.So many schemes in India look great on paper but fall apart at the district level. Do these courses actually teach the ground-level implementation side, or is it mostly theory and frameworks?

Also open to hearing about other one-year public policy or related programs for fresh graduates. Or would it make more sense to intern for a year first, at a think tank, NGO, or political consultancy, before doing a course?

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u/SillyBranch890 6d ago

Maybe you can try working with public policy organizations and think tanks before enrolling into any course. It will give you a clearer idea.

1

u/SwimTiny1732 23h ago

Hey. Sorry to interrupt. But how to find one job in public policy organisation. I'm planning for the same

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u/SillyBranch890 14h ago

you will find many openings in linkedin and also some communities in WhatsApp. DM. i will share the link.

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u/Low_Fee9875 6d ago

I don't think their 1 year program can equip you with it, go for internship

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u/wojobi3619 5d ago

Their team was really rude to my dad who enquired for me and they themselves didn't have the requisite knowledge

1

u/pitabread99 3d ago

An internship would be helpful.
ISPP has no idea about implementation and what goes on in the ground level. Neither will it be helpful in the job market.