Policy Research Areas

Many students arrive at Pardee RAND with a passion for a specific area of policy research, while others choose the School because of the myriad topics available to them, and the many faculty and experts with whom they can work.

You can visit the RAND website to browse all of the research areas and topics RAND explores.

Pardee RAND’s policy research areas are based on student and faculty interests. Click on the topics below to learn about courses, faculty, research, and students in each, as well as alumni who have pursued careers in those areas.

Children, Families, and Communities
Pardee RAND students and faculty help provide solutions to the social welfare and economic challenges faced by children and families, vulnerable populations, and historically marginalized communities. RAND’s work in this area, including the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy and the Center on Housing and Homelessness, aims to understand why people make the decisions they do and how individuals and communities can increase their resilience.
Education, Labor, and Workforce Development
From remote learning to classroom equity to local workforce training initiatives, Pardee RAND students explore a wide range of education and labor policy issues. RAND research has examined educational systems and school-to-work pipelines for almost five decades. Students have coauthored research on topics from early childhood education to postsecondary education, as well as educator effectiveness, instructional technology, employment outcomes, and retirement.
Energy, Environment, and Infrastructure
Students interested in energy, infrastructure, and the environment contribute in a variety of ways to RAND research both within the U.S. and around the globe. Through the Cazier Initiative and several RAND programs and centers, students have supported research on green infrastructure, stormwater management, transportation and energy policy, the valuation of ecosystem services, and community resilience and emergency response.
Global Development
Implementing solutions for global socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation is a daunting challenge. Through the Pardee Initiative as well as RAND International, students and RAND researchers conduct extensive work in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America. They explore global human development efforts like youth unemployment, migration, the effects of climate change on developing countries, and improving governance.
Health and Health Care
Pardee RAND students contribute to RAND’s portfolio of research on health and health care in the U.S. and around the globe. Recent topics include responding to and mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, allocating limited health care resources, reducing hospital spending, and evaluating health care reform options and payment systems. Students work in areas such as public health, disability, aging, and mental and behavioral health, and many also develop expertise in health economics and outcomes research.
Justice and Equity
How do we create a justice system that is fairer, more efficient, and more effective? Civil, criminal, and social justice policies affect populations at all levels, and student research is similarly wide-ranging. From work on the impacts of drug policies like marijuana legalization, to analysis of the ways that technology can impact policing and public safety — among many other topics — Pardee RAND students and faculty have a strong presence in the policy debate.
Security and Defense
The RAND Corporation helped create the field of defense analysis after World War II. Today, Pardee RAND students and their RAND research mentors carry on this tradition, advising the U.S. national security establishment and its allies and partners on domestic and international security, emergency management, counterterrorism, and topics such as military strategy and policy, technology and acquisition, logistics, and workforce development and health.
Technology, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence
From big data analysis and blockchain to STEM education and cyber security, the exploration of policies that affect—and are effected by—emerging technology is a popular focus at Pardee RAND. Students frequently make substantive contributions through RAND research projects, experiential learning in the Tech + Narrative Lab, and their own dissertation research. Pardee RAND is also a founding partner in the Public Interest Technology University Network.