– PGP4 begins 25 January 2020
The Takshashila PGP – Gateway to a successful career in Public Policy
A pioneer in modern public policy education in India, the Takshashila Institution’s Post-Graduate Programme in Public Policy (PGP) is designed for working professionals. It is targeted at dynamic individuals who wish to enter the growing professional sphere of policy, public affairs, governance and leadership, while pursuing their current occupations.
The PGP brings together policy practitioners and academic experts from across the world. The programme is academically rigorous and attuned to the current requirements of industry, media, social sector and politics. The PGP equips participants with a core set of skills in policy evaluation, economic reasoning, effective communication and public persuasion. Its emphasis is on how these skills can be applied to formulate and analyse policies in a variety of settings.
Programme Features
The programme is for a duration of 48 weeks, spread over three terms of 14 weeks each.
Q. Who is the ideal candidate for the PGP?
A. PGP is specially designed for working professionals who are currently working in or aim to transition to jobs in the public policy space. An ideal candidate has a few years of work-experience and is passionate about learning public policy.
Q. What are the entry requirements?
A. An undergraduate degree in any discipline.
Q. Can people without any work-experience apply for the PGP?
A. No, one of the eligibility criteria to apply for the PGP is to have at least two years of work-experience in any field.
Q. Can internships be counted toward work-experience?
A. No, a candidate should have held at least two years of full-time employment before applying to the PGP.
Q. How long is the PGP?
A. The PGP is a 48-week programme with 3 terms of 14 weeks each.
Q. What is the teaching methodology?
A. The programme is largely delivered online through live webinars on weekends. In addition to webinars, there will be 4 workshops -two contact and two online- with each workshop spanning a duration of 3-5 days, over the course of the programme. A workshop will be held at the beginning of each term and the last workshop will be held in the final week of the course.
Q. Is it mandatory to attend all the contact workshops?
A. Yes, attending all contact workshops is mandatory for all students. Any medical or personal emergencies will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Q. What will be the content of the contact workshops?
A. The first three workshops will include lectures by core faculty, guest lectures by prominent policy practitioners, and group exercises on policy analysis, policy simulations and various other topics. In the last workshop, the students will present their dissertations.
Q. Where will the contact workshops be held?
A. The contact workshops will be held in either Bangalore or New Delhi.
Q. How many hours of work will a student be required to put in per week?
A. Term I and Term II will have 2-3 live online webinars per week. Each webinar would be for a duration of 90 minutes.
Students will need to spend approximately 10-12 hours per week on doing the readings and the assignments.
Therefore, the total amount of time that a student will be expected to spend over a course of a week would be approximately 15-20 hours.
Q. What is the fees for the PGP? Is there any financial assistance provided?
A. The rack rate for PGP is INR 1.65 lakhs (exclusive of taxes).
A limited number of financial scholarships are available to meritorious students. The decision regarding this will be taken by the Takshashila Financial Assistance Committee.
Early applicants to the PGP have a higher chance of receiving scholarships.
Students who have successfully completed Takshashila’s GCPP qualify for scholarships subject to their academic performance in the course.
Q. Are the costs related to the 4 contact workshops covered in the programme fee?
A. No, any costs related to the travel and stay for workshops will have to be additionally borne by the students.
Q. Is there any application fee?
A. Yes. A one-time, non-refundable fee of INR 500 will need to be paid as part of the application.
Q. Which university will award the PGP degree?
A. The PGP is an independent certificate programme of the Takshashila Institution and is not affiliated to any university.
Q. How is the PGP different from Takshashila’s GCPP?
A. While the GCPP gives you a flavour of the field of public policy, PGP is an academically rigorous programme that delves deep into the subject matter. PGP is also attuned to the current industry requirements and its curriculum is crafted in consultation with industry experts.
Q. What are the application deadlines?
A. Admissions to the PGP are on a rolling basis. The last day for applications is 5 January, 2020. Due to the limited number of seats, early applications will have a higher chance of acceptance.
Q. When will the programme begin?
A. Classes for the fourth batch of PGP will commence on 25 January 2020.
Q. How do I apply to the programme?
A. Applicants can visit the following link to apply for the PGP – www.takshashila.org.in/the-takshashila-pgp.
For more details contact Rohan Seth at pgp@takshashila.org.in.
The full programme fee for individuals is INR 1.65 lakh (plus GST). A limited number of financial scholarships are available for talented individuals. Fees, once paid, are non-refundable. Students will have the chance to defer their admission to one subsequent batch.
Admissions are conducted on a rolling basis but early applicants will have a significant advantage in availing scholarships.
A non-refundable application fee of INR 500 is charged at the time of applying. An application will be considered only after this application fee is paid.
All the mandatory categories in the application form must be filled in order for an application to be considered. This includes a statement of purpose and an essay on a public policy issue of interest to the applicant. Further details are provided in the application form.
Eligibility
A bachelor’s degree in any discipline. While the course is not math-intensive, 10th standard (or equivalent) level of mathematical skills is necessary. The course will be conducted and assessed in English.
Dr. M Govinda Rao is an economist and a member of the 14th Finance Commission.
Dr. Rao has previously served as the Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and as the Director of Institute for Social and Economic Change.
Dr. Khilnani is the Avantha Professor and Director, King’s India Institute. He has a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from King’s College, Cambridge. He is the author of the book The Idea of India.
Dr. Baru has served as the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Director of Geoeconomics and Strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He was also the official spokesperson and media advisor for the Prime Minister of India and has authored the book The Accidental Prime Minister, amongst others.
Dr. Gowda is a politician and an academician. He is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and has taught at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He has a PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Sharma is a Deputy Secretary General at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and was previously President of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI).
Dr. Sengupta is an Assistant Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. She teaches Macroeconomics to PGP students at Takshashila.
Dr Pratap Bhanu Mehta is President, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi. He was previously Visiting Professor of Government at Harvard University; Associate Professor of Government and of Social Studies at Harvard.