The Policy Design and Evaluation Lab (PDEL) combines advanced social science methodology with the power of information technology to design policies and programs that: alleviate poverty; promote health, welfare and security; and enhance accountability.

The PDEL Certificate program brings together a set of courses that bring students to the cutting edge of the techniques needed to conduct applied policy research. These courses include:

• Critical domains such as the econometric analysis of data
• The sampling and collection of original field surveys
• The design of randomized experiments
• The incorporation of geo-spatial information into policy analysis

The combination of these skills represent the nexus of randomized experiments, GIS and big data brought together for state-of-the-art policy analysis. Completion of the PDEL certificate means that students will be ready to engage in cutting edge applied field research upon graduation.

The program certificate is open only to current students enrolled in a master’s degree or Ph.D. program at GPS. The certificate will not show as part of a formal transcript, rather it is a document you can provide to potential employers or program advisers. You can list it on your resume, CV and applications, documenting that you have developed state of the art skills in this area.