The Archer Center

Graduate Program in Public Policy

Summer 2010 Graduate Program in Public Policy Application Process

Thank you for your interest in the Graduate Program in Public Policy through The Archer Center.  For any graduate student interested in American governance, the experience of living and working in Washington, D.C., is like none other.  We are pleased to be able to offer this experience to graduate students of The University of Texas System.

The Graduate Program in Public Policy for the summer of 2010 will consist of an eight to ten week program living in the heart of Washington, D.C., approximately June 1 through August 15, 2010.  Participants will earn nine in-residence credit hours, combining substantive academic coursework and a working internship on Capitol Hill, Executive Branch agency or other Washington, D.C. governmental or non-governmental organization.

Enrollment in the Graduate Program in Public Policy is limited and will be determined by a competitive process.  Approximately eighteen students from within the UT System will be selected.  The application process consists of two parts: (1) selection of semi-finalists based on submission of application materials outlined below; (2) interviews of the semifinalists, from which Program Participants will be chosen.

The summer 2010 semester application deadline for submission is Friday, February 19, 2010.  Semi-finalists will be chosen from these applications and notified by February 26, 2010.  At that time, semi-finalists will be scheduled for an on-campus interview in early March.  Students selected as Program Fellows will be notified by March 12, 2010.  To be considered for the program, you must complete all sections of the application and return it with all requested attachments by the application deadline to your campus contact.  The Archer Center staff will assist participants in internship searches.  Please review application deadlines and procedures for desired internships prior to application submission for the Graduate Program in Public Policy.

The Program Fee is $3,900 and is paid in lieu of tuition and fees.  Participants will be responsible for their living expenses.  Housing in townhomes on historic Capitol Hill is available to program participants through Washington Intern Student Housing at the cost of $2,950 for the summer 2010 session.  Living in the housing is recommended for program participants.  Housing stipends will be available for program participants whose home institution’s tuition and fees for 9 semester credit hours are less than the program fee charged for participation in the Graduate Program in Public Policy at The Archer Center.

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicant must be enrolled in a University of Texas System graduate or PhD program
• Applicant must have completed 9 credit hours in residence prior to application submission
• Applicant must have an overall minimum graduate GPA of 3.33

Graduate Program Courses

• On the Ground:  An Inside View of Federal Policy Making (3 hours)
• Policy Internship (6 hours)

Application Materials

• Click here to download the 2010 Application

2010 Application Timeline

• February 19: Application Deadline
• February 26: Semi-finalists notified
• Early March:  On Campus Interviews
• March 12: Selected program participants are notified
  

 

Archer Center Graduate Program Faculty

Dr. Don Arbuckle
Dr. Arbuckle teaches graduate level courses in public affairs to Masters and PhD candidates at the Archer Center and the University of Texas at Dallas.  His expertise lies in Federal regulatory affairs, administrative practice, and the practice and politics of the Presidency. In the summer of 2006, Dr. Arbuckle retired after surviving 25 years at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). There he was the career executive in charge of the OMB staff responsible for Presidential review of regulations and government efforts to collect information; Executive Branch information and information technology policy; and Federal Government statistical policy.  He worked on a daily basis with White House policy officials from the Office of the Vice President, the Chief of Staff’s Office, the Domestic Policy Counsel, and the Office of Homeland Security, and with agency officials, including both career executives and political appointees. In 1995, Dr. Arbuckle received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given by OMB; and in 2001 he was awarded a Meritorious Presidential Rank Achievement Award, one of the highest awards given in the Executive Branch to career executives.  He also served for many years as a recruiter for OMB, and was one of the founders in 1987 of the White House Athletic Center.  Before joining OMB in 1981 Dr. Arbuckle served as an analyst at the National Transportation Safety Board. Prior to that, in a singularly ill-timed career move, he was a Professor of American Civilization at Pahlavi University in Shiraz, Iran, just as the Iranian Revolution got underway.  Dr. Arbuckle was educated at Harvard College and has Masters and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972. Don’s wife Carlisle is a judge at the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office. He and Carlisle have three children: Jennifer, husband Steve, who coaches at Louisiana State University and daughter Isabella; Ben, wife Erin and daughters Abigail and Claire-- Ben is a Professor of Archeology at Baylor University; and Michael, a junior in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Inaugural Graduate Program in Public Policy at the Archer Center in Washington, D.C.

In May 2009, the Archer Center hosted our first annual Graduate Program in Public Policy.  12 Ph.D. and Masters students from the University of Texas at Dallas came to Washington, D.C. to learn first-hand how the Federal Government operates.  During the intense seminar, the inaugural participants met with high level White House and executive branch staffers, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions, U.S. House and U.S. Senate staff members, lobbyists, federal agency officials, representatives from notable Washington, D.C., think tanks, and members of the media.

The 2009 program will set the stage for a UT System-wide graduate program in the summer of 2010.  Our goal is to bring graduate students studying policy and politics to our nation’s Capital to learn about the federal government and public service.

Click here to view the participant itinerary for the Inaugural Graduate Program in Public Policy.