In today’s world of dynamic change and globalization, social challenges have become increasingly complex. Solving society’s most pressing issues – including sustainability and the environment, healthcare reform, immigration, infrastructure, urban development, social planning and policy, affordable housing and governance – now requires innovation and collaboration. These issues call for leaders who are able to move beyond their areas of expertise and work across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to find vital solutions.

Through its interdisciplinary approach, the school educates students to serve as innovators – and leaders – in their field. The school’s degree programs draw on the expertise of faculty and practicing professionals to create a learning environment whose breadth and depth sets the Price School apart from all schools of its kind. In 2008, the school ranked seventh nationwide among “America’s Best Graduate Schools” for public affairs, according to U.S. News & World Report.

At the Price School, students receive an enriching education that:

• Combines social sciences, professional expertise, and the resources of a great research university to offer students breadth, depth, and variety as they pursue their interests and design their programs.
• Centers on and values the relationships that develop between students and teachers.
• Offers both academic and relevant real-world experiences, and draws widely on the expertise of networks of engaged councilors, advisors, alumni, and prominent professionals.
• Encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, experimentation, and collaboration.
• Fosters a multidisciplinary and problem-solving ethic.
• Focuses broadly and inclusively on the issues, constituencies, structures, and institutions engaged in public life – in both governance and the built environment.
• Utilizes the City of Los Angeles and the greater Southern California region as a living laboratory in which to learn and put into practice the lessons of the classroom.