The Clinton School is now accepting applications for its Master of Public Service degree program, a two-year graduate program that trains leaders for government, nonprofit, volunteer and private sector service.
The Clinton School is modeled after President Clinton’s vision of building leadership in civic engagement and utilizing knowledge and skills to find solutions to problems facing communities around the world.
Those interested in joining the school can now apply online. Admitted students will make up the school’s eighth class, beginning in August 2012 and finishing in May 2014. The application deadline is January 25, 2012.
The MPS degree blends core courses in leadership, communication, ethics, decision-making and social change with electives and three hands-on field service projects ranging from assisting nonprofits in the impoverished Arkansas Delta region to helping TOMS Shoes distribute footwear to children in Ethiopia.
Since the school opened in 2005, students have completed more than 150 international projects in over 50 countries. The field service projects make up 30 percent of the academic credit in the program.
Located on the grounds of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Ark., the Clinton School accepts students from across the state, country and world.
Past Clinton School students include former AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and Teach for America members, as well as government, business and nonprofit professionals. In the past three years, the school has enrolled a Harry S. Truman Scholar and had students who earned a Presidential Management Fellowship and a George Mitchell Scholarship.
While Clinton School students are diverse in their backgrounds and interests, they share a common passion for serving others.
“I had been active in the public service arena for several years prior to graduate school, but my experiences through the Clinton School helped me to become much more intentional regarding learning, leadership and how I can make a difference in the world around me,” said Clinton School graduate Jay Thompson, who now serves a deputy director of City Year Milwaukee.
The Clinton School program is enhanced by an internationally renowned public lecture series, which features leaders in government, politics, business, foreign policy, journalism and philanthropy. Interacting with speakers gives Clinton School students the chance to engage with national and international leaders on a wide range of public service issues.
Recent speakers at the Clinton School have included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, PBS correspondent Gwen Ifill and legendary oil executive T. Boone Pickens, among many others.
“The idea of this graduate school is one of the best new ideas I’ve seen in higher education in this country,” said Time Magazine’s Joe Klein in a recent speech at the school.
Through classroom study, field service and the speaker series, the Clinton School gives students unique opportunities not found at other graduate schools, said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford.
“In these difficult times in our country and across the world, it is vital that we educate and train the next generation of leaders in public service,” Rutherford said. “That’s what the Clinton School is about – giving students the knowledge and skills to make a difference in the lives of others.”
Click here for information on applying to the Clinton School. For questions, or to set up a visit, contact Clinton School admissions director Alex Thomas at 501-683-5228 or admissions@clintonschool.uasys.edu. All application materials must be postmarked by January 25, 2012.
The Clinton School is a non-partisan graduate institution and welcomes academically and experientially qualified applicants of all ideologies, backgrounds, ages and life experiences.
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