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Funding

Self Funded · Partial / Stipend

Program dates

Jul 7, 2027 – May 25, 2028

Mid-Career Master in Public Administration Edward S. Mason Program

FellowshipUSA · Cambridge

Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University

Application Deadline

December 1, 2026

Official Page

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Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

  • Education required

    Bachelor

  • Experience required

    ≥ 7 yrs

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The Edward S. Mason Program is a cohort of Mason Fellows inside Harvard Kennedy School’s one-year Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Fellows are experienced public leaders tied to developing, transitional or newly industrialized countries. They take the five-week MC/MPA Summer Program, a Mason-only Fall Launch and two semesters of largely self-chosen courses, and graduate with an MPA plus the Mason Certificate in Public Policy and Management.

Benefits & funding

  • A Harvard MPA degree and the Mason Certificate in Public Policy and Management.
  • Not a funded place: 2026–27 tuition and fees for Mason Fellows total US$86,178; the estimated full cost of attendance is US$121,453.
  • Aid is limited and competitive; the Ford Foundation Mason Fellowship goes to meritorious Mason Fellows with financial need.

Eligibility

  • A bachelor’s degree with a strong academic record.
  • At least seven years of professional work experience by 30 June of the year you enrol.
  • The track is intended for people who are from, have spent much of their careers working in, and are committed to one or more of the listed countries and territories; the pages word this as “intended for” and “typically”, not as a stated bar.
  • Non-native English speakers without an English-taught bachelor’s: TOEFL iBT 5 (100 for tests before January 2026), IELTS 7 or Cambridge English 185, plus a video essay.
  • Listed countries and territories: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bassas Da India, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos Islands (Keeling Islands), Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Costa Rica, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Gabon, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Honduras, Hong Kong S.A.R., Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Jersey, Jordan, Juan De Nova Island, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macau S.A.R., Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palau (the Pacific Islands of), Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, South Sudan, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Bahamas, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, The Gambia, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Application process

  1. 1
    Apply to the MC/MPA by 1 December 2026, 12:00 pm ET, and indicate interest in the Edward S. Mason Program on the application.
  2. 2
    Submit three essays, a résumé, transcripts, three recommendation letters and English scores if required; GRE/GMAT is optional.
  3. 3
    Pay the US$100 application fee (waivers available in some cases).
  4. 4
    File the HKS Financial Aid Application by 15 January 2027, 12:00 pm ET.

Program timeline

  1. Application deadline

    1 Dec 2026, 12:00 pm ET

  2. Financial aid deadline

    15 Jan 2027

  3. Decisions

    Mid-March 2027

  4. 7 Jul 2027

    Summer Program starts (Mason Fall Launch 9–20 Aug)

  5. Commencement

    25 May 2028

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