Choosing the right graduate school for applied politics.

When Al Gore lost the presidential election four years ago this month, I lost my job. I'd been a political appointee to HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo under Gore's boss, President Bill Clinton, and like many others working in the White House then, my future depended on the vice president's success.

For me, graduate school looked far more appealing than unemployment. It was a great way to stay connected with other campaign professionals who had also chosen to "hide out" in academia for a year or two. In 2001, I started a master's degree program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, along with many other refugees of the Clinton administration. The one- and two-year master's programs that the school offered were an attractive option for those of us who wanted to further our academic credentials but at the same time stay grounded in a program that focused on applied politics, assuming that we'd be back in our old jobs in Washington, D.C., by 2004 at the latest.

When John Kerry's failed presidential bid kept the White House jobs out of reach, I decided to return to graduate school once more, this time for a PhD in political science at American University because it offered a grounding in practical politics similar to what I found at Harvard. At American, the applied politics programs are a perfect mix of the practical political education you need to succeed in Washington and the academic rigor you'd expect from a top-ranked school of public affairs.

A graduate degree in political or campaign management offers far more than a respectable haven for people who've been on the losing side of elections. According to a study that James A. Thurber of American's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies conducted recently, the studies are paying off; 70 percent of 470 graduates surveyed were working in the field, compared with 23 percent who were in it before they enrolled in school. Based on the study's findings, Thurber and I have come up with some points to consider when deciding what campaign management graduate program is right for you.

1. Track record

If your goal is to improve your chances of getting a job in professional politics, find out what the track record is for graduates of the program you are considering. Graduates of American University, for example, work for both major political parties, members of Congress, state and local governments, in the White House and the executive branch, in public affairs, lobbying and all other aspects of professional campaign management. Those alums are valuable for anyone looking for jobs on the campaign trail or in government in and out of Washington.

If doing an internship to get practical experience while completing your graduate degree is something you want to do, be aware that not all programs offer an internship component. Only about half the survey respondents said they had an opportunity to do an internship during their graduate program.

The schools in Washington have a strong advantage if the job or internship you want is on Capitol Hill, with one of the political parties or congressional campaign committees, or with the large network of campaign consultants in the city.

2. Academic fit

If you want a career in political consulting and campaign management, choose a program that is a good balance of applied politics and academic political science. At American, most students participate in the Campaign Management Institute, a two-week intensive program in campaign management that simulates a real campaign environment by requiring students to write a comprehensive campaign plan. The institute is a useful course for anyone in a two-year graduate program in public policy or applied politics.

When a political management program is part of a master's program in public policy or applied politics, students get the best of both worlds: the campaign training they need for professional development and an advanced degree from a school of public affairs. The advanced degree is valuable when your candidate wins and you decide to join his or her staff. It also comes in handy if your candidate loses, and you decide the campaign trail isn't right for you.

Most political management schools teach basic campaign skills such as creating a campaign budget, understanding survey research and focus group analysis, developing a strategy, theme and message, and selecting the best campaign tactics. What some apparently lack is training in an area that might be harder to learn outside the classroom: campaign ethics. The survey showed that 53 percent of the graduates did not consider their program to be helpful in guiding their decisions when confronted with ethical dilemmas. But thinking through these ethical dilemmas before being confronted with them in the real world is one of the most important things a professional campaign training program can offer. By giving students a solid foundation in campaign ethics, graduate schools can help improve overall campaign conduct, and they can also help achieve the practical goal of keeping graduates out of the ethics messes we see staffers embroiled in today.

3. Location

Choosing the right graduate school sometimes comes down to location. For current congressional or administration staffers, leaving Washington might not be an option. And for those who want to work on national campaigns, the programs offered at American and George Washington take full advantage of their location. The close proximity to campaign professionals provides a constant source of successful practitioners who enrich the classroom learning experience with their wisdom and knowledge. These experts can also become potential employers to graduates.

When choosing a school, consider the job you want when you complete your program. If you want to work in media relations or communications, the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Public Policy might be a good fit. If you want to establish yourself in a perennial battleground state for the next presidential election, the University of Florida program in political campaigning or the University of Akron's applied politics program would be wise choices.

A few political management programs also offer international options. George Washington offers a Spanish-language program in Latin American politics, and Suffolk University in Boston offers a Caribbean politics track. American University's Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute offers a summer program in Brussels to study political advocacy and the politics of the European Union.

4. Cost and Scholarships

A major factor for all students is the cost of the programs. This can vary greatly based on whether you do a one- or two-year program, if you decide to enroll full or part time, and if you move out of state. The number of scholarships the schools have also varies, but many offer both merit- and need-based financial assistance.

5. Evaluation of the programs from graduates

The results of the survey indicate that most alumni were happy with their choice of graduate program. More than 90 percent said they would encourage others to complete a political management degree program.

The primary factors for selecting the right graduate school for political management depends first on your own career motivations and the academic fit of what a school does best with those aspirations. The relevance of the program to the real world of politics and campaigning is an essential element to consider. Make sure the program uses a strong group of campaign professionals as lecturers and mentors as well as distinguished groups of political scientists. That balance brings the wisdom of years of experience on the campaign trail and knowledge of the relevant political science scholarship. The quality and rigor of the academic and applied program--and ultimately, reputation of the school--will improve your post-graduate job prospects.

Alicia Kolar Prevost is a doctoral candidate in political science at American University. Her research interests include early voting and Internet voting.

James A. Thurber is a distinguished professor of government and director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. He was the principal investigator of a seven-year grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to the Campaign Management Institute to study campaign conduct.