The Brandeis and Heller Community
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
Brandeis University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher learning named in honor of the distinguished U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. Founded in 1948 by members of the American Jewish community, the university today combines the breadth and scope of a world-class research university and the intimacy and accessibility of a small liberal arts college.
Consistently ranked among the nation’s best universities, Brandeis is widely recognized for the excellence of its teaching, the quality and diversity of its student body and the outstanding research of its faculty. In 1985 Brandeis was nominated and elected to membership in the Association of American Universities, which represents the 63 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
In 2011, Brandeis University was ranked by the U.S. News and World Report as the number 31 national university in the United States. Brandeis was ranked as the top-rising research institution in the nation in The Rise of American Research Universities, a major study by Hugh Davis Graham and Nancy Diamond, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
The Brandeis community, representing more than 100 nations, consists of 3,400 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students, more than 350 full-time faculty and more than 1,000 administrators and staff members. In addition to the College of Arts and Sciences, which confers undergraduate as well as graduate degrees, the university is also home to The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, the Brandeis International Business School and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies. In addition, Brandeis has more than 30 research institutes and centers that contribute to the academic life of the campus.
THE HELLER SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
The Florence G. Heller Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare is Brandeis University’s first professional school, and the first school of its kind to bridge the gap between social welfare and social policy.
U.S. News and World Report ranked the Heller School as number three among the top schools of social policy in 2007. The World Bank lists the Heller School as one of eight training institutions in the United States approved to host World Bank Scholars pursuing graduate degrees.
For over fifty years we have redefined the field of social policy through the academic programs we offer, the cutting edge research conducted by our faculty and research staff, and the public engagement of our scholars, staff and students. The Heller School's focus is on producing research knowledge needed by the next generation of scholars and producing skilled practitioners of social policy and management. This happens within a learning environment that attracts students and faculty from more than 60 countries around the world. At the heart of the Heller School is its interdisciplinary approach to both graduate education and applied social science research.
Our educational mission is to prepare passionate and committed individuals from around the world with advanced knowledge and skills for significant roles in social change. Whether a student takes on that challenge through leading nonprofit organizations, conducting significant research to inform social policy, mediation in conflict areas of the world, or policy analysis, the Heller curriculum, practicum and internship experiences prepare students for roles they will encounter throughout their careers.
The ability to craft workable solutions within complex organizational, community and governmental contexts are skills that no Heller student leaves without. Graduates leave the Heller School with a network of lifelong contacts, and the capacity to make a difference not only through their idealism but also through sophisticated analysis of society's most complex problems.
Our faculty and researchers are recognized leaders in their field and are currently engaged in over $11 million of sponsored research. Some of the issues that Heller faculty and researchers currently work on include the financing of health care services; the intersection of health, behavior, and systems of care; best practices and innovations in the delivery of social services targeted at children, youth and families; rising inequality and persistent poverty; the re-invention of labor market institutions for an aging population; establishing new approaches to achieve sustainable international development; and developing new frameworks to address intercommunal and societal conflicts.
The sum of being in an intellectually challenging yet supportive and tolerant atmosphere with talented faculty and students working collectively to solve society's most pressing problems results in a vibrant community unequaled by a traditional academic experience. I invite you to spend some time on our website learning more about Heller and to come and visit us in person at one of our scheduled events or graduate program informational sessions.
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts, a city of 58,000, nine miles west of Boston
Boston is one of the world's great cities and is an internationally known center of student life, host to one of the largest concentrations of students in the world. It's also the unofficial capital of New England, set in a region abounding in historical and cultural attractions, music and dance, theater, concerts, vibrant nightlife and professional sports teams. Boston combines European-style architecture with the energy of an American center of learning, health care, and high technology.
Brandeis has a train stop. You will be 15 minutes away from Cambridge and Harvard Square by public transportation.
