Becoming Batten

Hurley discusses how the Certificate in Public Policy courses transformed her thinking and led her to pursue a Master's in Public Policy, what it’s like balancing online coursework with a career, and why she thinks even skeptics should give public policy a chance.

Owen Hart, a UVA Batten Master of Public Policy graduate serves as the National Association of Counties' legislative director for Agriculture & Rural Affairs, where he spearheads advocacy efforts on federal rural development policy that can better support America's 3,069 counties and the rural communities they serve.

Alex completed her Master of Public Policy at UVA Batten in 2022 and began a career in healthcare consulting. She credits her time at UVA Batten with strengthening her analytical ability and with changing her career trajectory to the path she's on today.

University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy graduates enter the workforce equipped with the knowledge, skills and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. Career pathways often include federal, state and local government leadership; consulting and strategy; private sector and research; and nonprofit roles. One of our amazing alumni, Savannah Rogers (Master of Public Policy ‘22), shares what she's been up to since graduating from Batten.

Read about four courses UVA Batten is offering this fall that highlight the range of our undergraduate and graduate course offerings!

Graduates from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia enter public service equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. While many go on to public service careers, working in local, state, federal, or even international policy areas, other UVA Batten graduates go on to work in academia. The Batten Admissions team asked one of our amazing alumni, Karly Ball Isaacson (MPP ‘21), to tell us more about her experience at UVA Batten and what she’s done since graduation.

Graduates from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia enter public service equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. While many go on to public service careers, working in local, state, federal, or even international policy areas, other UVA Batten graduates go on to work in the private sector, including the legal field. We asked one of our amazing private sector alums, Madison Roberts (Accelerated MPP ‘20), to tell us more about her experience at UVA Batten and what she’s done since graduation.

Batten graduates enter public service equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. Career pathways often include federal, state, and local government leadership, consulting and strategy, private sector and research, and nonprofit roles. We asked one of our amazing alumni, Jacklyn Chen (BA ‘21) to learn more about what she has done after graduation.

Graduates from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia enter the work force equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. Career pathways often include federal, state, and local government leadership; consulting and strategy; private sector and research; and nonprofit roles. We sat down with one of our amazing alumni, Michael Pugh (MPP '22) to learn more about his time after UVA Batten!

UVA Batten graduates enter a variety of sectors and fields after graduation. While many go on to public service careers, working in local, state, federal, or even international policy areas, other Batten graduates go on to work in the private sector, including finance. We asked one of our amazing private sector alumni, Sebastian Singh (Accelerated MPP ‘24) about his time after Batten!

UVA Batten graduates enter a variety of sectors and fields after graduation equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. While many go on to public service careers, working in local, state, federal, or even international policy areas, other Batten graduates go on to work in the private sector, including consulting. The Batten Admissions team sat down with one of our amazing private sector alums, Olivia Nguyen-Dillon (BA ‘23) to learn more about her time after Batten!

UVA Batten graduates enter public service equipped with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to address the complex policy challenges facing our world today. Career pathways often include federal, state, and local government leadership, consulting and strategy, private sector and research, and nonprofit roles. The Batten Admissions team recently sat down with one of our amazing alums, Morgan Smith (MPP ‘21) to learn more about what she has done after graduating from UVA Batten.