Experiential Learning at Harvard Kennedy School
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The Field Lab offers an unparalleled opportunity to apply your classroom learning to real-world challenges while building lasting relationships with practitioners and peers.
Experiential learning at Harvard Kennedy School is an immersive experience both in the classroom and the field. Students, faculty, and state and local project partners bring together their unique skills and experiences to explore critical community issues from many angles. The research they produce is powerful, with an impact that extends far beyond a single course.
Building from the pioneering work of Professor Linda Bilmes with her Greater Boston Applied Field Lab, which started in 2005 with generous support from Jerry and Phyllis Rappaport, experiential learning opportunities through the Rappaport Institute have grown to include several courses that expose students to the real-world policy challenges of their state and local government clients. Learn more about our experiential learning opportunities below.
Experiential learning is a teaching approach in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world work as part of their academic training. In the Field Lab, experiential learning means students study municipal government by working directly on well-scoped city projects, applying analytical and technical skills while receiving close faculty instruction and feedback.
What started as a pilot program in the City of Somerville has evolved into a distinctive model of experiential education in public finance and governance, becoming what Professor Jeffrey Liebman (Faculty Director, Taubman Center on State and Local Government) calls “the biggest innovation in teaching at the Kennedy School since the adoption of the case method.”
Field Lab Origin Story: Somerville Resurgent
Harvard Kennedy School students team up with the mayor and the municipal staff of the city of Somerville to help transform a troubled urban landscape into one of the most livable cities in the Commonwealth. Featuring Mayor Joe Curtatone MC-MPA 2011, Senior Lecturer Linda Bilmes, and cast of thousands - HKS students, city of Somerville staff, and the diverse and wonderful residents of Somerville.
Experiential learning provides practice, but it also provides a deeper understanding of each concept’s importance and how the concepts interact. Classroom lessons tend to make topics seem more black-and-white than they truly are. Once you start applying them outside of the classroom, you find more layers of complexity.”
Mary Treacy, MPP 2025 (Field Labs Alum)
Together, MLD-412 and DPI-325 courses form the Greater Boston Field Lab Program, a year-round learning ecosystem that unites fiscal analysis, political strategy, and civic innovation. Students from across Harvard’s schools, Kennedy, GSD, HBS, and others work directly with mayors, state officials, and federal partners, building skills in finance, management, and adaptive leadership while advancing tangible public-sector impact.
Our Courses
Our courses offer students the opportunity to engage directly with the complexities of public-sector leadership.
Through semester-long fieldwork, faculty mentorship, and collaboration with municipal and state partners, students apply analytical tools and policymaking frameworks to real challenges facing the Greater Boston region. DPI-325: Urban Politics Field Lab, offered each Fall, immerses students in the political and community dynamics that shape city decision-making.
MLD-412: Greater Boston Advanced Applied Field Lab, offered each Spring, builds on this foundation through advanced public finance, budgeting, and management engagements with local governments. Together, these courses enable students to translate classroom learning into practical, high-impact work that strengthens civic capacity and prepares them for meaningful public service careers.
Why Choose the Field Lab?
Real Impact: Your work directly influences policy decisions affecting thousands of residents. Many student recommendations are implemented within months of project completion.
Professional Development: Gain skills employers value most—project management, client relations, data analysis, and policy communication—while building a portfolio of professional work.
Network Building: Connect with alumni working throughout government, develop relationships with senior officials, and join a community committed to public service.
Career Pathways: Access exclusive summer fellowships, receive mentorship from practitioners, and explore career opportunities in the public sector.
Student Experience
Team-Based Learning: Work in diverse teams of 4-5 students, bringing together different skills and perspectives
Client Engagement: Present directly to mayors and senior officials, receiving immediate feedback on your recommendations
Field Work: Spend significant time on-site in communities, understanding challenges firsthand
Faculty Support: Receive intensive coaching from faculty with deep expertise in public finance and urban governance
Technical Training: Master advanced analytical tools through hands-on workshops and clinics
