The University released admissions decisions for the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership Feb. 20. Batten received a total of 190 applications for 120 available seats in the Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership class. This marks a 4.85 percent increase in applicants from the 2023-2024 application cycle.
Batten offers a two-year undergraduate major in Public Policy and Leadership as well as two minors in Public Policy and Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship. The minors also require applications — students applying for the Public Policy and Leadership minor have a deadline of March 9 and students applying for the Social Entrepreneurship minor had a deadline of Feb. 23 and will receive their decision March 20.
Designed to be completed during a student’s third and fourth years, the major curriculum provides students with courses including LPPL 3210, “Behavioral Sciences for Civic Leadership,” LPPA 3650, “Choice and Consequences: The Economics of Public Policy,” LPPP 3230, “Public Policy Challenges of the 21st Century” and a final-semester capstone seminar for all fourth-year majors.
According to the admissions blog, Batten has seen fluctuating application numbers and acceptance rates. The acceptance rate was 42 percent in 2020 and increased to 53 percent in 2021, 65 percent in 2022 and reached 79 percent during the 2024 cycle. These acceptance rates also reflect the number of seats available in the major for each application cycle, which has been increasing steadily over the past five years starting at 92 seats in 2020 and is now at 120 seats.
According to University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover, all of the students in this year's application pool came from the College of Arts and Sciences. Glover further explained what Batten is looking for in their applicants, including characteristics such as leadership and community engagement.
“In addition to exhibiting excellence in the classroom, students who were offered admission demonstrated leadership in their activities, were deeply engaged in their communities, showed a strong orientation towards public policy and are united in their commitment to public service and making an impact,” Glover said.
The major application consists of two essays, two recommendations and a resume. The first essay prompt asks the student to describe, in 400 words, their motivation for pursuing public policy and leadership and the second essay, with a 250 word limit, asks the student to explain a time they had to work across a line of difference and what they learned from the experience.
Additionally, there are three prerequisite courses required to apply to Batten’s B.A. in Public Policy and Leadership. These include LPPP 2200, “Introduction to Public Policy,” PSYC 2600, “Social Psychology” and ECON 2010, “Introduction to Microeconomics.”
Bharathi Kancharla, second-year College student and recent Batten B.A. program admit, said that she wrote about her extracurriculars on her application to show her affinity for leadership and public service. Kancharla added that the application process was smooth and Batten provided opportunities for applicants to speak with current students to get advice.
“It felt really easy to apply … [Batten has] a bunch of opportunities for you to go talk to people that [are] already in the school,” Kancharla said. “Going to those really helped because [the current students] were able to explain how it was when they applied and … how their experience with the school was in general.”
Second-year College student Clay Turner was also admitted to the Batten B.A. program and agreed with Kancharla that the application was straightforward and said he felt students had ample time to apply, since applications opened Sept. 1 and closed Jan. 23.
“I think it was a very clear and not super stressful process,” Turner said. “You’re given a lot of time because it’s not due until January … I’ve been subscribed to newsletters about the applications and my inbox every single week was getting stuff about application workshops and information sessions.”
The Batten course load also allows for many students to double-major in the College, according to the Batten admissions blog. Statistics from the blog show many admitted students pursue academic interests beyond public policy by studying second majors in fields such as economics, global studies, media studies and more.
Kancharla said she plans to pursue a major in Spanish, in addition to her B.A. in Batten. She described how studying Spanish allows her to pursue parts of policy work such as education and immigration reform.
“I think having a Spanish degree to add to the policy degree is going to be helpful,” Kancharla said. “Especially in the United States, just because of the number of Spanish speakers that we have and how much policy impacts those people.”
Looking back at the process, Turner said that he would recommend applying to Batten if students are interested. He added that the prerequisite requirements often align with general education disciplines, making the major accessible without a significant academic risk.
“I think there’s really no harm in applying, even if it’s not something you’re sure about,” Turner said. “The prereqs aren’t super demanding … and the application itself isn’t super daunting. It’s totally doable, even with a super packed schedule.”
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