A Carleton University master’s program provides graduates with the necessary applied skills and networks and builds a direct trajectory to work in politics, including as part of Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s team.
The Master of Political Management program trains students to work in politics and support politicians at all levels of government through an intensive one-year program that provides students with real work experience and the applied skills required to pursue political careers.
Jennifer Robson is an associate professor and former director of the program. She helped launch the program in 2011 to address a “real need” for a professional graduate program of its kind.
“These are folks who are in really influential roles, providing advice to cabinet ministers, to members of parliament, to senators. And there’s also the whole ecosystem of folks who work near politics in terms of government relations and advocacy roles in the voluntary sector,” Robson told iPolitics in an interview.
“We have a really good network of solid policy and public administration schools in Canada, we need something that actually supports the professional development skills, ethical frameworks of the folks who are working in those political jobs.”
The faculty have professional experience “from across the political spectrum” to teach an applied curriculum, which includes learning how to provide briefings and write press releases, communications plans, memos and speeches. The students also work in political jobs during the program, and about 40 per cent continue in those roles after graduation, said Robson.
Another 30 per cent go to “political-adjacent” roles like lobbyist groups, non-profit organizations and government relations groups. Some also become public servants.
Minister Fraser attended the program’s pinning ceremony on Friday to offer remarks and congratulate the graduates, including two of his staff who are students in the program.
“I believe the program is actually delivering real value, not only to the students who take part in this, but to the workings of Parliament,” Fraser told iPolitics. “Having talented staff makes all the difference in the world, and I’ve seen firsthand what people are able to contribute.”
Fraser employs two current students in the program as well as two program alumnus, chief of staff Savannah DeWolfe and communications and policy advisor Micaal Ahmed.
The pattern of hiring staff through the program “started more by happenstance” but has grown into a “potential pipeline” over time, said Fraser.
The program’s tight network of alumni and faculty fosters connection across the political spectrum and has created a hiring treasure trove, said Fraser.
“What makes this program unique is the skills training that it delivers for people who are willing to work in public policy. Somebody might have an excellent grounding in political philosophy, they might understand the role of political parties or campaigns or the upper chamber in the House of Commons, but they may never have seen a memorandum to cabinet,” said Fraser. “They may never have run an announcement for a government official. They may have never actually sat through a parliamentary committee hearing.
“When you have people who can develop the skills through an education program that’s designed to have them ready to work in a very particular setting, in the real world, they get a level of exposure to the inner workings of how governance and politics actually play out in real-time when you’re working with elected officials,” he continued. “And there’s not another program in the country I’m aware of that actually provides that real-world applied skill in a political context.”
Fraser hired DeWolfe in 2015 when he was first elected to office, and she has worked for his team as she pursued her education, including her undergraduate studies in political science, followed by law school and the master’s program.
“You graduate from poli-sci thinking that you’d be ready… Then you quickly realize you still don’t actually really know how the Hill works or how legislation gets passed in Canada, or how to effectively use lobbying and work with stakeholders, or how to write political communication,” DeWolfe told iPolitics. “So I think there’s definitely a knowledge gap that the program saw and pretty effectively fills.”
DeWolfe has also been able to tap into the program’s extensive network when hiring staff for the team, she explained, and be confident that graduates have the necessary skills.
“Some people have joined our office during their time in the program, and others near the end of their completion of the program,” Fraser said. “But certainly when we see somebody who has received the training that the program provides, we have a sense of confidence that they know what they’re talking about and are able to make contributions from the first day.”
