Michah Rothbart

Why did you choose Wagner for graduate school?

NYU Wagner presented me with a unique opportunity to work with renowned researchers in my field of study, receive the prestigious IES-PIRT fellowship, access great data available through the research center at IESP, and work in one of the most exciting cities to study public policy. 

How did being in New York impact your professional journey?

New York City maintains some of the highest quality data of any city in the country. Moreover, city employees are more readily open to rigorous research than in some other settings. Taken together, this provided great opportunities to pursue pertinent research topics in my own backyard. Further, I had several contacts from my time working in New York City government and was able to maintain those contacts while studying at NYU. 

How did your Wagner experience prepare you professionally for what you are doing today?

Wagner prepared me to identify interesting research topics, design an analytic strategy, and think through challenges in the study as they arise. In addition, I had tremendous support building up teaching experience while in the program. My training certainly prepared me to be an assistant professor at a research university.