Students are expected to participate full-time in the program for at least the first two years. After successfully competing these requirements, students form dissertation committees and devote the remainder of their time in the program to conducting research and writing the dissertation. The School offers various program options at the Master's and Ph.D. levels. The costs of attending the School are relatively low, especially from the standpoint of University tuition and fees, which are among the lowest in the country. The Policy Research Project, a group project for a client, and the Internship are examples of this orientation.
Seminars allow students to focus on policy areas, as does the professional report.
Other strengths are its distinguished faculty and alumni. The faculty combine excellent academic credentials with an impressive array of public service records. The median age of students enrolled in the LBJ School is 27, and over 80 percent of the students entering graduate school in 1998 had full-time professional work experience. Students are most likely to have baccalaureate degrees in political science or government, history, economics or English. Approximately 6 percent of this class was comprised of international students.