Max Spohn

While Max Spohn (Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences `20) was studying philosophy, politics, and economics as an undergrad in London, he was drawn to the ties with human behavior. "I became increasingly interested in political behavior: How do people vote, how do they form economic beliefs, etcetera?" he illustrates, "And I became quite interested in behavioral economics, particularly how it can inform development policies and make them more effective." These questions led him to pursue graduate school. Max knew he wanted to continue investigating the application of behavioral insights to public policy research, which he could do in Penn's Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) program.

The Penn degree stood out as a rare opportunity for the interdisciplinary study Max was seeking—an integrated spectrum of related fields rather than a degree in one discipline. He was also drawn to the customizability. "A lot of the UK master's programs I applied to had very strict curricula," Max remembers. "The Penn program was much more flexible. It seemed like you could go your own path."

The path Max set for himself pointed toward his eventual goal—doctoral studies. He customized his MBDS coursework to best prepare himself for the rigors of doctoral research. "I call it the ‘academic version’ of the MBDS program," he says. "I tried to take as many PhD-level classes as I could."

Max also took advantage of opportunities to engage with faculty across Penn, work as a research assistant, and participate in class research projects whenever he could. "That's how I made the program fit my goals and interests," he notes.

"One of the amazing things about Penn is that the faculty you work with are heavily involved in research—they're very much at the forefront of their field, so you can take part in a lot of research if you want to," he advises. To get more of a footing in political science, for example, Max reached out to that department to try to find a research assistantship; and one research position led to another. "Once I was done with the first project, there were other professors who needed help with different projects."

Class projects lead to more prospects, too. "In one course we designed a survey experiment investigating social norms during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the final coursework,” he recalls. “The program's founding director, professor Cristina Bicchieri, was so excited about our research ideas and design that together with her and other MBDS faculty we were able to run the survey experiment with representative samples in nine countries. It was not only an opportunity to experience academic research first-hand, but we also managed to publish our results in a great journal,” he says. And publication credit is a respectable addition to a PhD applicant's resume.

Another opportunity for students to engage in applied research and test the waters of future career opportunities is through Design Challenges—where MBDS students advise industry partners on real-world behavioral science questions. Max completed several challenges and consulting projects while at Penn, working with clients like Deloitte and Spotify over entire semesters. "You get to see loads of different applications of behavioral science to a range of topics and realize quickly which you are actually interested in and which less so," he shares. "I realized I was interested in the policy-oriented research rather than applications in a business context. It was really helpful to see what the possibilities are and to realize what is it that I wanted to focus on."

Max was able to apply his interests to his culminating capstone. "I had to make sure that the project worked for me," he shares. Rather than working with a company on applying behavioral insights, he designed an online experiment answering a much more academic question that would serve his PhD application. "Taking responsibility for the entire research process—from ideas to design and analysis—was invaluable to me for my job as a public policy researcher and for my PhD," he says.

Throughout his experience, Max found the program advisors and faculty supported his plans. "Particularly faculty are supportive of any research project and any interdisciplinary endeavors," he remarks. To get the most out of the program, he reminds incoming students to take charge of their course of study, as he did. "I think it definitely requires your own effort in order to secure different opportunities. And you can use the resources of the entire University if you want to." Additionally, he advises that "students should write a capstone project that helps them in their future," noting, "in the end, you can create a version of the MBDS program that gets you exactly where you want to go."

Max just wrapped up his last few months working in public policy research for financial regulation before starting his PhD program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government this fall where he'll focus on public policy and behavioral economics. Beyond that, his plans are not set in stone, but, he says, they lie "either in academia with a strong policy focus or in policy with a strong research focus­­­—somewhere at the intersection. The next years will tell."