Hertie School of Governance - Data for Good Scholarship

Data science has the ability to improve the world in a number of ways, particularly in terms of social good. By analyzing data, we can identify and address issues such as poverty, inequality, and environmental sustainability. For example, data science can help us understand the root causes of social issues and find ways to address them, such as by identifying patterns in crime data to help prevent future incidents or by analyzing healthcare data to improve patient outcomes. Data science can also help us to make more informed decisions that benefit society, such as by identifying ways to allocate resources more effectively or by predicting and mitigating the impact of natural disasters.

Master of Data Science for Public Policy

Fighting climate change, combatting disinformation or creating smart cities - today's complex issues call for a new generation of policymakers and problem solvers who understand how to combine policy and data to create solutions for government, civil society and business.

The Master of Data Science for Public Policy (MDS) brings together passionate students from both technical and social science backgrounds to deepen their analytical skills and develop an in-depth understanding of the policy world. During this two-year master's you will learn how to leverage AI's transformative capabilities and data science-based decision-making to tackle some of the most complex challenges of our time.

In the programme, you will receive training by instructors from the Data Science Lab, who are internationally renowned researchers and excellent teachers. The intense but hands-on classes will give you the ideal environment to learn core data science concepts and computational implementation by heart, not comparable to massive online courses that lack both the depth of training and commitment to your needs.

If you want to learn how to turn data into responsible solutions across all sectors, then this programme is for you. At the Hertie School in Berlin the worlds of policy and data intersect in and outside the classroom, empowering you to build a unique profile for your career from day one.

About Hertie School 

The Hertie School is a private university based in Berlin, Germany, accredited by the state and the German Science Council. It prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business and civil society. Interdisciplinary and practice-oriented teaching, first-class research and an extensive international network set the Hertie School apart and position it as an ambassador of good governance, characterised by public debate and engagement. Our motto is "Understand today. Shape tomorrow".

The Hertie School was formally founded as a private, non-profit institution in December 2003 by the Hertie Foundation, thereby becoming the first professional school for public policy in Germany.

Offering programmes that emphasised academic excellence and practical orientation in the reunified capital of Berlin, the Hertie School was, from its start, a unique educational institution in Germany. The school began by organising panels, symposia and discussions as well as providing a platform for policymakers, professionals and practitioners from the media, NGOs and business to engage with academia.

In February 2005, the Hertie School was granted official state recognition and given the authority by the Berlin Senate to award the academic title Master of Public Policy as an institution of higher learning. The first cohort of students in the two-year Master of Public Policy programme began their studies in September 2005, and the programme has grown considerably each year.

In September 2008, the school launched its second master's programme: the Executive Master of Public Administration. Together with the Freie Universität Berlin and the Social Science Centre Berlin (WZB), the Hertie School established the Berlin School of Transnational Studies in 2008.

In 2011, the Hertie School was one of the few private universities in Germany to receive the right to award doctorates. The Doctoral Programme in Governance started in 2012. The first cohort of the Master of International Affairs began their studies in 2015, the first cohort of the Master of Data Science for Public Policy will begin their studies in 2021. 

Our School bears a household name in Germany, which belonged to a successful chain of department stores – Hertie. The original stores, or Herman Tietz Warenhauser, were founded in 1882 by a German Jewish family, led by Oskar Tietz, with the support of his uncle, Hermann Tietz (the name HERTIE was later derived his name: HERmann TIEtz).

After many years of successful growth and expansion, the company entered the Great Depression in the late 1920s heavily indebted. From 1930, the stores also faced the effects of discriminatory policies against Jewish merchants and sales significantly deteriorated.

In 1933, the stores were “aryanised” and a consortium of banks, known as the “Hertie Kaufhaus Beteiligungs GmbH”, dispossessed the Tietz family of their company assets. The consortium appointed Georg Karg, a long-time salesman and later chief textile buyer, as the new managing director. Many members of the Tietz family immigrated to the US and elsewhere.

After the war, a financial settlement was reached with the Tietz family and Georg Karg, the subsequent owner of the Hertie brand.

The Hertie Foundation was founded in 1974 by Mr. Karg. Since its launch, the Foundation has spent more than 450 million Euros on its own projects or grants in the fields of multiple sclerosis, neurosciences, education, integration, democracy, and work-life balance. Currently, the work of the Hertie Foundation focuses on two key issues: brain research and strengthening democracy.

In 2003/2004, the Hertie Foundation founded the Hertie School (now Hertie School) to institutionalise research and teaching on new forms of statehood and governance. The Hertie Foundation’s leadership has a strong commitment to honour its past. In November 2020, its board commissioned the Frankfurt-based Gesellschaft für Unternehmensgeschichte (Society for Company History) to conduct an academic review of the early history of the foundation's assets.