Graduate Certificate in Industrial Policy
Join in a global cohort of professionals to master industrial policy through one-on-one advising and real-time lectures from Ian Fletcher, graded papers and capstone project, and seminar discussions with your colleagues.
Next cohort: January 11 2027 - April 9 2027
Industrial policy is increasingly important across government, trade, and media. No American university has offered an introductory course on the subject. Until now. The program was created with Ian Fletcher, coauthor of Industrial Policy for the United States (Cambridge University Press, 2025).
The curriculum progresses from grounding in economic theory to real-world case studies examining successes and failures across multiple nations. This course requires an introductory but not expert familiarity with conventional economics.
Early registration discount: 15% if registered before December 11th.
- 12 Weeks
- 1-on-1 Expert Advising
- 100% Remote & Flexible
- World-Class Faculty
Who This Program is Built For
Policy staff and economists
Those drafting the memos, briefings, and options papers that actually move trade and manufacturing policy inside Commerce, USTR, or an economic agency. They need sharper frameworks and direct access to experienced practitioners.
Think tank researchers and analysts
Researchers publishing on industrial strategy who need primary depth on the cases you're probably already citing, plus a cohort of peers working adjacent beats.
Congressional staff
Those briefing a member ahead of a markup or a hearing on trade, appropriations, or commerce, often with a day or two of lead time.
Industry and trade association leaders
Those translating policy shifts for members, who need to argue from inside the debate, not outside it.
Due to the relevance of certain aspects of industrial policy to national security, this course is not available to citizens of nations identified in Section (d)(1) of the State Department's ITAR §126.1 list of proscribed countries, which may be found here.
Meet Your World-Class Professor
Ian Fletcher has spent more than two decades arguing against free trade orthodoxy and for American industrial policy. He serves on the advisory board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, where he previously worked as senior economist. He authored Free Trade Doesn't Work and co-authored with Marc Fasteau, Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries, published by Cambridge University Press. He studied at Columbia University and the University of Chicago and lives in San Francisco.
A 12-Week Certificate For People Writing America's Industrial Policy
Twelve weeks, a world-class professor, a small cohort of rising leaders in industrial policy.
Each week alternates between instructor-led lecture and candidate-led seminar. One week, Fletcher lectures — unpacking the frameworks, the case studies, the arguments that actually move policy. The next week, you attend a seminar in which you test those frameworks against your own research in front of a small cohort of peers. Four one-on-one advising sessions with Fletcher are included.
Designed for Busy Professionals
- The lectures will all be recorded and can be watched at your convenience.
- Much, but not all, of the class discussion will be by way of email threads, which you will be able to participate in similarly.
- Important one-on-one tutorial meetings can be held to fit your schedule.
1-on-1 Expert Tutoring
Work directly with Ian Fletcher—a national and global leader in industrial policy. He will personalize sessions to your goals, interests, and career.
Accelerated Learning
Alternating seminars & lectures, asynchronous readings and materials between sessions, and 1-on-1 advising/tutoring sessions with Ian Fletcher.
Research Meets Policy
Connect your learnings and research into industrial policy directly to policy. Candidates will write two brief blog posts on industrial policy topics, and a capstone policy recommendation paper on one industry/country.
Study from Anywhere
Meet your professors and coach a few times a week via Zoom, Slack, and chat. Spend the rest of your time reading, writing, researching, and putting what you learn to work in the real world.
Powerful Network
The students of this course come from the world of commerce, think tanks, and industry. Student-led seminars and social events will give you the chance to build valuable relationships with your cohort that will last into the future.
Career-Integrated Learning
From day one, your instructor will be connecting your studies and assignments to your intellectual and professional goals.
What You Will Master
The real history of industrial policy
Command of how Japan, South Korea, and Germany actually built durable industrial capacity — and why the UK's Concorde program and Argentina's protectionism didn't. Fletcher lectures each case; you stress-test it in seminar.
The free trade debate, from the inside
A working grasp of where free trade orthodoxy came from and where it breaks down, so you can argue the position instead of repeating its talking points. Built through lecture, then defended in a seminar you lead.
Fluency in the policy toolkit
Practical command of tariffs, subsidies, and procurement — what each actually does, what it costs, and when it backfires. Covered in lecture, applied to live cases in seminar.
A framework for reading current policy
The ability to evaluate reshoring, the CHIPS Act, and China's industrial strategy critically, instead of taking either side's framing at face value. Tested against your own agency's or organization's current work in seminar.
The craft of writing for impact
Structuring an argument that survives scrutiny from a principal, a member, or a peer reviewer. Built through direct instruction and refined line by line in your one-on-one sessions with Fletcher.
Your own policy position, sharpened
Four one-on-one advising sessions with Fletcher, built around your actual portfolio — not a generic case study. You leave with a memo that reflects your judgment, pressure-tested by his.
Get Ready to Lead in Industrial Policy
Technical Depth and Strategic Range
You don't just learn the tools — tariffs, subsidies, procurement — you learn when they work and when they don't. Twelve weeks builds both the technical grounding and the strategic judgment to apply it inside a real institution.
A Network for Life
Your cohort is a working group of federal staff, think tank researchers, and industry leaders, not a room of strangers. The relationships you build over twelve weeks outlast the program.
Recognized Expert Instruction
You learn directly from Ian Fletcher, not a generalist adjunct. Every lecture, seminar, and advising session comes from someone who has spent two decades inside this exact debate.
Certified Credentials
You graduate with the Executive Certificate in Industrial Policy awarded by Elton University—a certified 501(c)3 institution that is an expert in evidence-based education and personalized university-level education and research.
Eligibility
To enroll in a master's program or graduate certificate, you need one of the following:
- A bachelor's degree, or
- Some college plus 3 years of relevant work experience, or
- Proof of your ability to engage in master's-level study.
No standardized tests are required: no GRE, no GMAT.
Your Investment
Tuition: $2,500
Funding is available for discounted tuition for employees of NGOs, universities, and government agencies residing in countries classified by the World Bank as lower-middle income or below. Please explain your situation in your application.
Certificate Details
12 weeks
10 Hours/Week
- Join a cohort and community of IP experts and professionals
- Bi-Weekly Live & Interactive Lectures with Ian Fletcher
- Bi-Weekly Live Community-led Seminars
- 4x 1-on-1 tutoring and advising meetings with Ian Fletcher
- Capstone industrial policy paper
