The Kennedy School of Government will receive $500,000 for each of the next three years from the Ford Foundation to support its expanding Public Policy Program.

Harvard was one of eight universities chosen by the Foundation to receive the grant.

William M. Capron, associate dean of the School of Government, said yesterday that the school will use the grant money to develop further a new curriculum. He explained that new additions to faculty and more course materials, made possible by the grant, will enable the School to expand its program to include students from the other professional schools.

Well Established

Oona E. Sullivan, an official of the Ford Foundation, said yesterday that Harvard "received the grant because it has one of the best established schools for government policy analysis in the country." "They have an excellent faculty and their projects sound promising," she said.

Capron said that the Ford Foundation grant and a previous award from the Andrew P. Sloan Foundation are responsible for the continued growth of the Public Policy Program at Harvard.