Degree Requirements

Master of Public Policy (MPP) -

• 17 courses, including 10 required core courses, 5 electives, and 2 credits for the master's project.
  
• Global Public Policy Concentration has one additional required course, Globalization and Governance, and at least two electives must have an international focus.
• Summer internship between the first and second years of study.
• Completion of a master's project, a year-long policy research project for a real-world client.

Master of Arts in International Development Policy (PIDP) - Two-year Program

• 16 courses, including 8 required PIDP development policy seminars and 8 electives from within the Sanford Institute or from other departments and professional schools at Duke.
• Summer internship between first and second years of study.
• Completion of a master's project related to policy issues the student intends to address upon completion of the Program.

Master of Arts in International Development Policy (PIDP) - One-year Program

• Only for candidates with post-graduate degrees or at least one year of graduate-level coursework (decision on eligibility for one-year program is made during the admissions process).
• 10 courses, including 4 required PIDP development policy seminars and 6 electives from within the Sanford Institute or from other departments and professional schools at Duke.
• Completion of a master's project related to policy issues the student intends to address upon completion of the Program.

PhD in Public Policy (PhD) -

• Minimum of 16 courses, including:
  • Core public policy requirements
  • Minimum of 2 courses in a focused policy area
  • Coursework in 3 other social science disciplines (economics, political science, sociology), including at least 5 courses in a disciplinary concentration
• Qualifying for dissertation status
• A Public Policy PhD dissertation which constitutes a significant contribution to policy-relevant knowledge, either through innovative application of social science methods to policy problems, or by innovation in theory or methods appropriate for addressing public policy problems

Fields of Specialization

Although the Public Policy PhD Program is truly interdisciplinary, it is also designed to ensure that students have strength in a particular disciplinary tradition. Students designate a disciplinary concentration when applying to the program. They may opt to concentrate in economics, political science or sociology. A minimum of five courses in a discipline is required. In addition to gaining strength in a particular disciplinary tradition through the Disciplinary Concentration, Public Policy PhD students acquire depth in the policy area in which they will write a dissertation. Students primarily focus on policy areas in which Duke has particular strength: social policy, globalization and development, health policy and environmental policy. Although these are the primary areas in which Duke's Public Policy PhD students concentrate, students have the option, subject to approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, to adopt another policy area focus.

For the MPP degree, there are fields of specialization within the Global Public Policy Concentration: International Development, International Environmental Policy, International Security and Humanitarian Intervention, Human Rights and Democratization, International Trade and Finance. Other policy specializations within the MPP program include Health Policy, Social Policy, and Environmental Policy.

MIDP students can focus on such topics as development management, public finance, peace and conflict resolution, social policy, environmental policy, international trade and economic policy.

Students in both the MPP and MIDP programs compete to attend Duke's Summer in Geneva, Switzerland program interning at one of many United Nations or non-governmental organizations. In addition students participate in a four-week course on Global Policy and Governance, which includes numerous guest speakers and institutional briefings at Geneva-based international organizations.

Students in both programs may pursue certificates from other departments, such as Latin American Studies, Health Policy, Women's Studies, East Asian Studies, and Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies. Elective courses are available for MPP and MIDP students with other academic departments at Duke University, University of North Carolina, North Carolina Central University and North Carolina State University through an intra-institutional course registration agreement.

Joint Degrees