The two-year professional MPP Program prepares students for leadership roles in government and nonprofit organizations, both in domestic and international locations. Dual degrees offered are as follows: law (JD) with Schools of Law at Duke and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University, business (MBA) with Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business, environment (MEM/MF) with Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, divinity (MDiv/MTS) with Duke Divinity School, medicine (MD) with Duke University School of Medicine, data science (MDS) with Hertie School (Germany) and engineering (MEng) with Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering. The MPP Program requires full-time enrollment, and students average have two-to-six years of post-undergraduate work experience.
4+1 Accelerated MPP: The 4+1 Accelerated MPP track is an opportunity for all undergraduate majors at Duke, to complete both their undergraduate and master’s degrees in five years. Majors who are able to pursue graduate-level coursework during their senior year are eligible to apply in the spring of their junior year.
The MPP Program offers seven policy-area concentrations that span domestic and global policy issues—environment and energy policy; health policy; international development policy; national security and foreign policy; social policy; education policy and technology policy—for which the concentration is recorded on student’s transcript upon graduation.
Requirements to earn a concentration include the following:
Regardless of whether a student chooses to concentrate in a particular policy area, elective courses will play an important role in shaping the student’s learning experience. MPP students may take elective courses within the Sanford School, in other departments and schools at Duke, and at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, or North Carolina Central University. Students should plan their coursework based on the course offerings for a particular semester.
Information about concentration requirements and sample course offerings can be found at sanford.duke.edu/academics/masters-programs/master-public-policy/concentrations. For current course offerings, consult Duke University’s official schedule of classes available through DukeHub.
Duke Global Policy Program in Geneva. The Duke Global Policy (DGP) Program in Geneva is a summer course designed to equip graduate students with the practical tools and knowledge necessary to be global change agents. All candidates for the program will apply to a policy track of their choice. Students will learn how international and non-governmental organizations in Geneva are working to address today's most pressing global challenges through our signature Global Policy Intensive Course Week.
During the Intensive Course Week, students meet with approximately 20 practitioners, attend site visits to Geneva-based IGOs and NGOs, participate in networking events, and complete a policy memo or other capstone assignment. Detailed information is available on the program website at sanford.duke.edu/academics/special-programs/geneva-program.
Hertie School of Governance Exchange Program. Each year, the Sanford School MPP Program offers a fall-semester (12-credit) international exchange opportunity for students with the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. Launched in 2005, the Hertie School is modeled after leading professional public policy schools in the United States, and offers an English-language MPP degree. Located in the heart of Berlin, Hertie’s strengths are in international policy (particularly EU), technology policy, data science for public policy, and global governance. The exchange should be particularly valuable for MPP students with those interests and/or those who may be writing a Master’s Project for a client based in Europe (though not required).
This exchange will take place in the fall; up to two MPP students are selected to attend each year. Here are a few highlights: