Master of Public Policy (MPP) at Duke University

Programme overview

A two-year residential programme for early-career professionals teaching evidence-based policy analysis, data-driven decision-making and inclusive leadership. Cohorts typically number 60 to 80 students.

Faculty: Sanford School of Public Policy | Duration: 24 months (51 credit hours) | Intake: Fall | Study mode: full-time | Location: Durham, NC, United States

What you will study

Core courses in Policy Analysis, Data Analysis/Statistics/Evaluation, Microeconomic Analysis, Political Analysis, Ethics, and Management and Leadership, plus a summer internship and a master's project or capstone. Concentrations include Environment & Energy, Health, International Development, National Security, Social, Technology and Education.

Career pathways

Graduates work in private sector research and consulting (about 46%), domestic nonprofits (21%), state and local government, and federal and non-US government; employers include Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, the US EPA and the US GAO.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Sanford MPP: US four-year bachelor's degree or equivalent; no minimum GPA (admitted applicants averaged about 3.5). Two or more years of related work preferred. Prerequisites: one microeconomics and one statistics course, each B or higher (conditional admission possible). GRE optional. Preferred English minimums: Duolingo 130, IELTS 7.0, TOEFL 100. Three recommendations, a 750-1,000 word statement of purpose, a resume of up to two pages and a short video response. Deadline January 5; application fee USD 80.

USD 57,708 a year (2026-27). Estimated Sanford MPP tuition for fall and spring (year one), 2026-27; subject to Board of Trustees approval. Excludes fees and insurance. Source

Graduate School master's programmes list application deadlines for fall 2027 entry; Fuqua online MSQM programmes start September 2026, the MQM and MMS Foundations of Business start July 2026, the Daytime MBA starts August 2026 and the Weekend Executive MBA starts May 2027.

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate starts in August for applicants admitted in both the fall and spring rounds.

Fall 2027 Graduate School master's deadlines: Analytical Political Economy 01/28/2027; Applied Ethics & Policy 03/18/2027; Biomedical Engineering 02/01/2027; Civil and Environmental Engineering 01/10/2027; Computer Science 02/01/2027; Critical Asian and Middle Eastern Humanities 02/17/2027; Dance (MFA) 12/17/2026; Digital Art History/Computational Media 01/28/2027; East Asian Studies 01/31/2027; Economics 01/14/2027; Economics and Computation 02/01/2027; Electrical and Computer Engineering 01/16/2027; Experimental and Documentary Arts 01/28/2027; Global Health 02/26/2027; Graduate Liberal Studies 06/01/2027; Humanities 03/15/2027; Interdisciplinary Data Science 01/28/2027; Master of Arts in Teaching 01/29/2027; Materials Science and Engineering 03/15/2027; Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science 01/19/2027; Medical Physics 01/08/2027; Political Science 02/16/2027; Population Health Sciences 01/15/2027; Religious Studies 02/01/2027; Slavic and Eurasian Studies 02/01/2027; Statistical Science 01/05/2027. History and Quantitative Financial Economics are not accepting applications for 2027 enrollment.

Occupational Therapy Doctorate 2026-27 application deadlines: Fall round Thursday, October 8, 2026; Spring round Tuesday, January 12, 2027 (applications through OTCAS). Fall applicants are notified the first week of December 2026 and spring applicants the first week of March 2027.

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