The Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy Studies

Sanford School of Public Policy

Duke University

PhD Student Handbook

2021-2022

PUBLIC POLICY PHD HANDBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS

GRADUATE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 5

PUBLIC POLICY PHD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW ........................................................................... 9

CHECKLIST OF THE 16 (MINIMUM) REQUIRED COURSES – 48 TOTAL CREDITS .............................................................................. 9

PUBLIC POLICY PHD CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................ 10

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW...................................................................... 11

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: ECONOMICS ....................................................................................... 12

Qualifying Requirements for Economics………………………………………....…………………………………….13

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: POLITICAL SCIENCE ........................................................................... 14

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: SOCIOLOGY ........................................................................................ 15

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: PSYCHOLOGY................................................................................. 16

POLICY AREA FOCUS OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 17

SAMPLE PHD TRACKS ........................................................................................................................................................... 18

QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................................................... 20

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES………………………………………………..21

DISSERTATIONS OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 23

THE PHD COMMITTEE ....................................................................................................................................................... 23

THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL AND THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION ........................................................................... 24

THE DISSERTATION ............................................................................................................................................................ 24

GRADUATION DEADLINES…………………………………………………………………………………………..…25

APPROVAL FROM ADVISOR…………………………………………………………………………………………..…25

DISSERTATION DEFENSE .................................................................................................................................................... 25

REMOTE PARTICIPATION…………………………………………………………………....………………………….26

M.A. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 27

NON-THESIS MASTER'S DEGREE……………………………….……………………………………………….27

ACCELERATED M.A……………………………………………………………………..…………………………28

JOINT DEGREE REQUIREMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………29

PREPARING TO GRADUATE ........................................................................................................................................ 35

THE JOB MARKET……………………………………………………………………………………..……………………36

SUGGESTED JOB MARKET TIMELINE…………………………………………………………………………..36

WITHDRAWAL, LEAVE OF ABSENCE AND REINSTATEMENT ........................................................................... 37

APPEALS AND GRIEVANCES ........................................................................................................................................ 38

HONOR CODE ................................................................................................................................................................. 39

Reporting Harassment, Discrimination, and other concerns interactive guide……………………………..39

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM…………………………………………………………………………..…...….44

FINANCIAL AID ............................................................................................................................................................... 45

FINANCIAL SUPPORT……………………………………………………………………………………...………46

COST OF ATTENDANCE…………………………………………………………………………………….…….46

FELLOWSHIPS………………………………………………………………………………………………………48

SUPPLEMENTAL EMPLOYMENT……………………………………………...………………………………….49

REIMBURSEMENT……………………………………………………………………………………………...…...50

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL REGISTRY……………………………………………...…………………………………52

FACULTY AND DEPARTMENT LINKS…………….. …………………………………………………………………..53

SANFORD SCHOOL FREQUENT CONTACTS ........................................................................................................... 54

STUDENT RESOURCE……………………………………………………………………………………………………..55

SANFORD COMMUNICATIONS………………………………………………………………………………………….57

BUILDING FACILITIES INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 60

COMPUTER NETWORK ......................................................................................................................................................... 63

RESEARCH MANAGEMENT TOOLS ........................................................................................................................... 65

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN ..................................................................................................................................... 66

Form……………………………………………………………………………………………………..73

SPECIAL SECTION ON COVID-19…………………….………………………………………………………………….74

INTRODUCTION

This handbook was prepared by the Public Policy Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and the staff of the

Public Policy PhD Program. It is intended to be of use to current students and faculty, and to prospective

applicants to the Public Policy PhD Program. Subjects not covered herein, or those under review, are to be

handled provisionally at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies.

This handbook is only one source of information. Students are also responsible for knowing the

university guidelines and requirements as described annually in the Graduate School Bulletin. In

addition, the DGS has a Manual for Directors of Graduate Studies which contains necessary information

(sometimes in more detailed and specific form than is presented here) regarding all aspects of graduate study

at Duke. Do not hesitate to consult with the DGS.

BOUT THE PROGRAM

The PhD in Public Policy is an interdisciplinary scientific research degree. By design, the program couples

rigorous grounding in a core discipline with exposure to broader perspectives and training in the

communication skills required to con vey scholarly insight to non-specialists. Graduates of the program are

prepared for academic positions in public policy and other policy-oriented schools, as well as for openings

in disciplinary departments with an applied orientation. Graduates are also prepared for professional

positions in domestic and international public agencies, research organizations and policy consulting firms.

The program requires a two-course sequence in theories of public policy and coursework in three other

social science disciplines. Students designate a disciplinary concentration such as economics, political

science, sociology or psychology, as well as a policy focus, such as social policy, globalization and

development, health policy, child development and social policy and social and behavioral determinants of

health.

TUDYING PUBLIC POLICY AT DUKE

The PhD in Public Policy at Duke enables students to be mentored by Duke’s top-rated faculty members in

public policy and Duke’s departments of economics, political science, sociology, and psychology and

neuroscience, among others, all on the beautiful Duke campus. Duke University is located in Durham,

N.C., close to both Chapel Hill (and UNC-Chapel Hill) and to the North Carolina state capital of Raleigh, in

the dynamic Research Triangle area. Durham is a four-hour drive or 45 minute flight from Washington,

DC.

Duke’s PhD in Public Policy is distinguished by its truly interdisciplinary nature; the program offers a

unique balance of depth in a discipline such as economics, political science, sociology or psychology and the

opportunity to focus on a particular policy area such as social policy, global policy, or health policy. The

Sanford School is a national and international leader in the dynamic field of public policy studies, with

numerous interdisciplinary centers exploring vital policy questions in the field and in the classroom.

Members of our faculty are experts in fields ranging from aging, education and the environment to

international affairs, media and democracy and welfare reform. In addition to working with Duke’s world-

class faculties of public policy, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology, PhD students

interact with leading scholars from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke’s

Fuqua School of Business, and Duke’s Law and Medical Schools.

The relatively low number of students matriculated each year (5-8) enables each public policy PhD student

to receive individual faculty attention in courses and in research. Students also enjoy state-of-the-art

academic and research facilities including dedicated doctoral student space in Rubenstein Hall and the 6.3

million volumes in the Perkins Library System.

Most of our students pursue doctoral-level public policy research with the goal of pursuing a self-directed

research career in academia or non-profit research organizations. Graduates are also well-positioned for

jobs that place their research skills in the service of others, in domestic and international public agencies or

policy consulting firms. Students are united by their passion for public policy and their desire to have a

positive impact on the world.

RADUATE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements have been taken from the website of the Duke University Graduate School

Please always consult the Graduate School website regarding policies, procedures, deadlines and forms to

ensure you are using the most up-to-date information possible. Information published by the Duke

University Graduate School supersedes the information below about Graduate School requirements.

Formal Requirements

The formal requirements for the PhD degree are as follows:

1. payment of six semesters of full-time tuition (or five if credit for previous graduate work has been

approved)

2. major and related courses

3. English language proficiency

4. training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

5. a supervisory committee for the student's program of study

6. continuous registration

7. preliminary examination

8. dissertation

9. application to graduate

10. final examination

11. deposit of dissertation

Major and Related Work

The student's program of study normally demands substantial concentration on courses in the major

department, plus coursework in related minor fields as determined by individual programs. If there are

deficiencies in a student's undergraduate program, departments may also require certain undergraduate

courses to be taken. In all cases the student's supervisory committee will determine if the student must meet

requirements above the minimum.

English Language Proficiency

All international students whose native language is not English must enroll in English language courses as

determined by the English language placement exams administered during Orientation, unless formally

waived from this requirement by the Graduate School upon certification of competency in English. These

courses must be taken during students' initial year at Duke. For more information, see the English for

International Students web site.

Responsible Conduct of Research

All doctoral students at Duke University are required to complete a series of training sessions in the

Responsible Conduct of Research. For students in the social sciences a total of 12 hours of training must be

completed. Half of this requirement (6 hours) is satisfied by participating in a mandatory orientation during

the fall of the first year. The remaining 6 hours of training must be completed by attending three RCR

forums (a schedule is provided at the beginning of each semester) by the end of the student's third year.

Committee to Supervise the Program of Study

As early in a student's course of study as is practicable and not later than two months before the

preliminary examination, the Director of Graduate Studies in the major department will nominate for the

approval of the Dean a supervising committee, using the appropriate form. The committee consists of at

least four members, with one member designated as chair. This committee should include at least two

graduate faculty members of the Public Policy PhD Program faculty, and at least one member, usually from

outside the department, who serves as the Minor Area Representative. The majority of committee members

must be from Duke University. This committee, with all members participating, will determine a program of

study and administer the preliminary examination.

Residence

The minimum residence requirement is one academic year of full-time registration at Duke (that is, two

consecutive semesters of full-time tuition).

Time Limits

Ordinarily a student registered for full-time study should pass the preliminary examination by the end of

the third year. A student who has not passed the examination by this time must file with the Dean of the

Graduate School a statement, approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the major department,

explaining the delay and setting a date for the examination. Except under unusual circumstances, extension

will not be granted beyond the middle of the fourth year.

The doctoral dissertation should be submitted and accepted within two calendar years after the

preliminary examination is passed. Should the dissertation not be submitted and accepted within four years

after the examination, the candidate may, with the approval of the committee and the Director of Graduate

Studies, petition the Dean of the Graduate School for an extension of up to one year. If this extension is

granted and the dissertation is not submitted and accepted by the new deadline, the student may be dropped

from candidacy. The student must then pass a second preliminary examination to be reinstated as a

candidate for the degree. In such cases, the time limit for submitting the dissertation will be determined by

the Dean of the Graduate School and the candidate's committee.

Ordinarily, credit is not allowed for graduate courses (including transfers) or foreign language examinations

that are more than six years old at the date of the preliminary examination. Similarly, credit will not be

allowed for a preliminary examination that is five years old at the date of the final examination. In cases of

exceptional merit, however, the Dean of the Graduate School may extend these limits. Should the five-year

limits be exceeded, the student's department must submit to the Dean specific requirements for revalidating

credits or examinations.

Preliminary Examination

A student is not accepted as a candidate for the Ph.D. degree until the preliminary examination has been

passed. A student must be registered during the term in which he/she takes the preliminary examination. In

the summer a preliminary examination may be scheduled only between the opening and closing dates of the

summer session. Successful completion of the preliminary examination requires at least three affirmative

votes and no more than one negative vote. The sole exception to this policy is that a negative vote cast by

the chair of the examining committee will mean a failure on the examination. A student who fails the

preliminary examination may apply, with the consent of the full supervisory committee and the Dean of the

Graduate School, for the privilege of a second examination to be taken no earlier than three months after

the date of the first. The original committee must conduct the second examination. Successful completion

of the second examination requires the affirmative vote of all committee members. Failure on the second

examination will render a student ineligible to continue a program for the Ph.D. degree at Duke University.

The Dissertation

The dissertation is expected to be a mature and competent piece of writing, embodying the results of

significant and original research. For requirements and all information for submitting an electronic

dissertation, visit the Electronic Theses and Dissertation section. The dissertation must be completed to the

satisfaction of the professor who directs the dissertation, members of the student’s advisory committee, and

the dean of The Graduate School.

Review the current semester graduation deadlines for the semester in which you plan to graduate.

Electronic dissertation must be submitted to UMI/ProQuest and the format accepted at least two

weeks before the scheduled date of the student’s examination.

All doctoral dissertations are published electronically through University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Authors may copyright them if they wish. Abstracts are published in Dissertation Abstracts International.

If copyright is desired, an additional fee of $65 is charged.

Apply to Graduate

Students must apply to graduate in Duke Hub one month before the dissertation is presented and no later

than the dates listed below:

• January 25 for receiving your degree in May

• June 15 for a receiving your degree in September

• October 15 for receiving your degree in December

This application should indicate the approved title of the dissertation and be approved by both the director

of graduate studies of the student’s major department and the professor who directs the dissertation.

The Final Examination

The final examination is administered by all members of the supervising committee. The final oral

examination shall be primarily on the dissertation; however, questions may be asked in the candidate's major

field. The exam normally continues at least two hours, but not more than three. Except in unusual

circumstances approved by the Dean, a final examination will not be scheduled when the university is not in

session. A student must be registered during the term that he/she takes the final examination.

Successful completion of the final examination requires at least four affirmative votes and no more than one

negative vote. If the committee conducting the examination includes the minimum of four examiners, a

single negative vote fails the candidate. The sole exception to this policy is that a negative vote cast by the

chair of the examining committee will mean a failure on the examination. A student who fails the final

examination may be allowed to take it a second time, but no earlier than six months from the date of the

first examination. Permission to take the second examination must be obtained from the professor who

directed the dissertation and from the Dean of the Graduate School. Failure to pass the second examination

renders the student ineligible to continue work for the Ph.D. degree at Duke University.

Deposit of Electronic Dissertation

After passing the examination, candidates make changes requested by the examining committee and

formatting changes requested by The Graduate School to the electronic dissertation that was submitted

initially. The Graduate School will be notified that you have revised your dissertation and you will receive an

e-mail when your dissertation has been accepted. All dissertations must be accepted before the final

submission deadline for the semester in which the student intends to graduate, or 30 days from defense

date, whichever is sooner.

Commencement

Graduation exercises are held once a year, in May, when degrees are conferred on and diplomas are issued

to those students who have completed requirements by the end of the spring. Those who complete degree

requirements by the end of the fall or by the end of a summer term receive diplomas dated December 30 or

September 1, respectively. There is a delay in the mailing of September and December diplomas because

diplomas cannot be issued until they are approved by the Academic Council and the Board of Trustees.

UBLIC POLICY PHD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW

Detailed information about each of the following requirements is available below. The Public Policy PhD

Program requires students to:

1. Complete a set of core public policy course requirements: Political Economy of Public Policy, Ethics

of Public Policy, Microeconomics.

2. Complete disciplinary concentration and research methodology requirements, including sub-field

requirements, in one of the following areas:

a. Economics

b. Political Science

c. Sociology

d. Psychology

3. Complete at least one course in three of the following four disciplines:

a. Economics

b. Political Science

c. Sociology

d. Psychology

4. Complete a DGS-approved course of study focusing on a particular policy area.

5. Complete a second-year empirical research manuscript.

6. Pass a comprehensive examination, no later than September 30

of the third academic year in

residence.

7. Complete a yearlong (two-course) research seminar leading to the dissertation proposal.

8. Complete the equivalent of 16 courses (minimum), equaling 48 credits. Please see checklist below.

9. Attain dissertation status, including meeting qualifying requirements and passing the preliminary

exam, by the end of the third year.

10. Pass a final examination, which consists of an oral defense of a dissertation to an approved

supervisory committee. This is typically completed by the end of the fifth year.

11. Regularly attend and participate in two weekly colloquia: the Graduate Research Workshop, an

informal setting suitable for the presentation of preliminary work by students, and the Sanford

Seminar Series, where students, faculty, and outside speakers present work suitable for a broader

audience.

HECKLIST OF THE 16 (MINIMUM) REQUIRED COURSES – 48 TOTAL CREDITS

1. Political Economy of Public Policy (PubPol 901)

2. Social Choice and Political Economy of Policy Making (PubPol 902)

3. Microeconomics 1 (Economic Concentrators take Econ701, all others take PubPol 810)

4. Microeconomics 2 (Economic Concentrators take Econ 705, all others take PubPol 811)

5. Disciplinary concentration 1 – Research Methods

6. Disciplinary concentration 2 – Research Methods

7. Disciplinary concentration 3 – Subfield Elective

8. Disciplinary concentration 4 – Subfield Elective

9. Disciplinary concentration 5 – Subfield Elective

10. Policy area elective 1

11. Policy area elective 2

12. Policy area elective 3

13. Non-concentration social science 1

14. Non-concentration social science 2 for disciplinary concentration of Economics OR

Elective for disciplinary concentration of Political Science, Sociology or Psychology

15. Dissertation proposal seminar 1 (PubPol 908)

16. Dissertation proposal seminar 2 (PubPol 909)

UBLIC POLICY PHD CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All students in the PhD program take a common set of public policy courses that reflect the

interdisciplinary and applied nature of the degree. These courses are intended to introduce students to a core

theoretical literature about the nature of political, economic and social institutions and systems, approaches

to modeling how policy interventions translate into policy outcomes, and frameworks for normative

evaluation of both processes and outcomes. Students are highly encouraged to seek input on course

selection from their designated advisors in Public Policy and other faculty in their disciplinary department.

All students are required to satisfy the policy core course requirements. These are:

Political Economy of Public Policy – PubPol 901:

A one-semester course to be taken in the first semester of the program intended to introduce students to a

core set of social science ideas relevant to public policy. These include theories of collective action,

institutions and governance, all of which draw from economics, political science, sociology or psychology.

The goal of the course is to provide students with a broad framework for evaluating market, political and

social failures; identifying possible policy interventions; and predicting the ways in which such interventions

would translate into policy outcomes.

Social Choice and the Political Economy of Policy Making – PubPol 902:

A one-semester course to be taken in the second semester of the program intended to introduce students to

normative frameworks for evaluating public policies and governance processes. The course draws on social

choice theory, political theory and social theory. The goal of the course is to provide students with

normative and analytical bases to evaluate the public good, tradeoffs between efficiency and equity, political

legitimacy and justice.

Microeconomics:

Microeconomic thinking is a central skill for understanding how individual preferences and behaviors

translate into certain forms of collective action and, therefore, is a key analytic tool for public policy, as it

has become for political science and economics. Every student is required to reach a level of proficiency in

microeconomics.

For students in the Economics Disciplinary Concentration, the Microeconomics requirement is fulfilled

by successful completion of ECON 701 (Microeconomics I) and ECON 705 (Microeconomics II).

For students in the Political Science, Sociology or Psychology Disciplinary Concentrations, the

Microeconomics requirement is fulfilled by successful completion of PUBPOL 810 or PUBPOL 818

(Microeconomics and Public Policy Making)and PUBPOL 811 (Microeconomics: Policy Applications) and

the associated PhD-level discussion sections and problem sets.

ISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW

Although the Public Policy PhD Program is truly interdisciplinary, it is designed to ensure that students have

a rigorous grounding in a particular disciplinary tradition. Students designate a disciplinary concentration

when applying to the program. They may opt to concentrate in economics, political science, sociology

and psychology.

A minimum of five courses in a discipline is required. Students take basic research methods courses (a

minimum of two courses) in their disciplinary department. Students also take courses satisfying

requirements in one designated sub-field in their discipline, and they are expected to meet appropriate

qualifying or preliminary standards in that sub-field as would be required of a disciplinary PhD candidate.

Economics concentrators may, in certain circumstances, receive limited waivers from meeting the qualifying

standards in core microeconomic theory or econometrics courses.

Although we require a disciplinary concentration, we also expect Public Policy PhD students to gain

knowledge in the other core disciplines. Thus, we require every student to take at least one course in three

of the core disciplines: economics, political science, sociology and psychology.

ISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: ECONOMICS

Public Policy PhD students with a disciplinary concentration in Economics must complete the following

courses within the Economics Department:

ECON 701: Microeconomics I – PhD program microeconomics requirement

ECON 705: Microeconomics II – PhD program microeconomics requirement

ECON 703: Econometrics I – Research methods requirement

ECON 707: Econometrics II – Research methods requirement

AND a minimum of three courses (nine credits) in one of the department’s major field areas

Field

Applied Microeconomics

Econometrics

History of Political Economy

Macroeconomics and International Economics

Microeconomic Theory

Applied Microeconomics encompasses many fields, including Development, Environmental, Family,

Health, Industrial Organization, Labor, Population and Public Economics. Our belief is that students are

best served in applied microeconomics by mixing and matching across course types. The field exam

committee would then be dictated by the topic of the field paper and the combination of the courses taken.

For a major in Econometrics, Econometrics III must be one of the courses comprising the nine graded

credits.

Course structure in the Economics Department for the second year and beyond

After the first year, many (but not all) of the upper level courses in Economics are divided into half semester

'modules'. The purpose of this structure is to allow students to better align coursework with their research

interests. By their nature, modules only count for 1.5 credits and students must complete enough of them to

fulfill their graded course requirements. Module courses are all currently listed under special topics course

number ECON 881-890. Students who wish to major in an Applied Microeconomics field have some

flexibility in their choice of courses, but must obtain explicit approval of their course plan from their

advisor.

See here for modules, seminars and workshops.

Qualification Requirements in Economics

Revised May 20, 2013

To: Public Policy Ph.D. students concentrating in economics

From: Jacob Vigdor

Re: Alternate paths to qualification

Students in the economics concentration are subject to a total of four qualification requirements related to

their economics department coursework. The standard route to qualification is to earn a B+ in

Microeconomic Analysis I, Microeconomic Analysis II, Econometrics I, and Econometrics II.

There are two alternative routes to qualification available to all students in the concentration:

 Passing the qualifying examination offered by the economics department in the summer following a

student’s first year in residence.

 In the event a student qualifies in the second course in a two-course sequence, the public policy

program will consider the student to have qualified in the first-semester course as well.

The following alternative routes are available only to students who earn a grade of A- or better in both

PUBPOL 901 and PUBPOL 902:

 For each A grade earned, the student may apply a credit of one-third letter grade in one subject. For

example, a student earning an “A” in both courses may qualify in one course with a grade of B-, or

two courses if both have a grade of B. Allocation of credits is at the discretion of the DGS, not the

student.

 Students may substitute for one (or both) econometrics qualifying requirement(s) by enrolling in one

(or two) graduate-level research methods course(s) and receiving a grade of A- or better. To pursue

this option, students must first sit for the economics department qualifying exam(s) in the relevant

subject(s).

 Students may substitute for one (or both) microeconomic theory qualifying requirements by

enrolling in 3 credit hours’ (or 6 credit hours’) worth of doctoral-level coursework in the economics

department and obtaining a GPA of 3.5 or better. To pursue this option, students must first sit for

the economics department qualifying exam(s) in the relevant subject(s).

 Students who fail to qualify by any other means have the option of incorporating a segment on

microeconomic theory and/or econometrics into their comprehensive exam. To pursue this option,

students must first sit for the qualifying exam(s) in the relevant subject(s) and then complete the

relevant substitute coursework described above.

ISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: POLITICAL SCIENCE

Public Policy PhD students with a disciplinary concentration in Political Science must meet Political Science

departmental requirements for research methods courses and departmental requirements for one of the

Political Science Major Fields. However qualifying standards, including preliminary examinations, are

determined by the Public Policy department and described on p. 25 of this manual.

Methods Requirements

To meet the departmental research methods requirements, students must complete a minimum of two

courses. Public Policy PhD students are encouraged to follow the requirements for the Political Science

PhD which offers these two introductory courses:

PS630: Probability and Basic Regression

PS631: Introduction to Deductive & Analytical Approaches to Political Phenomena (Game Theory)

Depending upon a student’s background and research goals other methods courses may be substituted for

one of these courses with the approval of the faculty advisor and DGS.

Please see here for graduate courses: https://polisci.duke.edu/courses

Students must also complete a minimum of three courses, including the field seminar, in one of the

following major field areas:

o Normative Political Theory and Political Philosophy

o Political Behavior and Identities

o Political Institutions

o Political Economy

o Political Methodology

o Security Peace & Conflict

For a more detailed description of the major fields and coursework visit the

Political Science department

website.

ISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: SOCIOLOGY

Public Policy PhD students with a disciplinary concentration in Sociology must complete the following

courses within the Sociology Department:

SOC 710: Classical Sociological Theory

SOC 722: Social Statistics I

SOC 720: Survey Research Methods OR a different methods course approved by your advisor

The student will choose either SOC 720 or a different methods course as required by the student’s sociology

specialization area (see below).

The Department offers expert training in multiple sociological subfields. Students can choose to specialize

in one of these areas or create specialty foci of their own, with the guidance of their advisory committee.

Current field areas include:

• Economic Sociology

• Medical Sociology

• Population Studies

• Race

• Religion

• Social Networks

• Social Psychology

• Stratification

For a more detailed description of the subfields and coursework visit the Sociology department website.

DISCIPLINARY CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS: PSYCHOLOGY

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience offers expert training in multiple psychological subfields.

Students can choose to specialize in one of these areas or create specialty foci of their own, with the guidance

of their advisory committee. The most relevant subfields include:

- Developmental psychology

- Clinical psychology*

- Social Psychology

*Although students selecting the psychology concentration will not be able to complete training to become

clinicians, many of the Psychology and Neuroscience faculty members with expertise in Health Psychology

are included in this group.

Note: The Department also offers training in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, and Systems and

Integrative Neuroscience.

***All Ph.D. students are required to take at least five courses in their disciplinary concentration. The following

courses, all in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, constitute the curricular requirements for the

concentration.

All students electing the psychology concentration are required to take the following methods courses, which are

taught each year:

PSY 718: Research Design

PSY 767: Applied Correlation and Regression Analysis

Depending on students’ substantive interests, they are required to select three of the following theory courses:

PSY 727: Theories of Developmental Psychology [taught each year]

PSY 722: Advanced Cognitive Development [taught every other year]

PSY 721: Social Development [taught every other year]

PSY 707: Models of Intervention and Prevention [taught each year]

PSY 705: Adult Psychopathology [taught each year]

PSY 706S: Health Psychology Intervention [taught every other year]

OLICY AREA FOCUS

In addition to gaining strength in a particular disciplinary tradition, Public Policy PhD students acquire

depth in the policy area in which they will write a dissertation. Students take a minimum of two courses in a

policy area to fulfill this requirement. Students may opt to take an independent study or an individual

“Readings Course” to fulfill one or more of these requirements. Every student develops a plan of study to

be approved by both the Public Policy Director of Graduate Studies and the student’s faculty advisor that

satisfies the policy area requirement and prepares the student for the comprehensive exam.

Students typically focus on policy areas in which Duke has particular strength. These areas of strength can

be discerned by reviewing the interests of the Sanford faculty. Students are at liberty, however, to select a

policy area of their choosing, subject to approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who have a

primary interest in environmental policy should apply to the University Program in Environmental Policy (a

joint doctoral program with the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sanford School of Public

Policy.

Inter-Institutional Registration

Students may occasionally find relevant coursework at nearby institutions, including UNC-Chapel Hill, NC

Central University, or NC State. Students who have found a course of interest should initiate the Inter-

Institutional Registration process:

o Contact the course instructor to receive his/her written permission to take the course.

o Print out the Inter-Institutional Registration form

o Bring this written permission, a description of the course, and the completed Inter-Institutional

Registration Form to the PhD Director of Graduate Studies to discuss the course and have the form

signed.

o Bring all permission information and forms to the PhD Assistant Director, who will forward them

to the Sanford School Registrar Anita Lyon.

AMPLE PHD TRACKS

All of our PhD students, regardless of disciplinary concentration or policy area focus, will generally spend

their first two years of the program taking classes – a combination of public policy core courses and

electives. Students usually spend their third year writing and defending their dissertation proposal, supported

by a PUBPOL 908/909. The fourth and fifth years are typically devoted to writing and defending the

dissertation. Below are illustrative graduate student career paths, to provide a better idea of what your five

years at Duke will encompass.

Sample Path 1: Disciplinary Concentration in Economics, Policy Focus in Health

Fall

Spring

Year 1

o Political Economy of Public

Policy

o Microeconomics I

o Econometrics I

o Social Choice and the Political Economy of

Policy Making

o Microeconomics II

o Econometrics II

o Theories of Public Policy Qualifying Exam

Year 2

o Health Policy Elective

o Economics Field Elective

o Political Science Elective

o Health Policy Readings Course

o Health Policy Elective

o Economics Field Elective

o Sociology OR Psychology Elective

Year 3

o Comprehensive Exam on

Economics and Health Policy

o Dissertation Proposal

Workshop I

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop II

o Preliminary examination, including defense of

dissertation proposal

Year 4

Write dissertation

Year 5

Complete and defend dissertation

Sample Path 2: Disciplinary Concentration in Political Science, Policy Focus in Globalization and

Development

Fall

Spring

Year 1

o Political Economy of Public

Policy

o Microeconomics I

o Political Science Research

Methods

o Social Choice and the Political Economy of

Policy Making

o Microeconomics II

o Political Science Research Methods

o Globalization & Development Elective

o Theories of Public Policy Qualifying Exam

Year 2

o Globalization and

Development Elective

o Political Science Field Elective

o Sociology OR Psychology

Elective

o Globalization & Development Readings

Course

o Political Science Field Elective

o Open Elective

Year 3

o Comprehensive Exam on PoliSci

and Development

o Dissertation Proposal

Workshop I

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop II

o Preliminary examination, including defense of

dissertation proposal

Year 4

Write dissertation

Year 5

Complete and defend dissertation

Sample Path 3: Disciplinary Concentration in Sociology, Policy Focus in Social Policy

Fall

Spring

Year 1

o Political Economy of Public

Policy

o Microeconomics I

o Sociology Research Methods

o Sociology Theory Course

o Social Choice and the Political Economy

of Policy Making

o Microeconomics II

o Sociology Research Methods

o Social Policy Elective

o Theories of Public Policy Qualifying Exam

Year 2

o Social Policy Elective

o Sociology Field Elective

o Social Policy Readings Course

o Sociology Field Elective

o Political Science Elective

Year 3

o Comprehensive Exam on Sociology and

Social Policy

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop II

o Preliminary examination, including defense of

dissertation proposal

Year 4

Write dissertation

Year 5

Complete and defend dissertation

Sample Path 4: Disciplinary Concentration in Psychology, Policy Focus in Social Policy

Fall

Spring

Year 1

o Political Economy of Public

Policy

o Microeconomics I

o Research Design

o Social Development

o Social Choice and the Political

Economy of Policy Making

o Microeconomics II

o Applied Correlations Regression

Analysis

o Psychology Elective

o Theories of Public Policy Qualifying Exam

Year 2

o Sociology Elective

o Psychology Elective

o Social Policy Elective

o Psychology Elective

o Political Science Elective

Year 3

o Comprehensive Exam on Psychology

and Social Policy

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop

o Dissertation Proposal Workshop II

o Preliminary examination, including defense of

dissertation proposal

Year 4

Write dissertation

Year 5

Complete and defend dissertation

UALIFYING REQUIREMENTS

Throughout their course of study in Duke’s PhD in Public Policy Program, doctoral students are required to

meet specific qualifying requirements before beginning full time work on a dissertation. Failure to meet any

of these requirements may result in dismissal from the PhD in Public Policy Program.

Qualifying requirements for the Public Policy PhD Program include:

o Satisfactory performance in the core public policy and disciplinary departmental courses (3.0 GPA

or better average). Students concentrating in Economics must show satisfactory performance (B+ or

better) in the PhD-level microeconomics and econometrics courses or pass qualifying examinations

held in the summer following the first year. Economics concentrators may be granted limited

waivers from this qualifying requirement under certain conditions, including but not limited to

outstanding performance in PUBPOL 901/902.

o Passing a

qualifying exam

on theories of public policy. This exam is common to all students, and

is normally taken at the end of the first year as part of PUBPOL 902.

o Passing a

comprehensive exam

that encompasses an evaluation of an individual’s knowledge of a

disciplinary concentration and policy area focus. (See description of Comprehensive Exam Policies

and Procedures on the following page.) This exam is typically taken at the beginning of year 3.

o Passing a

preliminary exam

, a defense of a dissertation prospectus, at the end of year 3.

PhD Student Timeline

year Students

Take classes and pass a qualifying exam in PubPol 902

Year Students

Write a second year paper

Create a reading list for the comprehensive exam

Take the oral and written components of the comprehensive exam

Year Students

Pass a Preliminary Exam, defense of a dissertation prospectus

Year Students

Work on research

Year Students

Dissertation Defense

Comprehensive Exam Requirements and Procedures

The Comprehensive Exam consists of three components: 1) an empirical research paper requirement,

typically satisfied by the submission and subsequent revision of a paper written for a second-year course, 2) a

written test or journal-length literature review manuscript, and 3) an oral follow-up with the exam

committee. The oral component should be seen as an opportunity to request further explanation, to clarify

answers provided on the written exam, or to begin the process of translating mastery of a relevant literature

to identification of research questions for the dissertation. The exam encompasses an evaluation of an

individual’s knowledge of a disciplinary concentration and a policy area focus. Exams are individually

designed to test whether a student has achieved a sufficient mastery of their field to warrant granting them

the independence to pursue their own research agenda. In the Public Policy program, a “field” may connote

some combination of disciplinary subfields and policy areas of interest. Note: Passing the Comprehensive

Exam is a prerequisite for taking the Preliminary Exam at the end of the 3

year. The Preliminary Exam is

a defense of a student’s dissertation prospectus.

Exam Committee

Each student will have a 3-person Comprehensive Exam Committee to conduct and assess the examination.

The student will be responsible for selecting a Committee Chairperson to oversee the development of the

exam and two additional committee members with expertise in the student's disciplinary concentration and

policy area focus, subject to approval by the Director of the PhD Program. At least two committee members

will have a primary appointment in Public Policy. Each student will work closely with the exam committee

to determine the focus of the exam and to identify a body of knowledge that the student will be responsible

for mastering.

Specific Requirements and Deadlines

Statement of Academic Purpose: Each student must submit a 1-2 page Statement of Academic Purpose that

constitutes a coherent, concise summary of the individual's academic plan. Given the inter-disciplinary

nature of the PhD Program in Public Policy, this statement should seek to make detailed connections

between a student's disciplinary concentration, disciplinary subfield and policy area focus. The statement is

not a dissertation proposal, but rather a reflection upon the rationale for the student’s body of coursework

that can guide the Program Director in appointing and charging an appropriate Comprehensive Exam

Committee. For students in the 2nd year of the program, the statement must be submitted to the PhD

Program Coordinator no later than November 1.

Reading List: After the Statement of Academic Purpose is submitted and the exam committee is appointed,

it is the responsibility of the student to meet with members of the committee to discuss compiling a list of

readings, subjects, and/or concepts that the student will be expected to know for the exam or read for the

manuscript. Ideally, this list should be completed and approved by all members of the exam committee and

the Program Director before April 1. However, it is strongly encouraged that students consult with their

exam committees before the end of the fall semester of the second year to identify any gaps in a student’s

preparation that could be filled by coursework in the spring semester.

Second Year Paper: Students consult with their committee members to identify a research paper suitable for

satisfying the second year paper requirement. In the event the student is not engaged in research writing for

any second year classes, it is expected that the student will produce such a paper independently or in the

context of an independent study under the direct supervision of an exam committee member. The second

year paper is to be submitted to the exam committee by the last day of the spring semester. Committee

members will provide comments on the draft to the student in a timely manner, no later than May 31. The

student is responsible for providing a revised version of the paper to committee members by the end of the

first day of classes for fall semester in a student’s third year of study.

Administration of the Written Exam: If the written examination is selected by the student, it will be

administered in a single eight-hour session. Students are permitted to bring only a clean paper copy of their

reading list, without annotations. The exam is typed on electronic bluebook software that precludes access to

the internet or to the hard disk of the computer in use. This exam should be completed by the end of the first

day of classes for fall semester in a student’s third year of study.

Literature Review Option (**replaces the written exam

): Instead of an eight-hour written test, students will

be allowed to write a journal-length manuscript that reviews and synthesizes a literature and/or makes a

theoretical contribution to a field. The manuscript should indicate mastery of literature, and the author should

synthesize and critically examine a field of research. The intent is to help students grow these research skills

and add to their academic accomplishments/vita.

Each student and the faculty research mentor must declare which option will be pursued by April 1

through an email that copies the research mentor and indicates which option will be pursued and a tentative

manuscript title.

For students electing the manuscript option, they should consult with all committee members well ahead of

the deadline about the topic, readings, and thesis. The deadline is the same as for students electing the written

test option. The oral exam must be scheduled for at least one week after turning in the manuscript, and all

components must be completed no later than two weeks after the first day of school.

Administration of the Oral Exam: The oral examination occurs no later than one week after the written

exam of the student’s third year in residence and no later than two weeks after the first day of classes. The

oral exam is typically scheduled for 90 minutes, which incorporates time for the committee to deliberate.

The committee may ask the candidate about his or her second year paper, his or her responses to written

exam questions or the literature review, or any other topic germane to assessment of the candidate’s

preparedness to pursue an independent research agenda.

Assessment: Successful completion of the Comprehensive Exam requires a passing vote from all committee

members. If the vote is split (2:1), the DGS will decide whether the student will pass the exam. In the event

of a failure, the student will be permitted one retake to be scheduled no later than the end of the fall semester

of their third year in residence.

Note: Students who cannot complete the assignment by two weeks after the first day of classes in the fall

semester of their third year should ask the DGS for an extension.

Deadlines for 2

year:

November 1st—Statement of Academic Purpose (submit to DGS and DGSA)

April 1

—Reading List (submit to DGS and DGSA)

April 1

—Declaration of written test or literature review (submit to DGS and DGSA)

May (last day of spring classes)—Second Year Paper (submit to exam committee)

Summer—schedule written and oral exam dates with your committee

August (First Day of Classes in Fall Semester in third year of study)—Final draft of second year paper, and

literature review option/for written exam

Late August/early September—Oral exam must be completed one week after your written exam and no later

than two weeks after the first day of classes in the fall semester in third year of study.

ISSERTATION OVERVIEW

A successful Public Policy PhD dissertation must constitute 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.

Students are expected to develop and defend a PhD prospectus before a dissertation. The committee

consists of at least four members, with one member designated as chair. This committee should include at

least two graduate faculty members of the Public Policy PhD Program faculty, and at least one member,

usually from outside the department, who serves as the Minor Area Representative. The majority of

members must be from Duke University. This committee, with all members participating, will determine a

program of study and administer the preliminary examination.

Students are generally expected to have defended a dissertation proposal (the oral defense constitutes the

preliminary exam

) by the end of their third year. Normally, in years four and five, students work on their

dissertations, defending their dissertations by the end of the fifth year.

HE PHD COMMITTEE

The committee will be appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the student,

early enough to advise in the formulation of the student's program and in defining the research topic for the

dissertation.

The committee must be appointed and approved by the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at least

two months before the student’s preliminary examination. The Director of Graduate Studies

recommends the committee's composition to the Dean by means of a committee approval form provided

by the Graduate School.

The date of the Associate Dean’s signature on the committee approval form serves as the official date of

record for committee approval. The Director of Graduate Studies and/or the student is responsible for

notifying the members of the committee of their appointment and for scheduling all examinations.

Normally, the same committee administers both the preliminary and the dissertation examinations.

The procedure for establishing the original committee should be followed in making any necessary changes

in a student's committee. All such changes in a committee must be formally approved by signature of the

Associate Dean of the Graduate School before the exam takes place, or the exam may be invalidated.

Members of the committee are drawn from the graduate faculty of Duke University. At least one member of

the committee must represent the student's minor or related area; at least three must represent the major.

Occasionally requests to appoint persons not on the full-time graduate faculty — especially members of the

graduate faculties of the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University — are approved

by the Associate Dean. A person not on the graduate faculty should be appointed an ad hoc member for a

term that corresponds to the projected duration of the committee service. Please contact the DGSA who

will use the forms available

on the Graduate School web site.

HE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL AND THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

In their third year, students take a yearlong (two course) Dissertation Proposal Workshop (PUBPOL

908/909). Approximately one-third of the workshop consists of guided discussions of topics in

professional development, including methods of identifying research questions, strategies for securing

research support, writing for an interdisciplinary audience, oral presentation strategies, and navigating the

peer-review process at academic journals and scholarly presses. Two-thirds of course sessions consist of

student presentations. Students begin the academic year by making general presentations regarding their

fields of interest, then move over the course of the semester to identify a specific dissertation topic.

All students are required to prepare a dissertation proposal. The proposal should describe a research project

in detail sufficient to permit an evaluation of both its merit and feasibility. The PhD program expects that

this dissertation proposal will include a statement of the research question, a thorough discussion of how

answering this question will advance existing academic literature, and a statement of the prospective

consequences of the research findings for policy. The proposal should identify the methods to be used and

data sources to be procured in the course of answering the research question.

A student is not accepted as a candidate for the PhD degree until the preliminary exam has been passed.

The student is required to submit his or her dissertation proposal to all members of the PhD

Committee at least two weeks before the preliminary exam. The preliminary exam includes an oral

defense of the dissertation proposal, which may incorporate an evaluation of the depth of dissertation area

knowledge and the research methodologies to be used in the dissertation.

The voting to pass or fail the student at the preliminary examination, and to allow or deny a re-examination,

will be by written ballot. Passing the preliminary examination requires at least four affirmative votes and not

more than one negative vote. If the chair of the committee casts a negative vote, the student will not pass

the examination. The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for submitting the Preliminary

Examination Form to the Graduate School, and for ensuring that all preliminary committees understand

and follow the correct Graduate School procedures. Should the student fail, he or she may apply, with the

consent of the examining committee and the Associate Dean, for the privilege of a second examination to

be taken no sooner than three months after the date of the first. The original committee must conduct the

second examination. For the student to pass this second examination, the committee's vote must be

unanimous. A second failure will render the student ineligible to continue in the doctoral program.

HE DISSERTATION

The doctoral dissertation should normally be submitted and accepted within two calendar years after the

preliminary examination is passed. Should the dissertation not be submitted and accepted within four years

after the examination, the candidate may, with the approval of the committee chair and DGS, petition the

dean of the Graduate School for an extension of up to one year. If this extension is granted and the

dissertation is not submitted and accepted by the new deadline, the student may be dropped from

candidacy. Students dropped from candidacy must then pass a second preliminary examination to be

reinstated as a candidate for the degree. In such cases, the new time limit for submitting the dissertation will

be determined by the dean of the Graduate School in consultation with the candidate's committee.

PhD and master’s students are required to complete the Apply to Graduate process in Duke Hub for the

semester in which they plan to graduate. There is no penalty if you apply to graduate and do not graduate

during that semester. However, the form data does not carry over from one semester to the next, so you

will be required to re-apply for the next graduation.

Graduation Deadlines

***Please Note these Deadlines for May Graduation:

• January 25, 2022—Deadline to Apply to graduate

• March 15, 2022----Deadline for initial submission of a student’s electronic doctoral

dissertation

• April 1, 2022-----Final Deadline to defend your dissertation

• April 15, 2022----Deadline for Final Submission of electronic dissertation thesis

Check here: All Graduation-Related Deadlines

for other graduation deadlines.

Approval from Adviser

PhD candidates and master’s candidates writing a thesis: Before the Graduate School can

release your examination certificate, we must receive an adviser letter and a defense announcement

via e-mail (grada[email protected]). The adviser letter must be sent by your adviser and needs to

state that he or she has read your dissertation or thesis and that it is complete and ready for defense.

The defense announcement must be sent by your program’s director of graduate studies assistant.

Non-thesis master’s candidates: An adviser letter must be submitted to The Graduate School via

e-mail ([email protected]) no later than the deadline for submission of the Apply to

Graduate procedure in Duke Hub. The letter must be sent by your adviser and needs to state that

you are ready to graduate.

The basic requirements for preparing the dissertation

and submitting it electronically are prescribed on the

Graduate School Website: https://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/theses-and-dissertations

For more specific aspects of form and style, the student is advised to use A Manual for Writers of Term Papers,

Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian, or other approved manuals of style.

Doctoral students frequently co-author research articles with their advisors or other faculty. The standard

expectation in the public policy program is that no more than one chapter of a student’s dissertation may

reflect such co-authored work. This presumes that a dissertation consists of a minimum of three chapters.

This restriction does not apply to work co-authored with fellow students, however it is expected that joint

work between two or more students will be submitted as part of only one dissertation. Any deviation from

this norm must be approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies.

ISSERTATION DEFENSE

The Director of Graduate Studies sends a notice of the time, place, date, student's name, title of dissertation,

and names of the committee members to the Graduate School at least two weeks before the scheduled

examination. An initial version of the dissertation manuscript must be submitted to the graduate school by

this deadline as well. The Final Examination Certificate will not be released by the Graduate School until

this notification is received from the Director of Graduate Studies and the student has brought the

dissertation to the Graduate School for a format check. Members of the doctoral committee should

have at least two weeks prior to the defense to read the dissertation.

The final examination is administered by the student's supervising committee. Successful completion of the

final examination requires at least four affirmative votes and not more than one negative vote. If the

committee conducting the examination includes more than four examiners, the candidate fails if two adverse

votes are cast by members of the committee or if a single adverse vote is cast by the professor supervising

the dissertation. A single adverse vote by a member of the committee other than the supervising professor

does not prevent a candidate from passing, unless the person casting the negative vote records a protest in

writing within three days with the Dean of the Graduate School for submission to the Executive Committee

of the Graduate Faculty. After hearing the members of the committee state the reasons for and against

passing the candidate, the Executive Committee shall decide the matter. In all cases, the certificate carries a

complete record of the vote as cast and, if passed, the dissertation bears only the signatures of the

committee members voting affirmatively.

Questions asked on the final examination should concern the candidate's dissertation and related matters.

The examination is oral and normally continues at least two hours, but not more than three. The decision on

whether the candidate has passed the examination should be by written ballot. If all members vote

affirmatively, they sign their names on at least the acid-free and the first copy of the dissertation title page,

on the acid-free and first copy of the abstract title page, and on the certificate of examination to the Dean

(doctoral exam card). These signatures signify that the latter is an abstract of the dissertation suitable for

publication in Dissertation Abstracts. The final examination certificate should be returned promptly to the

Graduate School Office, either by the student or by the chairperson of the student's committee. A

committee that finds the candidate has passed except for minor revisions should sign the dissertation

examination certificate and abstract, with the understanding that the supervisor sees and approves the

revisions before the dissertation is submitted to the library. The student has up to one month after the

examination to make changes in the dissertation requested by the committee. If the student needs longer

than one month for making these changes, you may request an extension of time, stating the reason for the

delay and specifying the date the dissertation will be returned. The period of one month after the

examination for returning the final copies of the dissertation and all required forms cannot apply if the

examination occurs just prior to the end of the Summer Session, or the fall or spring semesters. At those

times the corrected dissertation and required forms must be returned immediately to meet specified

deadlines for the awarding of degrees. If, at the end of the semester or term, the student cannot meet these

deadlines and takes longer than one month to return the dissertation, the student will be required to register

for the ensuing term or semester in which the degree will be awarded.

Remote Participation for the Preliminary Exam and/or the Dissertation Defense:

All members of the approved committee must participate in the examination and are expected to be present.

The candidate, the chair and the majority of the committee must be present in person. If there are four

members, one member may participate remotely. In a five person committee, two members may participate

remotely.

Permission for committee members to participate remotely will be requested by the Director of Graduate

Studies. It must be approved by the Associate Dean of the Graduate School prior to the exam. The remote

participate will follow the instructions for remote participation (usually a short letter on university of

letterhead indicating the remote participants vote for the exam).

If a member fails to appear for a defense and previous agreement for his or her remote participation has not

been secured, the exam must be rescheduled.

M.A. Degree Requirements

PhD Students in good standing become eligible to receive an M.A. degree upon successful completion of the

comprehensive exam, typically administered at the beginning of a student’s third year in residence.

Students who elect to exit the Ph.D. program, or who fail one or more qualifying requirements up to and

including the comprehensive exam, may be eligible to earn an M.A. in Public Policy, under conditions

described below.

I. Option 1: Non-thesis master’s degree

Description:

Students enrolled in the PhD Program in Public Policy who have met all coursework requirements and

successfully passed the Comprehensive Exam may apply for an M.A. in Public Policy as they continue to

work toward the PhD degree. Students interested in obtaining the MA must apply to receive it and bring the

necessary forms to be signed by the Comprehensive Exam Committee. Receipt of the MA in Public Policy

precludes students from obtaining Master’s degrees in any other area during the course of their doctoral

studies.

A. Coursework

Students must pass at least 10 three-credit graduate courses. These courses must include the following:

• PubPol 901

• PubPol 902

• 2 courses in Research Methods

• 2 courses in a Disciplinary Subfield within Economics, Political Science or Sociology (See Course

Planning Requirements)

• 2 Public Policy Electives in a specific Policy Area (500 level or above).

B. Completion Exercise: the Comprehensive Exam

The Comprehensive Exam is designed to assess a student’s mastery of existing scholarly work in an area

delimited by traditional disciplinary subfield and policy area and is taken at the beginning of a student’s third

year in the PhD program. The Comprehensive Exam will consist of three components: 1) a paper to be

initially submitted in advance of the exam, with a revision due on the date of the written exam, 2) a written

exam or literature review that will prove mastery of the reading materials 3) an oral follow-up with the three-

member examination committee. The paper and written test/literature review collectively serve the role of a

completion exercise, and the oral follow-up serves as the defense of this completion exercise. The standard

for passing the comprehensive exam at the MA level is intended to be lower than the standard for passing at

the Ph.D. level, thus a comprehensive exam committee may simultaneously deliberate (a) whether a student

has met the standard to continue in the Ph.D. program in good standing and (b) conditional on failing to meet

this threshold, whether the student has met the requirements to receive the MA degree. For more specific

information regarding exam content, preparation and assessment see the Comprehensive Exam Requirements

in the PhD Student Handbook. Students must register to graduate in DukeHub and their adviser must

submit a letter to graduate school stating that they are ready to graduate. Please see the following link

for more details: https://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/preparing-graduate

II. Option 2: “accelerated” MA

Rationale:

The proposed “accelerated” Master’s degree for PhD students in Public Policy draws heavily from similar

degrees available to PhD students in the Political Science, Economics, and Sociology departments at Duke.

The option is primarily intended for those students that have completed the majority of the coursework for

the doctoral program but were unable to meet one or more specific qualifying requirements, or for those

students who have elected to leave the program voluntarily.

Students interested in pursuing option 2 must obtain approval from the DGS of the Public Policy Ph.D.

program prior to the oral defense of the M.A. project.

A. Coursework

The course requirements for option 2 are identical to those for option 1 above. Students must pass at least

10 three-credit graduate courses. These courses must include the following:

• PubPol 901

• PubPol 902

• 2 courses in Research Methods

• 2 courses in a Disciplinary Subfield within Economics, Political Science or Sociology (See Course

Planning Requirements)

• 2 Public Policy Electives in a specific Policy Area (500 level or above).

B. Completion exercise: the M.A. Project

Students, who elect to leave the program before the administration of the comprehensive exam, or those

who fail to complete an earlier qualifying requirement, complete an M.A. project in lieu of the

comprehensive exam. The M.A. project should demonstrate the student's ability to collect, interpret, and

analyze pertinent material on a research problem. Ideally, the M.A. project will be a paper of approximately

20-30 pages double spaced. Students may choose to expand upon a term paper to fulfill this requirement.

Student projects will be completed under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The project will be the

principal topic of a final oral examination conducted by the advisor and two other Public Policy faculty

members and scheduled to meet posted Graduate School deadlines for Master’s examinations.

JOINT

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

As of 2018, the PhD program has offered joint degrees with our allied disciplines of Economics, Political Science,

Psychology and Sociology. Students may enter the joint degree program in two ways: 1) through the admissions

process and 2) through an application process as a current student. Students would need to be admitted before

they take their preliminary exam. In both processes, students will have applications reviewed by both

departments. If both departments, agree the student will be admitted into the joint degree program. In order to

obtain the joint degree, students must complete requirements. Since this program is new, we are still tweaking

requirements. And, therefore, might be slightly different from year to year.

Students are encouraged to talk to the Sanford Contact for each discipline to make sure they are fulfilling

requirements,

Economics: Professor Subhrendu Pattanayak

Political Science: TBA

Psychology: Professor Anna Gassman-Pines

Sociology: Professor Giovanna Merli (on sabbatical 2021-2022)

Below are requirements for each program:

****PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO TWEAK

REQUIREMENTS. AND, THE INFORMATION IN THESE SECTIONS MIGHT CHANGE—

ESPECIALLY FOR ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Economics Joint Degree Program and Course Requirements

Possible Sanford Public Policy and Economic Joint Ph.D. Program Course

Requirements

Year 1

Course

Course Name

Course

Course Name

Fall

Econ 701

Microeconomics I

Spring

Econ 705

Microeconomics

Econ 703

Econometrics

Econ 707

Econometrics II

PubPol 901

Political Economy

of Public Policy

PubPol 902

Social Choice

and Political

Economy of

Policy Making

Year 2

Fall

Econ 702

Macroeconomic

Analysis I

Spring

Econ 706

Macroeconomic

Analysis II

Econ Field Course

Econ Field

Course

Non Econ Course

Non Econ

Course

Year 3

Fall

PubPol 908

Dissertation

Proposal Seminar

Spring

PubPol 909

Dissertation

Seminar

Econ Field Course

Non Econ

Course

Year 1

• Courses (see table)

Summer after year 1

• Comprehensive Exam in Microeconomics

• Comprehensive Exam Econometrics

Year 2

• courses (see table)

Summer after year 2

• Comprehensive exam Macroeconomics

• Hand in second year paper (public policy)

Note: Economics comprehensive exams replace oral/written exams

Year 3

• Courses (see table)

Note: Field courses and non-concentration courses are interchangeable in Years 2 and 3

• Hand in Econ Field Paper

• Dissertation Prospectus and Defense

• Econ Field Exam

Year 4

• Research

• Dissertation Preparation

• Job Market Preparation

Year 5

• Dissertation Defense

Note: Students will complete the following 16 (minimum) required courses—48 Total Credits

• Set of core Public Policy Courses (901, 902, 908, 909)

• Required disciplinary concentration courses in Economics (701, 703, 705, 705)

• Macro-Theory Courses (702, 706)

• A minimum of three courses (nine credits) in one of the department’s major field areas

• Three non-concentration social science courses. One course will be completed in the

concentrations of political science, sociology, or psychology

Political Science Joint Degree Program and Course Requirements

Sanford Public Policy and Political Science Joint Ph.D. Program Course

Requirements

Year 1

Course

Course Name

Course

Course Name

Fall

Spring

POLSCI

630

Probability and

Basic Regression

POLSCI 631L

Introduction to

Deductive &

Analytical

Approaches to

Political

Phenomena

PubPol 901

Political Economy

of Public Policy

PubPol 902

Social Choice

and Political

Economy of

Policy Making

Elective or Field

Course

Elective or Field

Course

Year 2

Fall

Spring

POLSCI

748 or 732

Introduction to

Causal

Interference or

Research design

and Qualitative

Methods

POLSCI 748 or

732

Introduction to

Causal

Interference or

Research design

and Qualitative

Methods

POLSCI Field

Course

POLSCI Field

Course

Non POLSCI

Course

Non POLSCI

Course

Year 3

Fall

PubPol 908

Dissertation

Proposal Seminar

Spring

PubPol 909

Dissertation

Seminar

POLSCI Field

Course

Non POLSCI

Course

See here for Political Science PhD Requirements: https://polisci.duke.edu/graduate/phd

Year 1

• Courses (see table)

Note: A

Summer after year 1

STA 230 Probability (recommended)

Year 2

• courses (see table)

Summer after year 2

• Comprehensive exam (Oral and Written/paper option)

• Hand in second year paper (public policy)

Year 3

• Courses (see table)

Note: Field courses and non-concentration courses are interchangeable in Years 2 and 3

• Dissertation Prospectus and Defense

Year 4

• Research

• Dissertation Preparation

• Job Market Preparation

Year 5

• Dissertation Defense

Note: Students will complete the following 16 (minimum) required courses—48 Total Credits

• Set of core Public Policy Courses (901, 902, 908, 909)

• Required disciplinary concentration courses in Political Science (630, 631L, 748 and 732)

• A minimum of three courses (nine credits) including the field seminar, in one of the following

major field areas

• Normative Political Theory and Political Philosophy

• Political Behavior and Identities

• Political Institutions

• Political Economy

• Political Methodology

• Security Peace & Conflict

• Three non-concentration social science courses. One course will be completed in the

concentrations of economics, sociology, or psychology

Psychology and Neuroscience (Social) and Sanford Public Policy Joint Ph.D. Program

Course Requirements

Year 1

Course

Course Name

Course

Course Name

Fall

PUBPOL 901

Political

Economy of

Public Policy

Spring

PUBPOL902

Ethics of

Public Policy

PUBPOL 810

Microecon. I

PUBPOL811

Microecon. II

P&N Core I

P&N Core II

P&N First Year

Seminar

P&N First Year

Seminar

Year 2

Fall

Spring

PUBPOL

New

PUBPOL

Methods

PUBPOL

Experimental

design for

behavioral and

social sciences

OR Qualitative

methods (PhD

level)

P&N Core III

P&N Core IV

Stat / Methods

Course

Stat / Methods

Course

TAship or

Practicum/Elective

TAship or

Practicum/Elective

Year 3

Fall

PUBPOL908

Dissertation

proposal

workshop I

Spring

PUBPOL909

Dissertation

proposal

workshop II

Stat / Methods

Course

TAship

By third year, defend Major Area Paper (P&N)/Qualifying Exam (PubPol)*****

** one of the three stats/methods courses for P&N could be micro-economics (PubPol810, which is a

required core course for PubPol); a second microeconomics course (PubPol811), causal inference, and other

advanced statistics courses are also available to fill additional required statistics/methods requirements in

P&N if desired by the student.

*** students in public policy are expected to complete a second year empirical manuscript; it is likely that

students originating in Psychology would also be completing this type of paper as the course of their

training.

****the dissertation proposal seminar is a required course for Sanford Ph.D. students. Perhaps there is an

opportunity to run a seminar course that covers both dissertation proposal and grant writing in Year 3.

***** there appears to be significant amount of overlap in the Major Area Paper Requirement in P&N

and Qualifying Exam Paper requirements in Public Policy; the requirements for both departments could

be fulfilled with the same paper/oral defense and a committee made up of members from both Psychology

and Neuroscience and Public Policy, the details of which would need to be worked out between the two

departments/areas.

P&N practicums could be designed to facilitate interaction with faculty from Sanford.

Both Sanford and P&N require students to attend seminar series/brown bag lectures and give at

least 2 talks in these series. This requirement is consistent across departments and could also

provide an opportunity to bring students from across the Joint PhD program together.

Joint policy/sociology PhD courses and requirements

1st Year Fall 1st Year Spring

Year Proseminar (SOC 701) 1

Year Proseminar (SOC 701)

Stat I (SOC 722) Stat II (SOC 723)

Logic of Inquiry (SOC 720S) Research Practicum (SOC 721S)

*Classical Theory (SOC 710) or Pub Pol 810 Contemporary Explanations (SOC 711) or Pub Pol 811

Pub Pol 901 Pub Pol 902

year exam (Two essays/lit reviews in two areas chosen by student and read by faculty in sociology)

2nd Year Fall 2

Year Spring

year paper seminar (SOC 702) 2

year paper seminar (SOC 702)

*Pub Pol 810 or Classical Theory (SOC 710) Pub Pol 811 or Contemporary Explanations (SOC 711)

Qualification in two areas is required by Sociology (for sociology; policy can be one)

Students originating in policy: Comp to be taken before the beginning of 5

semester – for joint policy/sociology

students comp will consist of 1

year exam (two essays/lit reviews), a polished version of the 2

year paper and

an oral exam in which the lit reviews in the two areas chosen by student and the 2

year paper will be

discussed.

Third Year fall 3

year spring

Public Policy Dissertation Seminar Public Policy Dissertation Seminar

PubPol 908 in Fall PubPol 909 in Spring

Dissertation proposal (Preliminary Exam) by end of third year (graduate school requirement)

Any Semester

2 advanced methods electives

4 sociology/policy electives (at least two must be in sociology)

*Note that in order to be successful in the joint policy/soc PhD, if would be ideal for the student to take Econ

810 and Econ 811 (Microeconomics and Public Policy Making sequence) in the first year. If that is not possible,

students should take the sequence during their second year at the latest

PREPARING TO GRADUATE

PhD and master’s students are required to complete the Apply to Graduate process in Duke Hub for the

semester in which they plan to graduate. There is no penalty if you apply to graduate and do not graduate

during that semester. However, the form data does not carry over from one semester to the next, so you will

be required to re-apply for the next graduation.

Note: If you require special characters in your name, contact Academic Affairs (grada[email protected]).

Graduation Deadlines

• September 2019 Graduation: Apply to graduate by June 17, 2019

• December 2019 Graduation: Apply to graduate by October 25, 2019

• May 2019 Graduation: Apply to graduate by January 25, 2019

•

See all graduation-related deadlines

Approval from Adviser

PhD candidates and master’s candidates writing a thesis: Before the Graduate School can release your

examination certificate, we must receive an adviser letter and a defense announcement via e-mail

(gradaca[email protected]). The adviser letter must be sent by your adviser and needs to state that he or she

has read your dissertation or thesis and that it is complete and ready for defense. The defense

announcement must be sent by your program’s director of graduate studies assistant.

Non-thesis master’s candidates: An adviser letter must be submitted to The Graduate School via e-mail

(gradacad[email protected]) no later than the deadline for submission of the Apply to Graduate procedure in

Duke Hub. The letter must be sent by your adviser and needs to state that you are ready to graduate.

Contact

Office of Academic Affairs

The Graduate School

gradacademics@duke.edu

HE JOB MARKET

Students in years 4-6 will likely be on the job market searching for an academic, government or private

sector position. The PhD program supports students in numerous ways by working with them

extensively on job market talks, acting as a point person for recommendation letters, and guiding

students through the process. Students are encouraged to use the resources of the Graduate School

, Duke

Career Services and Sanford Career Services throughout their academic career to prepare for the job

market.

The job market may start as early as August and as late as mid-October. Typically, students interested in

the general public policy, sociology and political science should be looking for job announcements

starting in August. The economic market will start mid-fall. For more information on what is required

by different disciplines for the job market, please see the job market handbook found on the Sakai site.

Suggested Timeline

• Years 1-4:

o Teach/TA: Learn about teaching styles

o RA: Apprenticeship for research

o Present on campus: Improves the research and your presentation skills

o Build your social media profile by updating your Scholar at Duke profile, LinkedIn and

other media

o Go to conferences: Make connections with researchers; explore universe of research

o Attend job market panel during orientation: Start thinking about the job market early

• Spring/Summer Year 4

o Begin gathering application materials (CV, Job Market Paper, Research Statement, etc.)

o Update your Scholar at Duke profile

o Create a website

o Request recommendations (whole committee, plus any others that might be useful—

TA, etc.)

o Discuss with your advisor: what types of jobs you are interested in. Any restrictions?

o Talk with Donna Dyer

o Create accounts on job boards; begin frequenting them

• Year 5

o Job listings start in late summer (August) and continue throughout the year; varies by

discipline

o Keep spreadsheet with places applying to and deadlines

o Coordinate with DGSA to send out applications/recommendations

o Reach out to professors—see if they have connections to departments/companies you

are interested in; make contacts

o Set up practice job talk on a Wednesday in the fall

o Apply everywhere (that’s better than unemployment)

ITHDRAWAL, LEAVE OF ABSENCE AND REINSTATEMENT

Withdrawal - Voluntary

If a student wishes to withdraw from the Graduate School for any reason, he or she must send written

notice to both the Director of Graduate Studies in his or her department and to the Associate Dean prior to

the date of anticipated withdrawal. Students may request subsequent reinstatement to the Graduate School.

If reinstated, the student must pay the continuation for all the terms not registered plus a $200 reinstatement

fee. A student who has successfully completed a minimum of one semester of graduate study before the

completion of a graduate program may, with the approval of the major department, be issued a Certificate

of Graduate Study.

Withdrawal - Involuntary

A grade of "F" in a major course normally occasions withdrawal from a degree program.

Students are also administratively withdrawn from the Graduate School for failure to pay their debts to the

University. Such withdrawal normally occurs in the early part of a semester. The Director of Graduate

Studies will be informed of students from the department who have not cleared their Bursar's account and

be given a date by which they will be withdrawn if their bills remain uncleared. When a student is withdrawn

from school for failure to pay his or her debts to the University, he or she will not be allowed to attend

classes, to receive stipend payments, or to function as a student in any fashion. Any student so withdrawn

may not be registered in the Graduate School again until (1) all debts to the University have been cleared,

and (2) reinstatement has been requested by the department and approved by the Dean. A reinstatement fee

will also be charged. Students may also be administratively withdrawn for failure to comply with the State

of North Carolina immunization laws. Students may obtain immunization forms from the Student Health

Clinic. Finally, all students who have placed into English language proficiency courses and who fail to make

satisfactory progress in their English proficiency requirements during their initial year of residence may not

be allowed to register for a second year. In that case, they may be administratively withdrawn no later than

the first day of classes in what would be their third semester at Duke. (Normally, the end of August for

students matriculating in the preceding fall semester.)

Leave of Absence

A leave of absence differs from voluntary withdrawal in that the student granted a leave is insured a place in

the graduate program if he or she returns to Duke within the time limit specified. Leaves of absence may be

granted because of:

a. medical necessity;

b. full-time employment at Duke University;

c. acceptance of an external award judged likely to benefit the student as an individual but not related to

degree requirements;

d. other reasons approved by the Associate Dean.

Students who request a leave of absence must obtain the endorsement of the Director of Graduate Studies,

as well as that of their major professor. All requests for a leave of absence must be submitted to the

Associate Dean for consideration before the first day of classes in a semester. No fees are charged to

students who are on a leave of absence, but time limitations on degree requirements and time schedules for

the completion of incomplete coursework are not waived during a leave. Only students who have completed

at least one semester at Duke are eligible to request leaves of absence.

A leave of absence may be granted for a period of time no longer than one calendar year. Before the end of

the period of time granted for a leave of absence, the student must notify the Associate Dean and the

Director of Graduate Studies of his or her intention to resume graduate study.

To Note:

Non-US citizens with a student visa normally cannot take a leave of absence, since doing so jeopardizes

their student visa status. Although the International Office cannot advise students about the academic

validity of a leave request, non-US students with student visas would be well-advised to check with a

representative of the International Office before submitting a leave of absence request to the Graduate

School.

Tuition and Fees

After withdrawal from the Graduate School, refunds are made according to the schedule printed in the

Bulletin. Tuition or other charges paid from grants or loans will be restored to those funds, not refunded to

the student or carried forward.

Reinstatement

Students who fail to register continuously in the Graduate School, who do not return to school after an

approved leave of absence, who have been withdrawn for failure to pay tuition and fees, or who have been

withdrawn for failure to comply with the State of North Carolina immunization law or the Graduate School

English proficiency requirement, must seek reinstatement before they can be enrolled again. To be

reinstated the student must send a letter to the Director of Graduate Studies for endorsement before it is

forwarded to the Dean for approval. The student must, as a condition of readmission, pay a reinstatement

fee as well as “continuation” fees for all semesters not covered by a leave of absence before any subsequent

registration can be accepted.

APPEALS AND GRIEVANCES

Required Courses: A student may petition the Director of Graduate Studies for permission to substitute

coursework taken elsewhere for courses required by the department.

The Preliminary Examination/Dissertation Proposal Defense: This examination is subject to Graduate

School rules, specified in the Bulletin, regarding both the requirement that it be taken within three years of

matriculation and the procedure for a petition for a second attempt in case of failure on the first. Students

wishing to petition for an extension of the Graduate School-imposed deadline must submit a written

statement to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will then decide whether to forward the petition to the

Dean of the Graduate School for formal approval. This statement must explain the reason for the delay and

propose a specific date for the examination, and provide space for the signature of the Director of Graduate

Studies.

Appeals and grievances on other matters can be made by written appeal to the full faculty, either through

the Director of Graduate Studies or the Steering Committee for the Public Policy Ph.D. program. For

further grievance procedures, see the Bulletin of the Duke University Graduate School.

The Sanford School of Public Policy

Code of Professional Conduct

PhD students are members of the Graduate School of Duke University and are governed by the Standards of

Conduct and Judicial Procedures of the Graduate School.

http://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/academic-policies-

and-forms/standards-conduct

Please see here for behaviors that are prohibited by the Graduate School and Duke University:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-forms/standards-conduct/prohibited-behaviors

And here for the Judicial Code and Procedures:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-

forms/standards-conduct/judicial-code-and-procedures

And finally here for Student Grievance Procedures:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/academics/academic-policies-and-forms/standards-conduct/student-grievance-

procedures

*NEW* Guide to reporting harassment, discrimination, and other concerns: an interactive guide for graduate school

students: https://projects.gradschool.duke.edu/reporting/

Below is the Sanford School of Public Policy Code of Professional Conduct for your reference

only. Please refer to the above sites for rules for PhD students.

The Sanford School of Public Policy

Code of Professional Conduct

The Duke Community Standard

Duke University is a community dedicated to scholarship, leadership, and service and to the principles of honesty,

fairness, respect, and accountability. Citizens of this community commit to reflect upon and uphold these

principles in all academic and non-academic endeavors, and to protect and promote a culture of integrity.

To uphold the Duke Community Standard:

- I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my academic endeavors;

- I will conduct myself honorably in all my endeavors; and

- I will act if the Standard is compromised.

Objective and Applicability of the Code of Professional Conduct at the Sanford School

Objective. The objective of the Sanford Code of Professional Conduct is to promote the Duke Community

Standard. Since the entire Duke community benefits from the atmosphere of trust fostered by the Code, each of

its members is responsible for upholding the spirit, as well as the letter, of the Code.

Applicability. The Sanford Code addresses standards expected of, and violations committed by, Master of Public

Policy (MPP) or Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) students of the Sanford School of Public

Policy or other students taking courses for graduate credit at the Sanford School. MPP and MIDP students who

violate the Honor Code within other schools or programs remain under the jurisdiction of the Sanford School of

Public Policy and will have their cases reviewed and acted upon, as necessary, according to the Honor Code and

procedures described in this document. For dual degree students simultaneously enrolled in the Sanford School

and another school at Duke University, the Dean of the Sanford School and the Director of the MPP or MIDP

program will discuss any Honor Code violations committed with administrators in the dual degree student’s sister

program to determine the appropriate course of action. Disciplinary action, including revocation of a diploma,

may be taken against someone who has graduated but later determined, in accordance with procedures established

by the Dean, to have committed a Code violation while a student in the MPP or MIDP programs.

PhD students are members of the Graduate School of Duke University and are governed by the Standards of

Conduct and Judicial Procedures of the Graduate School. Undergraduates are governed by the policies and

procedures of the Duke University Division of Student Affairs – Office of Student Conduct. For all students, any

conduct arising under Duke University’s pickets and protests regulations and cases involving students across

communities (Sanford, Fuqua, Divinity, Undergraduate, etc.) also fall under the jurisdiction of the University

Judicial Board.

Student Obligations, Professionalism, and Grievance Procedures

Student Obligations. Students will uphold the Sanford Code of Professional Conduct and the Duke Community

Standard, including its obligation to take action if the Standard is compromised.

Student Professionalism. Integral to upholding the Duke Community Standard is the obligation to develop and

maintain a professional atmosphere in every aspect of graduate student life. This includes complying with the

Honor Code, as set out in further detail below, and according dignity and respect to other students, faculty, and

staff, both on and off campus. This obligation extends to official and unofficial activities and events.

Student Grievance Procedures. It is the responsibility of the Director of the MPP or MIDP program to inform

students of the appropriate channels for redressing complaints or grievances other than Honor Code violations.

Normally students should bring their concerns to the attention of the person who is the subject of the complaint to

see if they can resolve the matter. Although students may also discuss their complaints with any member of the

faculty or staff in a position to advise or assist them, students should submit their complaints to the Director of the

MPP or MIDP program for resolution. If the complaint cannot be resolved satisfactorily at this level, the student

may appeal to the Dean of the Sanford School. An appeal must be filed in writing within two weeks from the date

that the student receives notice of the decision by the program directors mentioned above.

The Sanford School of Public Policy Honor Code and Violations

Honor Code. An essential feature of Duke University is its commitment to integrity and ethical conduct. Duke’s

honor system builds trust among students and faculty and maintains an academic community in which a code of

values is shared. Instilling a sense of honor and of high principles that extend to all facets of life is an inherent

aspect of a professional education. A student, by accepting admission to the Sanford School of Public Policy,

thereby indicates willingness to subscribe to and be governed by the rules and regulations of the University as

currently are in effect or, from time to time, are put into effect by the appropriate authorities of the University, and

indicates willingness to accept disciplinary action, if behavior is adjudged to be in violation of those rules or in

some way unacceptable or detrimental to the University. A student’s responsibility to the authorities and the

regulations of the University in no way alters or modifies responsibilities in relation to civil authorities and laws.

Violations. Violations of the Sanford School of Public Policy Honor Code include the following:

- Unsanctioned collaboration on any examination or assignment. All academic work undertaken by a

student must be completed independently unless the faculty member or other responsible authority

expressly authorizes collaboration with another. Students may not discuss exams until all students

have taken the exam.

- Plagiarism. “Plagiarism” occurs when a student presents any information, ideas or phrasing of

another as if they were his or her own. Proper scholarly procedures require that all quoted material be

identified by quotation marks or indention on the page, and associated with a particular source, be

identified and attributed to that source. Instructors should make clear what their expectations are with

respect to citing sources for each project. Students unsure about the University definition of

plagiarism should consult the undergraduate bulletin, The Duke Community Standard in Practice, at:

https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/about-us/duke-community-standard

and this link on the Duke

Student Affairs website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/z-policies/academic-dishonesty. The

Duke Library website offers guidelines for citing sources and avoiding plagiarism at:

https://library.duke.edu/research/plagiarism and http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/.

- Harassment. “Harassment” is any persistent, unsolicited behavior that threatens, intimidates, or

torments another and is likely to interfere with an individual’s work or education, or to affect

adversely an individual’s health, welfare, safety, or living conditions. Students unsure about the

University definition of harassment should consult The Office of Student Conduct harassment policy

statement at: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/z-policies/harassment

- Cheating. “Cheating” is the act of wrongfully the source of information and ideas, if closely

using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, or the ideas or work of

another in order to gain an unfair advantage. It includes, but is not limited to, the following:

plagiarism; giving or receiving unauthorized aid on tests, quizzes, assignments, or examinations;

consulting unauthorized materials or using unauthorized equipment or devices on tests, quizzes,

assignments, and examinations; altering or falsifying information on tests, quizzes, assignments, and

examinations; using without prior instructor permission any material portion of a paper or project to

fulfill requirements of more than one course; submitting an altered examination or assignment to an

instructor for re-grading; or working on any test, quiz, examination, or assignment outside of the time

constraints imposed. See more at:

https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/z-policies/academic-

dishonesty.

- Computer-Related Offenses. It is expected that any student of the Duke community using its

computer resources (all hardware, software, and network connections) will act in a legal and ethical

manner. For more information,

seehttps://web.duke.edu/policies/students/universitywide/computing.php

- Stealing. “Stealing” is the theft, mutilation, or any other unlawful or improper appropriation or use of

any property that does not belong to oneself. This includes funds or property found in student

common areas, faculty and staff offices, classrooms, library and reserve materials; intellectual

property of anyone other than oneself; and other funds or property, whether or not related to Duke

University. Refer to: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/z-policies/academic-dishonesty

- Lying. “Lying” includes, but is not limited to, communicating a falsehood in order to gain unfair

academic, professional, personal, or employment advantage that impacts the students, faculty, and

administration of Duke University. Refer to:

https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/conduct/z-

policies/academic-dishonesty

- Any Other Misconduct, whether committed on or off campus, which is adjudged detrimental to the

University community.

A comprehensive list of violations included in the Sanford Honor Code appears in The Duke University

Community Standards in Practice, found at

https://registrar.duke.edu/university-bulletins/duke-community-

standard-practice-guide-undergraduates, which defines authoritatively the violations described in the Sanford

Honor Code, and is incorporated, along with its subsequent changes, herein by reference.

Honor Code Procedures

Student Response to Suspected Violations. A student’s signature on the Duke Community Standard obligates him

or her to take constructive action if he or she witnesses, or knows about, behavior that he or she perceives to be

inconsistent with the Standard. Although there are no disciplinary sanctions associated with failure to act, a

student is, nonetheless, expected to take action as a responsibility of membership in the Duke community.

If any member of the Sanford community believes that an Honor Code violation has occurred, then he or she

should, if practicable, approach the suspected violator to clarify the situation. If, after the approach, the person

making the allegation realizes no violation occurred, then the issue may be dropped. If, however, the person

making the allegation still believes a violation may have occurred, he or she must promptly bring the matter to the

attention of the faculty member concerned and Director of the MPP or MIDP program. For cases involving social

behaviors of concern, a student should alert a faculty member, a senior staff member, or the Director of the MPP

or MIDP program to address the matter through the appropriate informal or formal channels.

Action by Directors of Graduate Programs. The Director of the MPP or MIDP program will conduct a

preliminary review of the information available about the allegations and provide the accused student an

opportunity to respond. The Director and concerned faculty member will jointly determine whether to dispose of

the allegations themselves through penalties or corrective measures, with the student’s concurrence, or through

referral to the Sanford School Honor Board for formal review. The Director is responsible for assembling the

relevant documents and records to provide to the Board.

The accused will be notified of the decision to refer the case to the Sanford School Honor Board, and may elect at

any time to have the case reviewed directly by the Dean of the Sanford School in lieu of the Sanford School

Honor Board.

The Sanford School Honor Board. The Board will be constituted to hear cases involving an accused MPP or

MIDP student who has been referred by the Director of the MPP or MIDP program.

The Sanford School Honor Board shall sit with five members: a. One MPP student and one MIDP student, each

elected by the student body of his or her respective program as an “Honor Board Representative.” b. Three

members of the faculty appointed by the Dean of the Sanford School and serving staggered three-year terms that

can be renewed by the Dean.

The senior faculty member of the Board (by length of service on the Board) shall serve as Chair. The Board shall

be supported by a staff member to assemble, prepare, and maintain the record of proceedings, including the

Board’s findings, in confidential files.

After the official request for a hearing has been received, the Chair must convene the Board within a reasonable

period of time. During this time, it is the responsibility of the Chair fully to inform the Honor Board members

concerning the case and to provide copies of the relevant documents and records to the Board and the accused.

The accused has the right to challenge any member of the Honor Board if he or she believes there is a significant

conflict of interest with that panelist. If the Board decides by simple majority vote to excuse one or more of its

members for reasons given by the accused, the Dean shall name a replacement for that case only. If any member

of the Board believes he or she has a conflict of interest that might preclude a fair and impartial decision with

respect to the accused, that Board member shall recuse himself or herself from the case, and the Dean shall

appoint a replacement for that case only.

The accused has the right to be present at the hearing and to choose an advisor to assist him or her in the hearing

process. The advisor must be a current Duke student, a Duke faculty member, or a Duke employee. The role of

the advisor is to assist and support the student through the disciplinary process. The advisor may not address the

hearing panel or any witness during the hearing.

The hearing shall be closed to the public. All proceedings shall be confidential. The hearing of any case shall

begin with a reading of the allegations by the Chair in the presence of the accused. The Honor Board may call or

question any witness with information relevant to the case. The accused shall have the right to offer written and

oral information, question any witness, and call witnesses. The Honor Board shall consider only the documents

and records provided by the Chair, documents submitted at the hearing, and any testimony of the accused and

other witnesses at the hearing in reaching its decision(s).

After consideration of all the evidence, the accused will be excused, and the Honor Board will discuss the case

and vote on whether the allegations are supported by clear and convincing information that the accused violated

the Honor Code. A simple majority vote of the Honor Board will determine the finding to recommend to the

Director of the graduate program in which the accused is enrolled. If the allegation is substantiated, the Honor

Board will then recommend a penalty, again determined by a simple majority vote.

The Honor Board shall have the power to impose the following penalties, or a combination thereof:

- Expulsion, dismissal from the University with recommendation never to readmit;

- Suspension, dismissal from the University and from participation in all University activities for a

specified period of time, during which the substantiation of any other Honor Code violation may result in

more serious disciplinary action;

- Restitution, payment for all or a portion of property damage caused during the commission of an offense.

Restitution may be imposed alone or in addition to any other penalties.

- Appropriate apology, as determined by the Director or Dean.

- Disciplinary probation or other actions deemed appropriate.

The Honor Board Chair shall prepare a written statement of the findings for the Director of the graduate program

concerned. The Director shall review and implement the Honor Board’s findings unless the student appeals.

Pending the final decision on the disposition, the student’s status shall not be changed, nor the right to be on

campus or to attend classes suspended, except that the Dean may impose an interim suspension upon MPP or

MIDP students who demonstrate by their conduct, that their presence on campus constitutes an immediate threat

to the Duke community or its property.

Appeals. Only the accused student may appeal the decision of the Honor Board to the Dean of the Sanford

School of Public Policy. Appeals shall be initiated in writing within two weeks from the date that a student

receives notice of the decision by the Honor Board and shall be made directly to the Dean of the Sanford School

of Public Policy. The Dean may conduct an independent review of the student’s case, or the Dean may choose to

appoint an Appeals Committee as part of his or her review. The Appeals Committee will not include anyone who

served on the Honor Board that considered the appellant’s case.

The Chair of the Honor Board shall supply the Dean and/or the Appeals Committee with the record of

proceedings, documents, and records related to the case. The Dean may approve the Honor Board’s findings, or

disapprove or modify them in whole or in part, but may not disadvantage the student. The Dean’s decision is

final.

Authority and Revision of Sanford Code of Professional Conduct

The Dean and leadership community of the Sanford School of Public Policy approved this initial version of the

Sanford Code of Professional Conduct, effective July 1, 2009. The Code may be amended at any time with due

notice or publication by consent of the Executive Committee of the Sanford School, in consultation with student

representatives. Questions and problems not answered or anticipated by the foregoing may be resolved by use of

other existing institutions or by amendment. The Dean retains final authority for addressing all student

misconduct, including conduct not covered in this Code and referral of matters for resolution in the civil or

criminal justice systems.

Last Revision: August 14, 2017

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

As students you will inevitably spend a lot of time writing. The Sanford Code of Professional Conduct

states: “Plagiarism” occurs when a student presents any information, ideas or phrasing of another as if

they were his or her own. Proper scholarly procedures require that all quoted material be identified by

quotation marks or indention on the page, and the source of information and ideas, if closely associated

with a particular source, be identified and attributed to that source. Students unsure about the University

definition of plagiarism should consult the undergraduate bulletin, the Duke Community Standard in

Practice at: https://registrar.duke.edu/university-bulletins/duke-community-standard-practice-guide-

undergraduates

Information below is from the Duke Library Website: https://library.duke.edu/research/plagiarism

Remember, you can be charged with plagiarism if you:

• Copy, quote, paraphrase or summarize any source without adequate documentation.

• Purchase a paper by mail or email.

• Allow another person to write a paper for you.

• Submit another person's unpublished work in your name.

More Resources:

Plagiarism Tutorial

Short Video by Duke Library “Whose Idea Was That”

Information for Citing Sources

FINANCIAL AID

Duke University and the Sanford School of Public Policy are committed to supporting Public Policy PhD

students for five years through a combination of scholarships, fellowships, research or teaching

assistantships and stipends, provided that students maintain satisfactory progress in the program.

In addition to tuition, fees and health insurance students will receive a 9-month stipend in the amount

determined annually by the Sanford School in consultation with the Duke Graduate School. Students may

seek summer employment on or off campus to supplement this annual stipend. In order to receive this

stipend, PhD Students in Public Policy will typically be required to work in a research, teaching or graduate

assistantships according to their year of study:

Year 1: Full fellowship, no work requirements

Year 2 & 3: 19.9 hours/week RAship for the year or TA for each semester for 15 hours per week

assistantship.

Year 4+: Dissertation Fellowships or full-time (19.9 hrs/ week) assistantship as an RA or TA

Please note the recent changes to the PhD TAships (July, 2021):

PhD students in years 2 and above without other support will TA one course each semester for 15 hours

per week). We expect 5 hours to be dedicated to the fixed costs of being a TA (attending class and

completing readings). The other ten hours will be a mix of service and activities that more directly benefit

the PhD student (see below).

RA Requirements

There are no changes to RA Requirements. PhD students in years 2 and above without other support will

RA each semester for 19.9 hours per week.

Students may petition the Director of Graduate Studies to postpone their fellowship support. For example,

a student may petition to accept a 10 hour per week work commitment in the first year in exchange for half-

fellowship support in the 4

year, which would reduce the expected work obligation from 19.9 to 10 hours

per week. Petitions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Starting in Year 3, students are expected to apply for all applicable sources of external funding to support

their dissertation research. However, we strongly encourage all students to seek fellowships from external

sources, which can offer generous multiyear support packages.

Revised 8/11/2021

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Generally speaking, The Graduate School covers the tuition and fees for a Ph.D. student’s first five years.

After that, students are responsible for tuition and fees, and most students obtain external or departmental

funding that helps cover those costs. The Graduate School also covers health insurance for years 1-6 if

students choose the Duke student medical insurance plan. Visit our Statistics section to see the typical time

to completion for your degree program. | More details on financial support for Ph.D. students

Stipend support for the 2020-2021 academic year (9 months) is $24,750.

First and second year students are awarded a summer fellowship for $7,500.

The Graduate School also supports students with the following:

• Internal fellowship awards

• Medical Expense Assistance Program

• Childbirth and Adoption Accommodation

• Childcare subsidy

• GradParents Study Group

• Professional Development

• Short-Term Loans

See the overview of Ph.D. student financial support and benefits (PDF) found on this page

for more information.

2021-2022 Cost of Attendance for Ph.D. Students in Years 1-3

Note: Tuition, fees, and health insurance (for the Duke student medical insurance plan) in years 1-3 are

generally covered by The Graduate School's financial support package.

Fall 2021

Spring 2022

Summer 2022

12 Months

Tuition, Years 1-3

$28,950

$4,000

$61,900

Health Fee

$429

$302

$1,160

Transcript Fee

$120

Activity Fee

$18

$19

$37

Grad Student Services Fee

$10

$20

Recreation Fee

$171

$342

Health Insurance

$3,605

Total - Tuition/Fees**

$33,303

$29,579

$4,302

$67,184

Books & Supplies

$316

$948

Housing

$4,688

$5,860

$3,516

$14,064

Board

$1,500

$1,875

$1,125

$4,500

Local Transportation

$748

$935

$561

$2,244

Personal & Misc

$1,624

$2,030

$1,218

$4,872

Total - Living Expense

$8,876

$11,016

$6,736

$26,628

Total Cost of Attendance

$42,179

$40,595

$11,038

$93,812

2021-2022 Cost of Attendance for Ph.D. Students in Years 4+

Note: The Graduate School's financial support package generally covers tuition and fees for years

4-5, as well as health insurance (for the Duke student medical insurance plan) for years 4-6.

Starting in year 6, students are responsible for tuition and fees, and most of our students obtain

external or departmental funding to help cover those costs. Duke also provides

sixth-year tuition

scholarships for students who applied for but did not obtain external or departmental tuition

support.

Fall 2021

Spring 2022

Summer 2022

12 Months

Tuition, Years 4+

$4,000

$12,000

Health Fee

$429

$302

$1,160

Activity Fee

$18

$19

$37

Graduate Student Services Fee

$10

$20

Recreation Fee

$171

$342

Health Insurance

$3,605

Total - Tuition/Fees**

$8,233

$4,629

$4,302

$17,164

Books & Supplies

$316

$948

Housing

$4,688

$5,860

$3,516

$14,064

Board

$1,500

$1,875

$1,125

$4,500

Local Transportation

$748

$935

$561

$2,244

Personal & Misc

$1,624

$2,030

$1,218

$4,872

Total - Living Expense

$8,876

$11,016

$6,736

$26,628

Total Cost of Attendance

$17,109

$15,645

$11,038

$43,792

* – The Graduate School will pay the recreation fee for all Ph.D. students during their first five years at

Duke. Starting in year 6, students will be responsible for paying it if they want to continue using campus

recreation facilities.

** – Estimated amounts due to bursar

For more information about financial support for PhD students at Duke, please visit:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support

FELLOWSHIPS

Internal Sanford Fellowships:

The Sanford School offers special fellowships including the following:

1) The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Doctoral Fellowship on Philanthropy, Media and

Democracy

2) The Joel L. Fleishman Civil Society Ph.D. Fellowship

Application deadlines for these usually occurs in the spring. Please see here

for more information:

Duke Graduate School awards internal fellowship each spring. These fellowships can be very lucrative.

Students have been recipients of the following internal awards:

• Chancellor’s Scholarship

• Dean’s Graduate Fellowship

• James B. Duke Fellowship

• University Scholars Fellowship

• Dissertation Research Travel Award: Domestic and International

• James B. Duke International Research Travel Fellowship

• Ottis Green Fellowship for PhD Students in Humanities and Social Sciences

• Katherine Goodman Stern Fellowship

• Summer Research Fellowships for Third-Year PhD Students and Beyond

• Conference Travel Awards

• Bass Instructional Fellowships

For more information about Duke University Graduate School Fellowships, please visit:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support/find-funding

In addition to those awards available through the university, applicants are urged to compete for national

and foundation awards available for graduate study. A website maintained by Duke's Office of Research

Support lists awards available from a variety of federal and private sources, as well as awards funded by the

university. External awards, which are prestigious and a valuable acknowledgement of a student's intellectual

project and promise typically replace departmental or Graduate School awards. Please visit the Office of

Research Support website for detailed information about external financial awards:

https://ors.duke.edu/funding-opportunities/graduate-and-professional-student-funding

Also, check out the spreadsheet on the Sakai site (resources section) which lists grants and

fellowships that students have been awarded. This is a great tool.

For more information about financial support for PhD students at Duke, please visit:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support

Supplemental Employment During the Academic Year

Duke Graduate School regulations govern student compensation for any academic year employment

obtained outside the standard graduate awards budget system. For example, if you are on an external

fellowship and wish to supplement that income with TA or RA work, that is permissible in some cases.

In every case, the DGS must approve the arrangement. The DGS possesses the sole authority to

determine whether earnings from such work will be offset by a reduction in the stipend amount.

Any student wishing to pursue this type of supplemental arrangements should take the following steps in

exactly this order:

1) Fully read and comprehend the regulations governing supplemental employment:

https://gradschool.duke.edu/sites/default/files/documents/policy_stipend_supplementation.pdf

2) Fully read and comprehend any regulations provided by the institute or agency providing external-to-

the-Sanford School fellowship funds.

3) Obtain the written permission of any such institute or agency to seek supplemental employment, if

any permission is required.

4) Approach the DGS to obtain written permission to seek such supplemental employment. The student

will be expected to demonstrate their compliance with steps 1) - 3).

5) In the event said written permission is granted, seek such supplemental employment. Prospective

employers should be made aware that they will be expected to cover the costs of compensation from

resources at their disposal, not Ph.D. program funds.

6) Once a suitable employment arrangement has been identified, return to the DGS for final approval.

Students receiving unsolicited offers of employment in exchange for supplemental pay during an

academic year should immediately inform the offering party of these regulations and proceed through

these six steps exactly as outlined.

Requests to approve supplemental employment arrangements that do not conform to this protocol will

be denied.

This protocol does not apply to students who do not receive funding through the standard graduate

awards budget system.

Department Funding for Research-Related Expenses

The PhD Program has limited resources to support travel to conferences, attend supplemental training

programs, and reimburse some start-up costs for research projects. The majority of these funds are

allocated in an annual Small Grants competition. The call for proposals is typically issued in the fall with a

deadline in mid-October. Applications will be accepted during other parts of the year only as funds are

available.

Note the following rules from the Graduate School:

1) Students enrolled full-time in a degree program may not work more than 19.9 hours per week or

their ‘student’ status may be jeopardized

2) Students receiving external awards should request from the grantee the funds to be dispersed during

the academic term for which they wish the funding to be counted. If they are dispersed in summer,

they could affect any internal summer graduate school awards.

STUDENT EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

There are occasions during the PhD program where students may be reimbursed for travel, research or

miscellaneous expenses. Examples include small grant reimbursements and reimbursements for grant work with

faculty.

All reimbursed trips and expenses must be pre-approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or the DGSA. You

will be required to submit documentation through Concur

How To Make the Most of Your Award and Get Reimbursed Faster:

1. Please make sure to use the correct fund code. If you are working with faculty on a grant and

using their fund code, change that at the beginning.

2. Itemized receipts are required. Receipts must show what is purchased and show the method

of purchase with a charge (i.e. credit/cash)

3. You can be reimbursed for the following:

Air/rail/bus: Original ticket receipt, not email confirmation. Boarding passes are

recommended to be submitted for proof of flight

Rental car: Original receipt/contract showing itemized charges

Hotel/motel: Original receipt showing itemized charges

Registration fees: Receipt, cancelled check or registration confirmation form indicating

payment of registration fees (Note: if it is a Graduate School award, they will not reimburse

your for conference membership fees).

Meals: Original itemized receipts for all meals. Per Duke and Sanford Accounting, NO Alcohol

is reimbursable and should not be on any receipts. Please have alcoholic beverages put on a

separate receipt and pay with personal funds.

Taxi, shuttle, public transportation: Original receipts

4. If you are splitting expenses, please write how much you paid on the receipt

5. You will be reimbursed for main meals (breakfasts, lunch, and dinner), lodging, mileage and

transportation

6. You will not be reimbursed for snacks between meals

7. If you drive, you can be reimbursed for mileage from your Sanford office location to the

destination and for the return trip. But not for travel during the conference. Please include a

Google printout showing your travel from your office location to the destination and the

mileage.

8. Receipts need to be turned in within 30 days of your conference

9. Purchases are for the individual student only

10. No alcohol charges

11. You will not be reimbursed if you go over the budget

12. You will not be reimbursed for missing receipts

13. Students are expected to find affordable options. Many students choose to share hotel rooms,

travel by car and use other options that enable their money to go further.

14. If you have international receipts please use the following site:

https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ to convert each receipt to US dollars on the day of

your purchase. Include the conversion (PDF is fine, but not JPEG) in your receipts.

15. Once you pass the preliminary exam, you are eligible and encouraged to apply for the Graduate

School Conference Travel Award. You may only receive this award once during the fiscal year

(July 1-June 30). The Sanford School will cover 30% above the allotted travel award of your

reimbursements. If applying for Graduate School funding, make sure you follow their

instructions for the application and for reimbursement which can be found on the application at

https://gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support/find-funding/conference-travel.

Send Graduate School Conference Travel Award applications at least one week before the

Graduate School deadline which is 30 days before the conference to ensure a chance to receive

the travel award. And, upload all travel receipts at least 30 days after the conference to ensure

reimbursement.

Domestic Travel Award: The Graduate School awards you $525—Sanford will pay an

additional $225 (30% on top of the $525 for a total of $750)

International Travel Award: The Graduate School awards you $700—Sanford will pay an

additional $300 (30% on top of the $700 for a total of $1,000)

Receipt documentation example:

Mulate's

201 Julia Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

504-522-1492

Date: Har23'15 12:58PM

Card Type: Visa

Acct #: XXXX

Card Entry: SWIPED

Trans Type: PURCHASE

Auth Code: 042972

Check: 1194

Check 10: 12

Server: 404 AM BAR

Subtotal: 16.44

Gratuity: ___

2.00

__________

Total: __$_

18.44_____________

Signature:

Customer Name

******** Customer Copy ********

www.mutates.com

Mulate's

201 Ju11a Street

New Orleans, La 70130

504-522-1492

404 AM BAR

Chk 194 12 GST 1

Mar23'15 12:18PM

Dine In

1 Etouffee Cup 8.99

1 House Salad 5.99

1 Water 0.00

Subtotal 14.98

Tax 1.46

Total 16.44

For your convenience:

18% gratuity is $2.96

20% gratuity is $3.29

Duke International Travel Registry

During the course of study, PhD students may travel abroad for program-related or personal reasons.

Conferences, workshops and jobs offer students extended opportunities for study, research, and professional

development outside of the U.S.

The Duke University International Travel Policy requires that all Graduate/Professional students enter their travel

plans in the Duke Travel Registry if a trip abroad will be funded by, sponsored by, or entails earning credit to be

transferred to Duke or used to earn a Duke degree. This University-wide policy applies to Graduate/Professional

students in all programs at any of Duke's schools, institutes, departments, programs, and labs and went into effect

March 1, 2017.

In addition to registering, Graduate/Professional students planning to visit a destination on Duke's Restricted

Region List must also sign and remit a High Risk Travel Waiver-Release form to the Travel Policy Administrator

prior to departure. The Waiver-Release will be tailored for the individual, noting his/her travel dates and

destination, and it will include the most up-to-date travel warning or alert. To begin the Waiver-Release process,

use this link and go to the bottom right-hand corner of the page under “graduate and professional students” and

select the button that best describes your travel (restricted or non-restricted destination):

https://travel.duke.edu/registry

Registration information is considered confidential and will only be used in the event of an emergency.

Even if a student’s international travel destination is not on included in the RRL, it is strongly recommended that

the student register his/her trip. In the case of an emergency, the information provided in the trip registration form

can help Duke administrators locate you and coordinate support and evacuation services, if needed.

The Restricted Regions List (RRL) is a list of destinations deemed unsafe for travel by Duke University.

Restriction decisions are made by the Provost based on recommendations from the Global Travel Advisory

Committee (GTAC). GTAC assesses safety and security by reviewing U.S. State Department, International SOS,

other government's foreign affairs information, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. GTAC also consults with Duke Faculty and Staff who are identified as having research

or travel experience in the destination being reviewed. The RRL is updated whenever specific conditions warrant

and it is reviewed twice a year in its entirety. Further, any member of the Duke community can ask for a GTAC

review of a destination or a review of a planned activity. To sign up for RRL and Travel Policy related

announcements, email your request to globaltravel@duke.edu

Restricted Regions List: https://travel.duke.edu/restricted-regions-list

ACULTY

Our Public Policy PhD faculty members represent diverse disciplinary backgrounds and numerous research

interests. The Public Policy PhD Program faculty consists of all members of the graduate faculty of Duke

University with primary or secondary appointments in the Department of Public Policy as well as members

of the graduate faculties in the Departments of Political Science, Economics, Sociology and other relevant

departments, and of the faculties of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, the Fuqua

School of Business, the Law School, and other professional schools.

Public Policy Faculty

Economics

https://econ.duke.edu/people/other-faculty/regular-rank-faculty

Political Science

http://polisci.duke.edu/people

Sociology

Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty

Duke Global Health Institute

https://globalhealth.duke.edu/people#dghi-faculty

http:// https://globalhealth.duke.edu/people#dghi-facultyglobalhealth.duke.edu/whos-involved/institute-y

Duke Law School

http://law.duke.edu/fac/

Fuqua School of Business

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty_research/faculty_directory/

htthttp://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty_research/faculty_directory/

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty_research/faculty_directory/

p://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty_research/faculty_directory/

SANFORD SCHOOL FREQUENT CONTACTS

Name

Title

E-mail Address

Phone

Office

GRADUATE PROGRAMS OFFICE

Subhrendu Pattanayak

Director of Graduate Studies

subhrendu.pattanayak@duke.edu

919/613-9306

124 RH

Lisa Kukla

PhD Director of the PhD Program (DGSA)

lisa.kukla@duke.edu

919/613-9214

166 RH

CAREER SERVICES OFFICE

Donna Dyer

Assoc. Dean for Career and Professional

Development

donna.dy[email protected]

919/613-7383

257 SB

Carmella La Bianca

Director of Global Career Advising

Cl209@duke.edu

919/613-7328

255 SB

GRADUATE SCHOOL OFFICES

Caroline Morris

Fellowship Coordinator, Payroll processing

Caroline.morris@duke.edu

919-684-4665

TBA

Student Financial Aid Coordinator External

Fellowships

Lisa.roop-wioskowski@duke.edu

919/681-3247

Natavan T. Mammadli

Staff Assistant—manages thesis/dissertation

process

Natavan.mammadli@duke.edu

919/681-5985

Helene McAdams

Registrar - Grad Student Records

Helene.mcadams@duke.edu

919/681-3248

NETWORK/COMPUTING

Stan Paskoff

Network Administrator

paskoff@duke.edu

919/613-7368

227 SB

Neil Prentice

Director of Information Technology

neil.prentice@duke.edu

919/613-9355

015 SB

KEY CONTACTS

Khalil Nasir

Building Manager/School Parking Contact

khalil.nasir@duke.edu

919/613-9200

104 SB

Kaitlin Briggs

Special Events Coordinator

mary.lindsley@duke.edu

919/613-7312

205 SB

Emily Totherow

AV Services Specialist

Emily.totherow@duke.edu

919/613-9269

106 RH

Ryan Denniston

Public Policy Librarian

ryan.denniston@duke.edu

919/660-5876

Perkins Library

Nancy Shaw

Human Resources/ Payroll Manager

nancy.shaw@duke.edu

919/613-7316

122 SB

Kirsten Khire

Assistant Dean of Communications & Marketing

kkemp@duke.edu

919/613-7394

129 SB

Belinda Keith

Accounting Supervisor

belinda.keith@duke.edu

919/613-7308

121 SB

Joseph McNicholas

Director of Research Opportunities

Joseph.mcnicholas@duke.edu

919/613-7611

017 SB

STUDENT RESOURCES

Campus Resources for Graduate Students

In addition to the resources and support services available to students within the Sanford

School, PHd’s have access to University facilities, resources, and programs to meet their

needs and expand their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom. Some frequently

accessed campus resources are listed below.

Health and Wellness

Student Health: This is the primary resource for health care services at Duke, offering

general medical care, nutrition counseling, immunizations, physical therapy, allergy

immunotherapy, a pharmacy, and other services.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/studenthealth

Appointments: 919-681-9355

Location: Student Wellness Center, 305 Towerview Drive, across the street from

Sanford

CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services): This office provides individual, couples,

and group counseling services as well as health coaching and workshops to build and

enhance life skills that allow students to thrive in graduate school.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/caps

Phone: 919-660-1000

Location: Inside the Student Wellness Center, 305 Towerview Drive, across the

street from Sanford

Student Disability Access Office: This office is dedicated to providing and coordinating

accommodations, support services and programs that enable students with disabilities to

have equal access to all Duke programs, activities and services. Students qualifying as

disabled in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and/or the ADA

Amendments Act of 2008 should contact this office as early as possible to initiate the

accommodations request process.

Website: http://access.duke.edu/students/index.php

Phone: 919-668-1267

Location: 402 Oregon Street; Suites 102 and 103

Women’s Center: This center offers support and services to promote gender equity and

prevent and address instances of gender violence. All members of the Duke community

are welcome to consult with center staff and participate in center-sponsored activities.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/wc

Confidential Crisis Support: 919-684-3897 (M-F, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM)

Location: Crowell Hall – 10 Epworth Lane; East Campus

DukeReach: Is a collaborative university program which connects students in crisis to

the appropriate counseling, medical, and personal assistance services they need.

Members of the Duke community may complete a DukeReach report via the web to share

concern about a student’s health or behavior.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/dukereach1

Phone: 919-681-2455

Culture and Identity

International House: Celebrating its 51

year in 2016, this center provides educational

services, outreach, and advocacy to international students and their families as well as

other members of the Duke community who want opportunities to socialize and engage

with international students. Popular IHouse programs and services include Duke

Language Partners, Global Café, and Connect/Learn/Grow.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/ihouse

Phone: 919-684-3585

Location: 300 Alexander Avenue (Central Campus)

Center for Multicultural Affairs: This center serves as a space for students to learn how

to navigate a complex cultural environment from unique, multicultural perspectives. The

center frequently sponsors panel discussions, workshops, and events to explore issues

about race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, national origin, and gender.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/cma

Phone: 919-684-6756

Location: 0010 Bryan Center

Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture: This center strives to cultivate cultivate

understanding, build community, and foster appreciation for Black culture as well as

provide support services that contribute to successful academic and personal development

of Black students at Duke University.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/mlw

Phone: 919-684-3814

Location: 101 Flowers Building

Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity: The mission of this center is to provide

education, advocacy, mentoring and support for LGBTQ and allied students, staff,

faculty, and alumni/ae. During the academic year, the center maintains a very active

calendar of events and programs as well as training programs for allies, and in 2015, a

dedicated online magazine (WE magazine) celebrating the gender diverse community at

Duke.

Website: https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/csgd

Phone: 919-684-6607

Location: 100 Bryan Center

Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute: This

interdisciplinary center includes faculty, staff, and students interested in promoting

human rights and is committed to the goal of social justice and the study of accountability

and reconciliation. Sanford faculty members Bob Korstad, Sandy Darity, Catherine

Admay, and Bob Cook-Deegan are affiliated with the center.

Website: http://humanrights.fhi.duke.edu/

Location: Smith Warehouse; 114 S. Buchanan Blvd. 1

Floor, Bays 4 & 5

Religion and Spirituality at Duke: Visit this Student Affairs website for information

about spiritualty, religion and wellness at Duke: https://spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/

Sanford Communications Team

The Sanford School Central Communications Team provides a wide range of resources

and support for our community. Below are key points of contact related to

communications and marketing needs for faculty and staff of the Sanford School of

Public Policy. The contacts below are the best resources for an initial conversation. Note

that different or additional team members might be assigned to work with you depending

on workload and deadlines.

For other requests not listed here or if you are unsure of the best contact to reach us,

email pps[email protected]

. Please provide advance notice for any request. We will get

back to you!

Kirsten Khire, APR, Associate Dean of Communications &

Marketing [email protected] (919) 613-7435

Jackie Ogburn, Senior Public Relations Manager ja[email protected] (919)

613-7315

Mary Lindsley, Communications and Events Manager mary.l[email protected] (919)

613-7312

Carol Jackson, Digital Communications Strategist carol.[email protected] (919)

613-9248

Malu (Maria Luisa) Frasson-Nori, Multimedia Fellow (after July 27)

WHAT WE DO

Brand Management: We strive for design consistency among print and electronic

products created by the school and its affiliates. It’s our job to ensure that uses of the

school logo are consistent and high quality. Visit the Duke brand guide for more

information: https://brand.duke.edu/

• Before using the school logo on anything (T-shirt, mug, website, etc.) the

design needs to be reviewed. Please send proofs to Kirsten Khire:

kirsten.khire@duke.edu

• SHOW YOUR SANFORD PRIDE! Products with Sanford logos are

available at Duke Stores.

• Create your Duke Sanford e-mail signature with the Sanford logo.

Download the logo here.

Inside.sanford.duke.edu/print-digital-

communications/logos/

• Use school PowerPoint templates when presenting your academic work.

Download presentation templates here.

Inside.sanford.duke.edu/print-digital-

communications/powerpoint-templates/

Media Relations: We inform the public about Sanford School and its work, though

online, print, radio, TV and social media. We field queries from reporters, send out news

releases and capture videos about faculty research, student accomplishments, awards,

speakers, etc. We track media mentions of Sanford faculty, students, and sometimes

alumni. We help faculty and students edit and distribute op-ed (commentary) pieces and

work closely with University Communications to track breaking news.

• Please let Kirsten or Jackie know if you are contacted by a journalist. We

can help you prepare for interviews.

Community (internal) communications: We keep the community informed via

SNAPshot, the weekly enewsletter, and keep communications resources fresh on Inside

Sanford, the school’s intranet site. Sanford also has email listserves. The Sanford

listserves exist to facilitate communication to and among those affiliated with the Sanford

School of Public Policy primarily for work and administration purposes of the Sanford

School. Please be sure to follow the listserve guidelines

. Inside.sanford.duke.edu/it-

support/sanford-listservs/

• Please contact Mary if you have ideas for SNAPshot or community

communications.

Events: We coordinate and promote annual endowed lectures, sponsor and co-

sponsor other special events, and manage the use of Sanford’s online and in-

person meeting space. We welcome your suggestions for the main endowed

lectures (Sanford Distinguished Lecture, Crown Lecture in Ethics, Rubenstein

Lecture).

• FALL 2020: Please add ALL online events/meetings to the Sanford

25Live Virtual Events Reservations as soon date/time are set. Thank you for

helping us to improve coordination, support and promotion of our virtual events.

• Request rooms for in-person meetings and events at

https://25live.collegenet.com/duke

• When planning events, please talk with Mary Lindsley. Our team is happy

to assist with advice on logistics and event promotion. There are established

channels for promoting events such as the Duke online calendar

. Duke University

and the Sanford School host many events and coordination is important.

• Please submit ideas for consideration to Mary Lindsley.

Sanford website: We manage the website, www.sanford.duke.edu, and help manage

several related sites. NOTE: Center sites are managed by center teams.

• You can find the faculty directory, news, events calendar, and more on the

Sanford website.

• Please contact Carol Jackson to report website content issues.

Podcasts, Videos, Social Media: We produce the “Ways & Means” podcast, the “Policy

360” podcast hosted by Dean Judith Kelley, and numerous marketing and news videos.

• Podcasts: https://sanford.duke.edu/connect/newsroom/podcasts

• Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRfoJqjnOCHU5nKJvw5JIOA

• Social media: https://sanford.duke.edu/policy-connect/social-media-