Public Policy has long been one of the most popular majors at Duke for good reason. It's flexible. There are many ways to be successful after choosing to major in Public Policy.

Duke Career Services conducted an analysis of the first steps taken by students who graduated from the Sanford School between 2017 and 2020. Here are the results:

What sector do Public Policy graduates work in?

Private 71%, Non-Profit 17%, Grad School 12%, Public 12%
  • Top employer, private sector: Accenture
  • Top employer, non-profit sector: RTI International
  • Most common graduate school Harvard Law School.
  • Top employer, public sector: US House of Representatives

* Data represents jobs gained post-graduation.

What fields do Public Policy graduates work in?

Note: Percentages are out of total students with known information.

Consulting 22%, finance 18%, Grad School 12%, Tech 10%, Education 7%, Other business 7%, Media/Journalism 6%, Health 5%, Politics/Advocacy 4%, Government 4%, Social Policy 3%, Research 3%, Law 2%, Environment/Energy 2%

4 Young Alumni Stories

What Can You Do With a Degree in Public Policy?

For Public Policy majors who go into the nonprofit sector, what field do they go into?

Bar chart: Education 22%, Research 17%, Social Policy 17%, Health 14%, Media/Journalism 10%, Philanthropy 9%, Energy/Environment 5%, Law 2%, Int'l Dev 2%, Tech 1%

What kinds of consulting do Public Policy majors do?

Social Innovation

Freedman Consulting

Change Matrix

Public Sector

Freedman Consulting

Public Consulting Group

Healthcare & Hospitals

Avalere Health

Triage Consulting Group

Research

Forrester Research

Ivy Research Council

IT Tech

AlphaSights

Economic

Bates White

The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development

Management

Bain & Company

McKinsey & Company

Sample Alumni Stories

Public & Private

Randy Peeler

Randy Peeler PPS'87 went on to work for the US Department of the Treasury. He’s now a senior advisor at Berkshire Partners. 

Entrepreneur & Gov't

Anjali Kataria

Anjali Kataria PPS'93 has had careers both as an entrepreneur and in federal government.

Education

Michael Sorrell

 Michael Sorrell MPP'90 is a dynamic change agent who has transformed Paul Quinn College.

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