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Financing Your Degree
We believe in you and your potential to have impact on the world, and so we do everything we can to help you fund your education and provide the necessary financial education resources that you need to be successful.
Fellowships & Scholarships
We offer some merit-based financial aid to every student. We also offer many fellowship opportunities, and third-party fellowships from Sanford and Duke partners. For both domestic and international students, student loan options are also available.
New 25% Tuition Reduction for Federal Employees
We’re proud to offer a 25% tuition reduction and application fee waiver for current or recently displaced federal employees applying to our Master of Public Policy (MPP) or Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) programs for the 2025-2026 academic year. Application deadlines have been extended to June 15 with rolling admissions.
Email any questions along with your resume to mppadmit@duke.edu.
We have many ways to help you fund your degree.
Sanford Scholarships, Assistantships, and Fellowships
Our current policy allows us to provide merit-based scholarships to ALL accepted MPP applicants who are not receiving full funding from outside sources.
Sanford issues awards based on merit and demonstrated financial need to our domestic and international students in the form of tuition scholarships and/or teaching, research, or staff assistantships. You should indicate on your application that you would like to be considered for financial aid. We require no additional documentation.
All students are automatically considered for fellowship awards upon application to Sanford, except for the Ladd Fellowship which requires a separate application. There are also many third-party fellowships available from our partners.
Explore our fellowship page for a list of all Sanford -related fellowships and to read the stories from many of our recent fellowship recipients.
The Sanford School of Public Policy offers numerous assistantship opportunities for graduate students both in fall and spring semesters, in a combination of teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, and research assistantships. Beginning Fall 2025, Sanford assistantships are paid an hourly rate, at a minimum of $16.50 an hour. Sanford students may also apply for assistantships and part-time employment available across Duke University. Under U.S. federal law, students may not work more than 19.9 hours a week on campus and still be considered full-time students.
International students must obtain a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or International Tax Identification Number (ITIN) to receive assistantship or other employment compensation. Duke University’s Visa Services Office and the Duke International Student Center (DISC) will assist you in obtaining the required documentation after you arrive.
Dual degree students only receive tuition fellowships during their first year of the MPP program and are not guaranteed assistantships due to the additional credit requirements of their first-year plan. They may apply to any assistantships that are unfilled.
Exploring Other Financial Assistance Options
The Duke Graduate School also has funding opportunities.
Duke's Office of Research Support offers:
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a huge database of funding opportunities for all disciplines (use the advanced search function)
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search tools, such as PIVOT
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workshops on finding funding
List of opportunities sent to The Graduate School from other Duke units and external institutions, including a number of funding opportunities.
Sanford Career Services Office
Public Partnership Organizations
Under agreements with AmeriCorps, City Year, Peace Corps, Teach for America students who are accepted into the Duke MPP Program are guaranteed a tuition fellowship:
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For two-year MPP students, the fellowship is a minimum of $14,000 per year, through a combination of a tuition fellowship and payment for community service, teaching, research, or graduate assistantship.
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For dual-degree programs, students receive a $12,000 tuition fellowship during their first year of study. They must spend year one in the MPP program before starting the dual-degree curriculum in the law (JD), environment (MEM), or business (MBA) program.
These fellowships are the minimum students will receive. All applicants from partner programs will also receive full consideration for additional, merit-based tuition assistance based on the strength of their application.
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Please see our Military Benefits page for more information on all Duke Affiliated Military Benefits.
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Getting started:
Duke University’s Veterans Education Benefits Office administers all Veterans Benefits. The Duke University School Certifying Official (SCO) in the Office of the University Registrar may be reached via email or at 919.684.4225. Admitted students must submit their VA documents (i.e. VA Certificate of Eligibility letter, Purple Heart Certificate) to the SCO to start the VA benefit review process.
The Duke MPP Program recognizes and provides application fee waivers for recipients and finalists of the following fellowship programs:
- Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program
- Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program
- Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program
- Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute
- Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
After starting your MPP application, but prior to submitting it, please complete our MPP application fee waiver request form.
Duke University participates in the national consortium of graduate programs that recruit and support Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who wish to pursue advanced degrees.
Additionally, RPCVs are one of the six partnerships that qualifies for MPP application fee waivers. After starting your MPP application, but prior to submitting it, please complete our MPP application fee waiver request form.
External Funding Policy
All students have an ongoing obligation to notify the Duke MPP Program Office upon receipt of external funding, scholarships, and grants obtained independently. The Duke MPP Program reserves the right to amend financial aid awards if a student receives external funding, applies to become a dual degree student, or fails to maintain satisfactory academic performance (at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average).
Financial Aid Policies and Procedures
Personal Assistance for Every Student
Our team assists with federal checklist completion, FAFSA verification, and will determine all federal loan funding and federal work-study funds. Questions about student financial planning or your cost of attendance? Contact us at sanfordfinancialaid@duke.edu.