PhD Admissions

Applicants to the PhD Program in Public Policy will be applying to the Duke Graduate School using its electronic application. Please review the Duke Graduate School Admissions Website for detailed instructions on all application requirements.

Students may also apply for joint degrees.

In addition to completing the Graduate School requirements, applicants must also:

• Designate a disciplinary concentration in the electronic application. In the drop-down menu section of the electronic application, after selecting “Public Policy Studies – PhD” in the “Proposed Department/Program and Highest Degree Sought,” the next section of the application is “Intended Special Field.” The Public Policy PhD special fields are the disciplinary concentrations: economics, political science, psychology or sociology. You must indicate one of these four concentrations on your application.
• Submit a resume (not to exceed two printed pages), which should be uploaded to the online electronic application with your “Statement of Purpose and Educational Objectives.”
• Submit a writing sample of no more than 20 pages, demonstrating academic or professional research, which should be uploaded to the online electronic application under “additional documents.”  

Please utilize this essay to discuss your goals in pursuing the PhD in Public Policy at Duke University. We are interested in your academic and professional experience, your intended course of study (including a disciplinary concentration and policy area focus) and your longer-term career objectives.

Yes. Please see our section on financial aid for funding and fellowship opportunities.

Explore the Graduate School's admission statistics for Public Policy candidates for information on scores, career outcomes and other data.

Most applicants wait until admission decisions are made before visiting our campus.

Personal interviews are conducted in February for a select group of students as part of the admissions process.

No, you may only apply to one of the programs.

You may find answers in the PhD Student Handbook. If not, please contact the Public Policy PhD Program Coordinator with any questions.

You can find out more about individual faculty members by visiting their pages in the Sanford directory. Each faculty member’s email address is listed; feel free to contact individuals whose research aligns with your interests.

Duke's University Program in Environmental Policy (UPEP) PhD is a 5-year program for intense research training, combining disciplinary specialization in economics or political science with an emphasis on understanding policy settings and the precise nature of the problem we hope to solve with policy.

UPEP applicants should apply directly to the Duke Graduate School. More information on PhD Applications can be found on the PhD Admissions page. All doctoral students must enter the program in the fall semester. We welcome applicants from diverse academic, cultural, socioeconomic, and professional backgrounds. Approximately 3-5 students are projected to enter the program each fall, for a total of 20-25 students enrolled at any given time.

Admission to the UPEP program is extremely competitive, with less than 10 percent of applicants typically offered admission. Applicants should have a record of high academic achievement and the potential to become leading researchers on environmental policy issues. Although the program’s admissions committee evaluates applicants from a comprehensive standpoint, successful applicants will likely have:

• High GPA and GRE scores.
• Personalized letters of recommendation that attest to the applicant’s scholarly ability.
• Research interests that overlap those of one or more UPEP faculty members.
• A personal statement that explains the applicant’s interest in pursuing an Environmental Policy PhD at Duke and preferred disciplinary concentration, in view of the applicant’s prior education and experience, career objectives, and other pertinent factors.
• Applicants should clearly specify the preferred concentration in the personal statement. Adequate preparation for PhD-level training in either economics or political science is an important consideration in admissions. 

No, but your chances of admission will increase if your application indicates that you have identified one or more faculty members in the Nicholas or Sanford schools whose research interests are similar to yours.  You are welcome to communicate with faculty members before you apply, but please note that they cannot tell you whether you will be admitted.  Admission decisions are made by the Duke Graduate School, as advised by the UPEP admissions committee, not by individual faculty members.

Will I be assigned an advisor if I am admitted?

Yes.  You will be assigned an advisor when you are admitted.  Your advisor will likely be a faculty member that you have mentioned in your application.  Another faculty member will be assigned, however, if none of the faculty members that you mention is available or if another faculty member is deemed to be a more suitable advisor for you.  Assigning an advisor at this early point in the program ensures that you will have a faculty member who will take responsibility for advising you on course selection, discussing your research interests, assisting you in obtaining grants and fellowships, and in other ways helping you complete the program successfully.

Can I change my advisor?

Yes.  Students interested in changing advisors should contact the UPEP Director of Graduate Studies.

Can I work with only my advisor as a teaching assistant (TA), a research assistant (RA), or on my dissertation research?

No.  TA assignments are made independently of advisor assignments, although you will likely serve as a TA for your advisor at least once.  RAships depend on funding availability.  You can serve as an RA for either your advisor or another faculty member.  UPEP students form dissertation committees consistent with Duke Graduate School rules, and members of the committee other than your advisor often play a large role in supervising aspects of the research.