Fellowships & Programs

MD/PHD Program

Medical Scientist Training Program

Our PhD program is also open to students pursuing joint degrees in medicine, through Duke’ s Medical Scientist Training Program. This highly competitive program seeks to train leaders in academic medicine, who will combine clinical and research careers.

Successful applicants receive funding to pay for both their medical school and PhD training.

Information on how to apply to the MD/PhD program can be found here. 

Civil Society

The Joel L. Fleishman Civil Society Ph.D. Fellowship 

The Duke Sanford School of Public Policy offers the Joel L. Fleishman Civil Society Ph.D. Fellowship, awarded on merit to currently enrolled public policy Ph.D. students whose research focuses on the role of civil society and the capacity of nongovernmental organizations and their leaders to play significant public policy roles. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare graduates to work in domestic and international public agencies, universities, research organizations, and policy consulting firms.

The Public Policy Ph.D. Program at Duke provides an interdisciplinary balance in disciplines such as economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. The relatively low number of students who matriculate each year (typically six to eight) enables each to receive individual faculty mentoring in courses and in research.

The fellowship was established in honor of Joel L. Fleishman,  J.D., M.A. (University of North Carolina), LL.M. (Yale University), Professor of Law and Public Policy at Duke and Director of the Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society. Professor Fleishman came to Duke in 1971 as a member of the law faculty and as founding director of the Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs, now the Sanford School of Public Policy.

His principal scholarship deals with philanthropy and charity in the United States and with legal regulation and financing of not-for-profit organizations. He is the author of the book, The Foundation: A Great American Secret — How Private Money is Changing the World (PublicAffairs Books, 2007). He is also the co-author with Thomas Tierney of Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results (PublicAffairs Books, 2012). His third book on philanthropy, Putting Your Money to Work: Philanthropy Now or Investment for the Future is scheduled for publication in September 2017.