Duke Sanford offers top-ranked environmental academics and expertise in environmental and energy policy to address policy innovations that affect the very health of our planet at a crucial time when science is being questioned.
Academic Overview
Sanford faculty, like professor Alex Pfaff, are recognized for their expertise around the world, advising the White House, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, state governments, and policymakers.
Related Programs & Courses
The Public Policy Studies major is a perennial top major at Duke University.
- IMEP (International Master of Environmental Policy)
- Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) (Environment and Energy Management Policy area of focus available)
- Master of Public Policy (MPP) (Environment and Energy Specialization available) - view concentration requirements
- MPP/Master of Environmental Management (MEM) or Master of Forestry (MF) – dual degree options with Sanford School/Nicholas School
- PhD in Public Policy
- PhD – University Program in Environmental Policy - joint program with Sanford School/Nicholas School
Graduate-level elective courses include:
- Climate Change Economics and Policy
- International Environmental Policy
- Collective Action
- Sustainable Development
- Environment & Development
- Energy & Development
- Global Environmental Health
- top-ranked Nicholas School of the Environment
- Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions designing policy responses to the most pressing environmental and energy challenges
- interdisciplinary project teams at the Duke University Energy Initiative
Sample Stories & Research
Faculty Spotlight
Celina Scott-Buechler is a new faculty member who is shaping the future of equitable climate solutions. Scott-Buechler arrives at Sanford with an uncommon academic pedigree: a PhD in Environment & Resources from Stanford, a JD from Stanford Law School, and an MS in Atmospheric Science from Cornell. That interdisciplinarity is not incidental, it’s central.
Student Profile
For her master’s project, Antonella Di Ciano MIDP'25 explored strategies to strengthen regional monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to address illegal mining in the Amazon Basin. Her research on the ecocide unfolding in the region and advocacy to protect the rainforest and its vulnerable communities led her to speak at the 2024 World Economic Forum and TEDxDuke. After graduation, Antonella will continue her focus on the Amazon rainforest, working at the intersection of environmental crime, gender and organized crime across the region.
Why is Everybody So Interested in Greenland and the Arctic?
The U.S. administration’s interest in cold, snowy regions of the world might have come out of the blue to many Americans, but not to Tim Nichols. He leads Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy’s Master of National Security Policy Program – and he teaches about the growing strategic importance of Greenland and the broader Arctic. He says melting ice is opening up international competition related to shipping and mineral drilling.
Former EPA Administrator Joins Duke Sanford
Michael S. Regan, who recently served as the 16th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is joining Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy as a Polis Distinguished Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year. Regan will also be actively involved with the Civil Discourse Project (CDP) at Duke.
What can you do with a focus on energy & the environment?
Ivan Urlaub MPP and MEM'04
Alumni Story
For Ivan Urlaub, policy is more than just rules and regulations—it’s possibility. With a Master of Public Policy from the Sanford School and a Master of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School at Duke, Ivan has spent his career shaping the future of clean energy, driving economic development, and ensuring that policy serves as a bridge between ambition and action.
Key Partnerships
Nicholas School of the Environment
Students can take classes, attend lectures and interact with faculty and students at the top-ranked Nicholas School of the Environment
Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability
Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability designs policy responses to the most pressing environmental and energy challenges.
Duke Climate Commitment: A University Initiative
The Duke Climate Commitment is a university-wide, impact-oriented initiative to address the climate crisis.
Let's Connect
Interested in pursuing a degree with a focus on energy & environment policy? Great! The admissions page for each program has detailed guidelines, including our contact info. Please reach out!
- Read recent stories related to energy and the environment
- Browse faculty opinion pieces related to energy & the environment
- Sanford podcasts often feature stories about energy & the environment.