Duke Sanford MPP Open House (thoughts about Duke and MPP programs in general)

灵感女孩UID: 2224424

So I am currently in a computer lab at Georgetown University and unfortunately I can't type Chinese right now... but anyways, would like to share some thoughts of the Duke Sanford MPP program since I have just attended their admitted students open house last Friday.

For those who like IR and international stuff:
To be honest, Duke is not the place to go. Throughout my visit, I have not met a single student who is interested in international trade, which is what my interest is, and in general, not a whole lot of people focus on international stuff. I think the strengths of the Duke MPP program is their domestic health, environment and social policy. So if you're really into the American system, it's where you should end up being. They organized an alumni panel to discuss their current careers and how they got their positions after Duke. All 5 of them work either for the Federal government, or NC government or some local NGOs. Federal, state and local governments are not an option for international students...

My sense is that a lot of the MPP programs in the US are really aiming at training public policy makers for America. This includes Chicago Harris (it's not hard to detect this when you read the gradcafe), and Berkeley GSPP, to name a few. I would really encourage you to look into the specific program that you got into otherwise you're not getting the education you're looking for. Clearly Duke, Chicago and Berkeley are great schools and they have excellent programs. But are those really designed for international students who are trying to go into consulting or investment banking??? NO NO NO!!! This is the most important piece of information I learnt at the Duke Open house.

Curriculum:
As I said, it is really really domestic-focused. However, the strengths are obvious as well - Duke MPP prepare its students well with quantitative training. It is a quant heavy program if that's what you're looking for (and yes, this is what I'm looking for).

The career services:
I have to admit that due to Duke's small class (about 50 ppl/year), their career service is very personal and the alumni network is very close kit. The lady at the career services is very helpful as the current students say. Again, if you're looking into federal jobs, or a position in the NC government, their career services can be really helpful. They seem to have a strong alumni network in DC as well but not much on the west coast or the rest of the country.

Student body:
Predominantly white. The MPP program is not very diverse. Out of the 100 students they have in 2 classes, maybe only 6 intl' students? From the open house experience, I sensed that since it is a domestic-focused program, not that many international students would go there...

Duke Campus and Durham:
The campus is divided into 3 parts - west, central and east and Sanford is on west campus, very close to the other professional schools - Fuqua Business school, the law school and Nicolas school. It is all within walking distance and very convenient to go from one another if you cross register at the other schools. The campus is very pretty in spring time coz it's in NC. However, the town Durham is not the safest and best place to live according to some current students, and of course some UNC students. I went to Chapel Hill as well and their campus and town is way better than Durham...Now I understand why people from UNC love their school...

Basketball culture:
Basketball is really a huge deal here. Even if you're not really into sports, you'll become a crazy fan when Duke plays coz that's what everybody is talking about during the basketball season. Unfortunately, Duke lost to Arizona the night I visited so the Dukies were really down...and on the following day, UNC won the game and made it to the elite 8 I believe?

Well that what I can think of for now. Even though I'm not going to Duke, I still view this program as a respectful one. But we as international students need to be very careful about choosing these MPP programs. Going to the right place is much more important than choosing a big name, coz you might end up miserable there. But this post is not meant to discourage people from pursuing an MPP degree, but just a reminder that we need to be very careful about picking programs!!!

My two cents here.

fenggang98UID: 2439758

谢谢分享，不知LZ有没有了解一些MIDP的消息。LZ最终打算去哪里？

天灯UID: 3042043

好文 谢谢灵感女孩

lonesomedove917UID: 2720714

好文啊，不知道你是否会去Sipa的 Campus visiting 或者Happy Hours,
look forward to your thoughts on SIPA.

灵感女孩UID: 2224424

谢谢分享，不知LZ有没有了解一些MIDP的消息。LZ最终打算去哪里？
fenggang98 发表于 2011-3-28 12:08

MIDP is a very different program and it is indeed designed for students with an international focus. MPP students can cross register with this program if they wanna add this element to their study. MIDP is for mid-career professionals so I heard u can be sitting next to minister of education from I don't know, Tajikistan! Compared to MPP, it might not be strong in quant training since it is a one-year program. But that's hoe Duke design their programs to be different I believe.

As for me, so far it looks like I'm either going to SIPA or SAIS. Will visit both and decide!

灵感女孩UID: 2224424

好文啊，不知道你是否会去Sipa的 Campus visiting 或者Happy Hours,
look forward to your thoughts on SIPA.
lonesomedove917 发表于 2011-3-28 16:14

Yes I'm going to the happy hours this Thursday. Can't fly on the open house day since I won't have breaks any more then. Will post my thoughts after visiting SIPA later this week :-)

dcrackerUID: 3002238

虽然很domestic sanford确实很难进

xhooliUID: 3043705

有人知道berkeley v duke 哪个比较好？

taxcollectorUID: 2947601

楼主好文，不少难得的信息

wiee621UID: 3518526

Thanks anyway

teresa_zhangUID: 2627836

What about the Master of International Development Policy Program?  It looks great on the website.