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"Mightier Than the Sword: The Satirical Pen of KAL"
June 30,- July 3, 2008 // 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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"Pai, Estou Espearando/ Father, I am Waiting?" Exhibit
June 30 - July 3, 2008 // 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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Social Policy

Many important public policy issues concern social problems: welfare, education, crime, childcare and income inequalities. Although these problems are diverse, they have numerous common features. Social issues often affect various elements of society differently, so that analyses must take into account concerns about equity, ethics and politics. Proposed solutions often involve “programs,” which are distinct interventions that can be evaluated rigorously for their efficiency and effectiveness. Further, the implementation of social policy often involves multiple levels of government: local, national and international. A Concentration in Social Policy provides students a vehicle to become experts in the content, context and methods of analysis of these issues. Students may specialize in such areas as:

  • Education
  • Child and Family
  • Crime, Law and Deviance
  • Race, Ethnicity and Gender
  • Wealth, Inequality and the Welfare State

Requirements

  • Introduction to Social Policy, PubPol 350, usually taken in the first semester, deferring the required Ethics class until the second year
  • Two electives (see below for a partial list of elective options)
  • Summer Internship related to social policy
  • Masters Project on social policy issue.

Social Policy Electives

Listed below is a sample of Social Policy-related courses offered in recent years, which could be taken as Social Policy electives. This sample is meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive. In addition to Public Policy classes, you may find relevant classes at the Duke Law School, Fuqua School of Business and in a number of Duke departments including Political Science and History. You may also find Social Policy classes at UNC, NCSU or NCCU.

    Public Policy
  • PUBPOL 229S.01 Poverty, Inequality, and Health
  • PUBPOL 251S.01 Regulation of Vice and Substance Abuse
  • PUBPOL 264S.01 School Dropout and Education Policy
  • PUBPOL 264S.03 Race and Education
  • PUBPOL 264S.08 Service Delivery Systems
  • PUBPOL 264S.11 Schools and Social Stratification
  • PUBPOL 264S.15 Philanthropic Foundations and Public Policy
  • PUBPOL 264S.20 Women in Public Policy
  • PUBPOL264S.22 Youth Violence Policy
  • PUBPOL 264S.23 Safe and Drug Free Schools
  • PUBPOL 264S.27 Youth Transitions in the Workforce
  • PUBPOL 264S.57 Prevention as Community Policy
  • PUBPOL 264S.96 Poverty Policy After Welfare Reform
  • PUBPOL 264.80 Urban Policy
  • PUBPOL 270S.01 History of Poverty in the United States
  • PUBPOL 271S.01 Schools and Social Policy
  • PUBPOL 278S.01 Race and American Politics
  • PUBPOL 345 Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States

Other Sources for Social Policy Electives

Inter-Departmental Course Options
Students who have concentrated in Social Public Policy have taken rewarding electives in departments across the university. For your convenience, listed below are links to departmental course listing and/or curriculum web pages.

Once you have found a course of interest, you should initiate the process for obtaining permission to take an elective outside of the Public Policy department:

  • Contact the course instructor to receive his/her written permission to take the course.
  • Bring this written permission and a description of the course to the MPP Director of Graduate Studies to discuss its value to your program of study.
  • Give a copy of the instructor and DGS permission to the MPP Program Coordinator.

For Arts and Sciences courses, take the signed permission letter(s) to the University Registrar’s Office (705 Broad Street, Room 202) to be manually registered for the course.  For Duke Law School courses, visit the MPP Program Coordinator’s Office to pick up a Law School Course Registration Form.  Visit Fuqua registration for instructions and forms to facilitate registration.

Electives Outside of Duke
Elective courses offered at UNC, NC State and NC Central provide further options for global policy electives. The following links will direct you to departments at other institutions that have offered viable social policy electives.

Once you have found a course of interest, you should initiate the Inter-Institutional Registration process:

  • Contact the course instructor to receive his/her written permission to take the course.
  • Print out the Inter-Institutional Registration form.
  • Bring this written permission, a description of the course, and the completed Inter-Institutional Registration Form to the MPP Director of Graduate Studies to discuss the course and have the form signed.
  • Bring all permission information and forms to the MPP Program Coordinator, who will forward them to the Inter-Institutional Registration Specialist at the Duke University Registrar’s Office.

Rob Lalka, MPP '08

“The Sanford Institute faculty aren't just academics. Within a few moments of talking with any of your professors, you begin to realize that they are drawing on a vast wealth of actual policymaking experience.”

Rob Lalka, MPP ’08