How to Apply

Our applications are administered through Duke's Graduate School and applicants should apply online.

For joint and current degree applicants, please click here for specific degree and application procedures.

The reduced application fee ($65) deadline is November 15th and the final deadline is December 31 (5:00 p.m. EST); these deadlines include receipt of all application materials (which includes in part) GRE and IELTS or TOEFL scores, a minimum of three (3) letters of recommendation, resume, and official transcripts from all universities and/or colleges attended.

Please note the required test for the application to Duke's MPP Program is the GRE. The LSAT or GMAT scores (in lieu of the GRE) may be submitted if you are either 1. Applying to either our joint MPP/JD or MPP/MBA joint degree program, or 2. Currently enrolled in the Duke or UNC Law (JD) or Duke Business (MBA) programs and applying as a joint degree student. Further we are unable to accept the MCAT for joint degree MPP/MD applicants due to testing area differences.

If you are applying to Duke Law School: Submit (via the Duke Graduate School, Enrollment Services Office) a copy of the LSAT score report and further indicate both your score and percentile on the "additional information" section of the online application and your resume (which you may upload with your personal statement). We generally waive the GRE testing requirement and accept the LSAT for Duke Law School applicants only. However, we strongly encourage submission of the GRE for Duke Law applicants to make the application as competitive as that of other applicants who are submitting the GRE. If you are not applying to Duke Law School, but to any other U.S. accredited law school as a joint/concurrent JD/MPP degree student, you are required to submit GRE scores.

A completed application includes:

• Electronic Application.
• An official undergraduate transcript with degree posted and other official transcripts for all colleges and universities attended.
• Official scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within five years of application. The LSAT or GMAT scores (in lieu of the GRE) may be submitted if you are either 1. Applying to either our joint MPP/JD or MPP/MBA joint degree program, or 2. Currently enrolled in the Duke or UNC Law (JD) or Duke Business (MBA) programs and applying as a joint degree student. MPP/MD joint degree applicants are required to submit GRE scores; we are not able to accept the MCAT.
• The Duke University Graduate School requires that any applicant's whose native language is not English submit scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), regardless of whether or not you have attended another U.S. institution or participated in an ESL program. The TOEFL institution code number for Duke is 5156 (departmental code not needed). For detailed information regarding English Language Proficiency Tests (For International Applicants), please see Duke Graduate School Admissions Requirements or www.ielts.org. We cannot provide a TOEFL or IELTS waiver. To allow your application to remain competitive with the large quantity of highly qualified applicants we receive each year (and have reported either a valid IELTS or TOEFL score) you should take one of these tests so we may receive the results by either the November 15th (reduced application fee date) or December 31st (priority) deadline date. Failure to submit a current, official IELTS or TOEFL score could place you at a significant disadvantage within our applicant pool. Your score must not be more than two years old and an official copy must be sent to the Graduate School directly from the testing agency. Personal copies are not acceptable, nor are "attested" or notarized copies.
  For MPP applicants, the minimum TOEFL Computer-based Test (TOEFL cBT) score is 270; for the TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) , the desirable TOEFL iBT score range is 110-120. The minimum TOEFL Paper-based Test (TOEFL pBT) score is 637. The desired IELTS band scale score is 8 to 9. These requirements are unlike those listed on the Duke Graduate School admissions materials/website.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation. We encourage use of the online electronic letter of recommendation and form provided with the Duke Graduate School Electronic Application (in lieu of placement office [pre-positioned] recommendations which tend to be more generic in content). Individual, personalized letters of recommendation (provided in addition to the Duke Evaluation Form) from academic and professional references, who can speak directly about your accomplishments and potential during and after completion of the MPP Program, are encouraged in lieu of generic placement office recommendation letters which normally are not tailored towards our specific program of study.
  Applicants who recently completed their undergraduate degree (1-2 years prior to application to Duke's MPP Program), may wish to submit two (2) recommendations from academic professors/instructors and one (1) professional recommendation from a work-related reference. As one moves further away from completion of the undergraduate degree (generally speaking three (3) or more years of post undergraduate work), then it would be prudent to obtain one (1) recommendation from an academic professor/instructor and two (2) from work-related professionals. For applicants with significant post-undergraduate work experience (such as four (4) or more years), it would be appropriate if all three (3) recommendations are obtained from work related professionals.
• Statement of Purpose - Three to four typewritten pages, single or double spaced. Please note our length requirement is different than the Duke Graduate School's. The statement of purpose and a resume should be uploaded with the online application as a single Microsoft Word document. To upload both as a single document, add a page break on the last page of the statement of purpose, followed by the resume on the very next page.
• Resume (not to exceed two printed pages) uploaded with the online electronic application.
• Application fee. Applicants may pay the fee either by credit card (this option available only at the time of submission of the electronic application) or they may pay the fee by check submitted to the Duke Graduate School, Office of Enrollment Services. Applications are not processed until the application fee has been received by the Graduate School.
  The application fee is not required from applicants who are qualified Pickering or IIPP fellows. These applicants should view our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for specific fee-waiver instructions before submitting the online application.

Note: To report the GRE or TOEFL scores to Duke University use 5156 as the Institution Code. A Departmental Code is NOT required. Applicants should make every effort to schedule taking the GRE, IELTS or TOEFL exams not later than October 15 in order for us to receive your scores by November 15.

IMPORTANT: We must be in receipt of all application materials no later than either the November 15th reduced application fee date, or the priority (final) December 31 deadline. These deadline dates include (but are not limited to) receipt of recommendation letters, transcripts, and test scores.

Applications postmarked and completed by November 15 are eligible to pay a reduced application fee of $65. Otherwise, the regular application fee of $75 must accompany the application.

Application materials (minus the online application and online evaluation/recommendations) should be mailed to the below address; they accept daily deliveries via U.S. Postal Service, DHL, FedEx and UPS*:

Graduate School Enrollment Services Office
127 Allen Building
Box 90065
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0065

Telephone: 919-684-3913

* For DHL, FedEx, or UPS service: Negate "Box 90065" and add the area code/telephone number above to the shipping document.

NOTE: The Statement of Purpose, Resume and Evaluation/Recommendation forms should be uploaded with the online application. By following this method, you need not mail these mentioned items.

Joint degree applicants for JD, MEM, and MBA begin the MPP program in the first year of academic study. Prospective candidates must coordinate in advance with the JD, MEM or MBA program to ensure they will permit you to start the MPP curriculum in the first year of study.

We do not permit applicants to request a deferral (to defer an offer of admission to a subsequent academic term or year). An admission offer is only for the semester specified in the letter of admission.  Prospective students should submit their application during the given year incident to the desired year of attendance.