StudentsReview :: Duke University - Extra Detail about the Comment
-or-
Search for Schools by Region
 

or within distance of city

Similar Schools
Harvard University -- Cambridge, MA
Yale University -- New Haven, CT
Stanford University -- Stanford, CA


  Who's got the Best?

Perceptual Rankings:
You Make 'Em.
We Post 'Em.
You Vote 'Em Up.
You Vote 'Em Down.
Aww yeah.


Duke University

How this student rated the school
Research QualityC- Research AvailabilityC-
Research FundingC- Graduate PoliticsD-
Errand Runners- Degree CompletionC+
Alternative pay [ta/gsi]C- Sufficient Pay-
CompetitivenessC- Education QualityC-
Faculty AccessibilityD+ Useful ResearchD+
ExtracurricularsF Success-UnderstandingF
Surrounding CityF Social Life/EnvironmentF
"Individual" treatmentD FriendlinessC-
SafetyC+ Campus BeautyB+
Campus MaintenanceB+ University Resource/spendingB
Describes the student body as:
Arrogant, Broken Spirit

Describes the faculty as:
Arrogant, Unhelpful

Male
Lowest Rating
Extracurriculars
F
Highest Rating
Campus Beauty
B+
He cares more about Success-Understanding than the average student.
Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Unknown (This Major's Salary over time)
MIDP academic standards and research opportunities are the worst.

I arrived to this master thinking I will have an amazing academic and professional experience and left this program without accomplishing either or. MIDP career services is useless. The person who is the career advisor is not committed to her job and does nothing for most of the students. If you have done your research you will see that they changed the career services statement, and now it has the percentage of employed alumni that graduated in 2015. However, you need to understand that you cannot rely and trust the statistics provided by career services. Most of the student body are government officials and you will see that they reported these students as if they have just found jobs. I graduated on May 2017 and only one of the students who is not a government official nor have a job prior attending the school found an internship that pays in average $8.00 per hour in Washington D.C.

Just think about this: there are two of the biggest implementing agencies of the development world in Durham, NC (RTI and FHI) and these agencies often provide internship opportunities and hire Master of Public Policy (MPP) students and alumni and no MIDP grads. Even if you are a U.S or permanent resident in the US you are in disadvantage to find jobs in the US or abroad due to the limited networking opportunities and MIDP academic standards.

MIDP sells itself as a leader program in the field of development, and it is not true. Most of the faculty used to be practitioners 10 or 15-years ago, they are retired now and decided to come into academia. Most of them are clueless about what is happening nowadays in developing countries and ignore the current social realities. Most of the faculty members are arrogant and unhelpful. Administrative staff is nice but will always blame you if you make a complaint. MIDP culture is reactive no proactive.

Another area of concern is the inequities between MIDP and the Master of Public Policy. MPP students are provided with most of the resources, including networking opportunities. Most of the MPP's find excellent internships but not MIDP's. As an MIDP student I always felt treated as a second class citizen by faculty and the dean of the school. Do not try to reach out to the dean he is not receptive, he is unhelpful, and he does not care about the MIDP program.

Also, as an MIDP student it is hard to participated in classes that are not part of the MIDP curriculum. Most professors think that MIDP students are not bright as other Duke students, so to obtain their consent is complex and often you won't be able to enroll in those courses.

If you are thinking in coming to this program I will advised you to think twice before making any decision. Look at other schools in D.C or New York at least you will have probably more support to advance in your academic and career development.

Best of luck in making your decision.

Responses
commentRows=6 cols=34 wrap=virtual
Ask a Question or add a response!
Duke University
Compare DukeSave Duke