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		2008-09 Bulletin of the Duke University Graduate School

Education Policy Research

The goal of this interdisciplinary program is to train doctoral students who are already enrolled in a behavioral science discipline at Duke University to conduct research on complex problems in education policy. Problems such as student accountability systems, minority achievement gaps, teacher labor market distribution, and incentives in education require multiple disciplinary perspectives to solve. Faculty in the fields of economics, sociology, psychology, political science, history, and social work have collaborated to address such problems. Doctoral students are trained to: 1) understand the methods, theories, and body of knowledge from other disciplines; 2) understand the unique contribution that one's own discipline can make to solving complex problems; 3) work in multi-disciplinary teams to conduct research; and 4) write for diverse audiences that include scholars in other disciplines and policymakers.

Program requirements include attendance at a weekly seminar that includes faculty from diverse disciplines; a summer research assistantship with a faculty mentor from outside of one's own discipline; course work that broadens the student's perspective on problems in education policy; and a dissertation in the area. This program is designed for doctoral students who intend to pursue an academic career conducting research on problems related to education.

This program is restricted to current Duke University students who have already completed at least one year of a doctoral program at Duke in a discipline such as economics, psychology, sociology, history, political science, or public policy.