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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it's widely understood that Duke has the best undergrad public policy program, not just in terms of ranking (depth/breadth of the department historically) but in terms of actual educational/professor quality.

However, with that said, [b]undergrad public policy at the better institutions is more broadly understood as a liberal arts major closer to political economy or economics with a political tilt, so I would also look closely at institutions with strength in those areas even if they aren't necessarily exactly known for having a "public policy" major as such.  Yale, for example, has an "ethics, politics, and economics" major which is virtually identical to what Duke calls public policy, [/b]so it might not be a bad idea to take a look at other institutions as well.   [/quote]

OP here - Thank you!! You put into words what we’ve been circling around at home. This is what we’re looking for. Right now it’s less about the rankings (we’re not that rigid) or the tactical career advice (we’re not there yet.) But you helped us hone in on the fact that we’re coming at this from a broader, humanities-education perspective.

DC is quite skilled on the math/quant front but is looking for something broad-based for undergrad. We all expect grad school will follow at some point, but the specifics will depend on which way their undergrad interests take them.

Again, thanks for your insight. And for everyone else on this thread, too. Super helpful! [/quote]

I'm the poster you are replying to and you're very welcome.  Actually, after reading the above reply I would add a couple of other suggestions (which may or may not be helpful!)   Public Policy (at places like Duke or other schools that offer them) tends to be filled primarily by math/quant/econ types who are scared of being pulled away from their broader interests, which typically include some reading-heavy and writing-heavy social sciences and humanities (political science, social theory, history, literature,  etc.).  Kids with interests but perhaps with too many interests to be neatly accommodated by one major.   Depending on where you kid goes, they can take a broad range of courses freshman year and then pursue a combo of majors/minors/other coursework that will mimic the kinds of undergrad work done in public policy programs.  So there is a ton of flexibility.  I gave the Yale example above, but for lower ranked schools, particularly large well-regarded state schools (Michigan, UVA?), other combos are available that will get you where you are going.   Examples:  (1) History (focusing on economic history type courses with a focus on 20th century America) + an economics minor or just a few econ courses + intro political science + a good writing seminar. 
(2) Economics major (with a couple courses on American Economic History in schools that allow this) + Several semesters of political science (encompassing intro and higher level seminars).   (3) An international relations major depending on the specific course selection and with certain coursework in other departments.

Two more key points for your DC, when exploring schools (1) If the school is not highly ranked like Duke/Ivies/Stanford, etc. do not do the public policy major.  it will not be a liberal-artsy type major that your DC is looking for and will need.  Instead, focus on putting together combinations like the ones I listed in the paragraph above.  There are probably better combos than I can think of, so I would actually just get list of required courses for Duke's Public Policy Major and see how you can recreate than in any institution you end up in.  Good luck![/quote]

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