<p>If I get accepted into Duke, (a very big if), I would most likely be going there. I am very interested in what someone once told me is called 'International Development.' Pretty much I'm really interested in going over to the world's poorer countries and helping out the world's poorest people, in all the ways that I can. Would sanford school be the right school for this? Or is it mainly a political school?</p>
<p>Sanford is Duke’s school of public policy and, not surprisingly, is the home base for the undergraduate public policy major. More specialized programs in fields such as international development are much smaller and offered at the graduate (master’s) level. </p>
<p>You should start by exploring Sanford’s webpage to find out if they have programs that pique your interest. [Sanford</a> School of Public Policy](<a href=“http://sanford.duke.edu/]Sanford”>http://sanford.duke.edu/)</p>
<p>^Second the above, but just want to add a few things. Just to clarify, undergraduates can’t apply to Sanford. You apply to Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences just like any other student, and then declare your major in public policy from there. </p>
<p>From what you described, I think Sanford would be a good fit for you. It is not a “mainly political school” in the sense that the core curriculum is not geared toward a future in diplomacy, politics, and international relations. That is not to say that public policy grads can’t or don’t go on to work in these fields, but Sanford has many different ways for students to explore public policy. The website that biomed6 provided has a wealth of information for you to explore. From the first page of the “Undergraduate” section, Sanford outlines the main mission of the undergraduate program:
Does this sound interesting to you? If so, you would probably love Sanford. </p>
<p>As I mentioned, there are many things you can do with a public policy major, and Sanford has nicely laid out several “pathways” through the major that each focus on a different policy area. You can find them here: [Undergraduate</a> Program - Sanford School of Public Policy - Pathways](<a href=“http://www.sanford.duke.edu/undergraduate/curriculum/pathways.php]Undergraduate”>http://www.sanford.duke.edu/undergraduate/curriculum/pathways.php). Again, look through and see if any of these appeal to you. You may or may not know that Duke public policy majors are required to do an internship. Representative internships are also on that website, and it looks to me as though many students have worked with humanitarian groups and organizations in the past.</p>
<p>A final thing that you may or may not have heard of is DukeEngage. It seems to me that it would probably be something you’d be very interested in, so I encourage you to check out their website: [Duke</a> Engage : Home](<a href=“http://dukeengage.duke.edu%5DDuke”>http://dukeengage.duke.edu). </p>
<p>Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>