Curriculum

The strength of the MIDP lies in its interdisciplinary, flexible curriculum, which allows each fellow to self-design their course of study. To help with the design of their curriculum, fellows have the option of selecting one of five areas of concentration. They are then assigned to an appropriate academic advisor who will assist with course selections each semester. The MIDP offers three program options:

Program
 Classes
 Internship
 Master’s Project
 Length
Two-year MIDP 16 courses (48 credit hours):
8 MIDP seminars
and 8 electives		 Required Required Two Academic Years
One-year MIDP* 10 courses (30 credit hours):
4 MIDP seminars
and 6 electives		 Recommended
 Required One Academic Year and One Summer Session
Non-degree Certificate** 8 courses (24 credit hours):
4 MIDP seminars
and 4 electives		 Not Required
 Not Required One Academic Year
*To qualify for the one-year degree program track, at least one year of previous graduate-level course work and a strong academic background in market-based economics is required.
**If you are a current graduate student at Duke and you would like more information about the graduate certificate offered by MIDP to graduate students in other Duke departments, please find the details for that certificate here.


ACADEMIC ADVISING
MIDP Fellows are divided among four primary academic advisors based on each fellow’s chosen area of specialization and academic interests. Fellows meet with their advisors to discuss course choices each semester, consult about their academic progress, and explore internship and professional goals.

MIDP CORE SEMINARS
Economic Foundations for Development (3 credits)
∗ Required for two-year degree candidates.
This course provides an overview of microeconomic and macroeconomic principles related to development.  The course provides analytical tools for the study of economic policies and problems in developing countries.  Real world applications of economic theory with relevance to developing countries are used extensively.

Applied Development Economics (3 credits)
∗ Required for two-year degree candidates.
This seminar uses macroeconomic and microeconomic principles to analyze development challenges and issues, The seminar will use a core textbook to provide an integrated overview of many of the topics covered in the seminar, but the content and structure of the seminar will not follow the textbook and fellows will be required to read more widely and deeply on the topics covered. Moreover, many of the topics can be analyzed from both a microeconomic and macroeconomic angle, as well as from an institutional perspective, and the emphasis is on how to use a range of techniques to analyze different problems rather than identifying a problem that lends itself to the application of a particular technique. Topics to be covered include promoting economic growth, the market economy and structural reform, market failure and role of government, labor markets and unemployment, inequality and poverty, raising agricultural productivity, aid and development, financial markets and institutions, globalization and capital flows, and crises, defaults and bailouts.

Empirical Analysis for Development (3 credits)
∗ Required for two-year degree candidates beginning in Fall 2009
The overall goal of this course is to enable decision makers in the public sector to be judicious and critical consumers of research results.  In particular, it focuses on issues in developing countries, where the availability of data may be sparse and the quality of data may be suspect.  With high quality data, the conclusions of the analyses may be ambiguous.  With low quality data, there is a greater need for caution in the interpretation and derivation of the appropriate policy recommendations. This course has three key objectives: 1) it provides a non-technical introduction to basic concepts in empirical analysis, namely regression modeling with single and multiple variables; 2)  it uses Excel and SPSS, a widely used software package, to illustrate, practice and apply the techniques of regression analysis; 3) it enables the participants to read and assess the quality of the empirical analyses and results that are used in reports.

Policy Analysis for Development (3 credits)
∗ Required for all degree candidates.
This course examines the role of policy analysis in solving important social problems, and develops analytical and communication skills in order to undertake effective policy analysis.  This seminar examines: public policy objectives and the role of policy analysis in achieving these objectives; market and government failures; the role of the public and private sectors; policy analysis tools (e.g. cost-benefit analysis, decision analysis, etc.); and policy implementation and evaluation.  Emphasis is given to specific policy problems based on the interests of the participants.

Economic Growth and Development    
∗ Required for one-year degree candidates.
This course examines the basic principles and policy issues in the study of economic growth and development. We will consider the roles of physical, natural and human capital, technological innovation, productivity improvements and institutions in explaining patterns and causes of variations in growth and development performance of countries. We will also examine the effects on growth and development of many current policy issues including HIV-AIDS, financial crises, foreign aid and investment, debt burdens and forgiveness, corruption and governance.

MIDP ELECTIVE SEMINARS
MIDP Fellows are encouraged to design a program of study that includes coursework in departments throughout Duke University. Fellows have enrolled in courses at the Fuqua School of Business, the Nicholas School of the Environment, and Duke Law School. MIDP Fellows also have access to courses at other local universities through inter-institutional agreements. A selection of MIDP seminar descriptions can be viewed on the Courses page. An up-to-date listing of courses at Duke can be found here: http://www.aas.duke.edu/reg/synopsis/

MASTER'S PROJECT
Fellows pursuing the one- and two-year degree programs culminate their studies in a final Master’s Project. The master’s project is a 30-35 page paper required of all candidates for the master's degree. It is intended to demonstrate mastery in defining a policy problem, analyzing it in an interdisciplinary manner, and recommending a specific course of action to address that problem.  More specifically, the master’s project must also measure up to the standards of good analysis, including a precise definition of the problem, careful evaluation of the evidence from an interdisciplinary viewpoint, review of other countries’ experiences, identification of important costs and benefits, and a clear presentation of the results and recommendations. Many fellows use their project towards obtaining future employment or getting a promotion with their present employer, so may select to identify their desired organization as a client.  

INTERNSHIP
During the summer between the first and second year of study, each fellow completes an internship. For more information, please see Professional Development.  

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE OPTIONS
Global Health Policy  
Integrates health-related knowledge from diverse academic fields to address issues related to global health disparities and how to overcome them.
http://clacs.aas.duke.edu/program/grad/graduatecert.php

Latin American & Caribbean Studies     
Allows specialization by focusing on coursework across departments relating to this region. Requires proficiency in a Latin American or Caribbean language.
http://clacs.aas.duke.edu/program/grad/graduatecert.php

East Asian Studies     
Allows specialization by focusing on cross-disciplinary coursework relating to this region. Requires proficiency in an East Asian language.
http://www.duke.edu/APSI/programs/eacert.html

Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies     
Provides specialization in a range of different disciplines, including Slavic language, economics, history, political science, public policy, law, and business.
http://www.duke.edu/web/CSEEES/certificate_program.html

Russian Legal Studies   
Permits those interested in issues relating to the legal environment in this region to pursue an interdisciplinary study of the subject.
http://www.duke.edu/web/CSEEES/legal_studies_program.html

International Peace and Conflict Resolution     
UNC-based certificate concentrating on issues of international peace and conflict resolution. Only open to MIDP Fellows associated with the Duke-UNC Rotary Center. Interested MIDP Fellows should contact Duke-UNC Rotary Center coordinator Susan Carroll.

Middle East Studies  
A joint offering of the Consortium in Middle East Studies through the Department of Asian and Middle East Studies at Duke and the Department of Religious Studies at UNC.
http://www.jhfc.duke.edu/mideast/Duke_UNC-Grad_ME_Certificate.html