The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, who established the university's Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs in 1971 as an interdisciplinary program geared toward training future leaders.

When the School's current building on Duke's West Campus opened in 1994, the structure was named—and the Institute renamed—in honor of Sanford.

One notable aspect of the fall semester program is a four-day tour of London and its important cultural and political institutions and meetings with members of Parliament.

It also offers an international Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) degree with the Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke Kunshan University.

[6] Top ten specialities and overall graduate level public affairs program as ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2019[citation needed]: