Answer person, I know I want to do international relations work in support of public policy. Would a Ph.D allow/encourage me to go in a different direction than a JD? What does someone with a Ph.D in government do?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Treasury Secretary John Snow (Virginia, 1966), former Representative Dick Armey (Oklahoma, 1969), and former Senator Phil Gramm (Georgia, 1967) all have PhD’s in economics. Newt Gingrich has a doctorate in history (Tulane, 1971: “Belgian Education Policy in the Congo: 1945-1960”). So, no, a PhD isn’t necessarily needed or even desirable for government work, and it might encourage you to move off in a dangerous direction. But seriously, academic departments at Duke have undergraduate and graduate advisors who specialize in such guidance, and I recommend consulting one of them.