Plate IThe seminar tableDurham, NC
00University in Durham, NC
One campus, every level of study.
Duke University teaches undergraduate arts and sciences, engineering, graduate research and professional degrees on one campus in Durham, North Carolina. Most of it happens at a table like this one, with the faculty member on your side of it.
- 1the text under discussionC3 / open paperback, pencilled
- 2faculty member, same side of the tableB2 / no lectern in the room
- 3twelve chairs, not two hundredE3 / seminar scale
- 4notes in the marginD4 / the student's own reading
- 5the question on the boardE1 / where the next paper starts
01Index of study
Four ways to study here, from a first bachelor's to a doctorate.
Duke undergraduate programs and Duke graduate programs share the same campus, libraries and labs. They differ in who admits you, how long the degree runs and what it is built around. Read the row that matches you, then open its page.
| Area | Level | Typical length | How you are admitted | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate arts and sciences | Bachelor's, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences | 4 years, full time | Undergraduate admissions office; first-year or transfer application | undergraduate.html |
| Undergraduate engineering | Bachelor's, Pratt School of Engineering | 4 years, full time | Undergraduate admissions office; you state engineering on the application | undergraduate.html |
| Graduate School | Master's and PhD | Set by the program; a PhD runs several years to the dissertation | The department you apply to, not a central office | graduate.html |
| Professional schools | Law, Medicine, Nursing, Business, Divinity, Environment, Public Policy | Set and published by each school | Each school's own admissions committee | graduate.html |
Cost is not in this table on purpose. The university publishes the cost of attendance for each academic year, and every graduate program and professional school publishes its own figures. We confirm the current number when you ask. We do not rank ourselves against other schools and we do not publish outcomes as promises.
How admission works02Research at Duke University
How a question asked in a seminar becomes research.
Undergraduates here are placed in labs that graduate students and faculty run. That is the practical meaning of one campus, every level of study. Below is the usual path, in the order most students walk it.
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Step 01 / First year
A question in a seminar
First-year seminars are small, and the faculty member who teaches one usually has a lab or an archive of their own down the corridor. Somebody asks why a result holds, or why a source says what it says, and nobody in the room knows.
That is the starting point. Not a research program, just a question with no answer in the reading. Write it down. Most students who end up in a lab can name the week it happened.
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Step 02 / First or second year
An independent study
An independent study is a course with one student in it. You propose a reading list or a small project, a faculty member agrees to supervise, and it counts toward the degree like any other course.
The common mistake is asking too broadly. "I want to do research" gets a polite reply. "Your paper on soil carbon used one plot type; could I measure a second?" gets a meeting.
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Step 03 / Second year onward
A place in a lab
Labs take undergraduates when they have room and a mentor to spare. You work under a graduate student or a faculty member, for credit or as paid work where the lab offers it. Nobody is assigned a lab automatically, and a place depends on capacity and on the faculty member agreeing.
This is where the levels of study meet. The graduate student at the next bench is writing a dissertation; the undergraduate is running the samples that go into chapter three. The research page explains how placements are arranged.
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Step 04 / Final year
A thesis
Many departments offer a senior thesis for students who want to finish the work properly. It runs across the final year, it has a faculty advisor, and it is read by people who know the field.
It is not required for most majors, and it is not a shortcut to anything. It is a year of writing about a question you chose, which for some students becomes the reason to apply to a PhD and for others is simply the best thing they did here.
03Duke university admissions
Four routes in, and each one reads a different file.
Pick the route before you gather documents. A transfer applicant who fills in the first-year application creates a file the office then has to untangle, and that slows everyone down.
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R1
First-year applicant
Applying from secondary school for a four-year bachelor's in arts and sciences or engineering. Transcripts, recommendations and a check of the current testing policy. A binding early decision option exists for this route only.
Undergraduate -
R2
Transfer from another college
For students with college credit already earned elsewhere. The office reads your college transcript closely, and how credit carries over is settled after admission, course by course.
Admissions -
R3
Master's or PhD
Decided by the department. Write to the program and, for a PhD, to the faculty whose work you want to join before you apply. Funding terms are set per program.
Graduate -
R4
Professional school
Law, Medicine, Nursing, Business, Divinity, Environment and Public Policy each run their own admissions with their own requirements and calendars. Some expect an entrance test taken months before the deadline.
Professional schools
04Campus life, Durham NC
A mid-sized city that used to make cigarettes and now mostly makes conversation.
Durham's old tobacco warehouses are red brick, tall and mostly converted: offices, apartments, places to eat and a lot of outdoor tables. Downtown is a short ride from campus. It is a working city, not a college town, and students who treat it as one miss half of it.
For visitors, the practical questions are where to stay and how to get around without a car. Both are answered on the Durham page. Campus life, from residence halls to intramural sport, has its own.
- D1Downtown and the former tobacco district
- D2Getting around, with or without a car
- D3Where visitors stay the night before a tour
- D4Residence, dining, music and sport on campus
05Before you write
The questions the desk answers most weeks.
Short answers. If yours is not here, the form further down reaches the admissions and visitor desk, and a staff member replies.
Q1Can I pay a fee or a deposit on this website?
No. Nothing is paid through this website, ever. Every form here is an inquiry that reaches a person in Durham. If anyone asks you to pay through a link that claims to come from this site, do not.
Q2What does it cost to study here?
The university publishes the cost of attendance each academic year. Graduate programs and each professional school publish their own. We confirm the current figure when you ask.
We do not quote it by email, because it changes, and an old number in someone's inbox causes more trouble than no number.
Q3Does a campus visit count in my application?
No. A visit is for you. It is not an interview and nobody records it as part of an evaluation. Tours leave on foot and take about ninety minutes. Wear shoes you can stand in.
Q4Who answers questions about a PhD or master's program?
The department. Graduate admission is decided by the program you apply to, not a central office. Write to the program first. If you do not know which program fits, send us the question and we will point you to it.
Q5Who is this university not a good fit for?
Anyone who wants four years of anonymity in large lectures, or a fully online degree. Most teaching here happens in person and in small groups, and the faculty will know your work by the second week.
We also cannot tell you whether you will be admitted. Nobody on this desk can, and anyone who promises it is wrong.
Q6Where do I send a transcript?
Follow the instructions in your application first; most documents are submitted through it. For anything posted, the most common mistake is the wrong box number. Ours is BOX 90502, 705 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27708.
06Visit Duke campus
Plan a visit, or ask one question.
Campus tours in Durham, NC are student-led, on foot, and take about ninety minutes. They are free and booked by inquiry. The same form reaches the desk for any question about programs or routes in.
Say which term you are thinking about and which area of study. A visit on a class day shows more than one in the break; if you can only come in the break, say so and we will tell you what is open.
Send the form once. Two copies create two files and slow both.
BOX 90502 705 BROAD STREET
DURHAM, NC 27708
United States Open the address in a map service
- Phone(919) 684-5600
- Email[email protected]