video essay duke

Join Our Community of Doers

The outstanding individuals who apply for admission to Duke each year continually astound us. We are always excited to welcome a new class into our collaborative community of intellectual explorers.

Start Your Application

Choose to apply using either the Common Application , Coalition Application , or QuestBridge Application .

First-Year or Transfer ? Trinity College of Arts & Sciences or Pratt School of Engineering ? Early Decision or Regular Decision?

Dates, Deadlines, and Checklist

Early Decision applications are due November 1 . Regular Decision applications are due January 2 . Scroll down for additional deadlines. Once we receive the student-submitted portions of your application, you’ll receive an email to access your Application Checklist .

FIRST-YEAR APPLICANTS

When evaluating applications to Duke, the admissions committee reviews several documents that make up each file. As a part of our holistic approach, we consider both your academic and personal interests, what you’ve accomplished, and your unique experiences, perspectives, and background.

The information below represents the 2023-24 admission cycle requirements and deadlines.

For a quick reference of deadlines, click here .

Early Decision v Regular Decision

Early Decision is a binding program for students whose top choice is Duke.

Regular Decision is for students who want to keep their options open.

Visit our FAQs for more information.

Early Decision Deadlines

• Common Application  or Coalition Application made available
• Application for Early Decision
• Early Decision Agreement
• High School Transcript
• First Quarter Grades (submit via Optional Report; will accept through November 20 or when your first term ends)
• Secondary School Report with Counselor Recommendation
• Two Teacher Recommendations
• SAT and/or ACT Scores (optional, last day to take standardized tests is November 6)
• Arts Supplement (optional)
• CSS Profile

November 15

• Additional Financial Aid Documents (like your taxes)

Mid-December

• Decisions released
• Financial Aid: FAFSA due

Regular Decision Deadlines

• Common Application  or  Coalition Application made available
• Application for Regular Decision
• SAT and/or ACT Scores (optional, standardized tests must be taken by January 31)

February 15

• Midyear Grade Report (or as soon as first marking period grades are available)

Late March/Early April

More Information

Click here to learn more about what we look for in applications.

Course Selection

Enroll in the best available and most challenging courses. We recommend four years of English and at least three years of mathematics, natural sciences, foreign language, and social studies. We generally expect students to enroll in five academic courses per year, and if a student does not take four years in a particular subject area, it should be replaced with an academic course of equal rigor. For students applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, we require coursework in calculus and strongly recommend physics. We also encourage students to enroll in advanced-level work in as many areas as reasonable, regardless of your intended major. For some students, this will include AP or IB courses, whereas for others it will include honors, accelerated, or college courses.

First Quarter Grades, Midyear Grades, and Final Transcripts

We look at the courses you’ve taken from what’s available to you, individual grades in academic courses, overall GPA, and class rank (when available). Official transcripts for all academic work completed in high school are required and must be submitted by your school counselor or another school official.

We require first-quarter/marking-period grades for all Early Decision applicants to be submitted with the Common or Coalition Application by your counselor with the application or as soon as they become available. If your school is unable to provide us with first-quarter grades, you should request an unofficial progress report.

We require midyear grades for all applicants by February 15 or as soon as they are available, to be submitted with the Common or Coalition Application by your counselor.

All admitted students must request that a final official transcript be submitted along with the Final Report form with the Common or Coalition Application.

College and Summer School Transcripts

If you have taken postsecondary or summer coursework that does not appear on your high school transcript, please request an official transcript and/or a progress report from the institution that provided instruction.

International Students

• For international students whose transcripts need to be translated into English, students may use an official service, an EducationUSA adviser, or a school official. Please keep in mind that we also expect the original documents to be submitted with the translated documents. School Report forms and transcripts must be submitted directly from an applicant’s school.

What We Look For

College Preparation Tips

• Academics FAQ

Test Optional Policy 2023-2024

Duke University will be test-optional for both first-year and transfer applicants in the 2023-24 admissions cycle.

Students who apply without SAT or ACT scores this year will not be at a disadvantage in our consideration of their applications. Our decisions are based on a student’s comprehensive application materials, with or without test scores. We will continue to consider SAT and ACT scores as part of the application of students who choose to submit them and will accept self-reported scores for purposes of assessing an application. Scores sent from testing agencies will be required from those students only if they enroll at Duke.

How should I decide whether or not to have my SAT or ACT considered?

The decision of whether or not to have your SAT or ACT considered is entirely yours. Choosing not to have SAT or ACT scores considered will not impact your admissions decision. You may wish to consult our  ADMISSIONS PROFILE  for students admitted to Duke in previous years as a guide. If you’re still uncertain, you may wish to opt-out of having your scores considered when you apply because you will be able to opt-in later.

We do not require SAT Subject Tests, but we will consider those scores, along with other scores like AP and IB, if you choose to report them. Please note if you choose to not have your scores considered, we will not suppress SAT Subject Test scores or AP scores if they are already on file with Duke.

Visit our FAQs for more information about our Test-Optional Policy.

Duke CEEB Code: 5156

STANDARDIZED TESTS

Duke will consider official scores as well as scores that are self-reported on the application. Submitting essay scores from the ACT and/or SAT is optional.

For students who submit both ACT and SAT scores, Duke will consider your best score.

Students must submit at least one full set of scores from a single test date but may also submit scores from subsections taken individually on different test dates. Duke will consider the highest scores on each section, regardless of the test date, and will create a new composite score by averaging those scores. We do not require the optional essay.

Duke will consider the highest scores on each section of the SAT, regardless of the test date. SAT with essay and SAT Subject Tests have been discontinued. If you have SAT essay or SAT Subject Test scores, you are welcome to submit them, but they are optional.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TESTS

If you are a non-native English speaker or if you are not currently studying in an English-medium curriculum, we recommend but do not require that you take an English proficiency test. If you take the test more than once, we will use your highest score, and we do not have any preference among English proficiency tests.

• Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (Minimum score expected is 180)
• Duolingo (Minimum score expected is 130)
• IELTS (Minimum band score expected is 7)
• PTE Academic (Minimum score expected is 70)
• 100 on the internet-based TOEFL
• 75 on the revised TOEFL paper-delivered test

PLACEMENT POLICIES

Duke University awards a limited amount of course credit and advanced placement on the basis of scores earned on Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and pre-matriculation college course work. However, course credit and advanced placement are not granted until the student has been admitted and until the official reports are received and evaluated by our Registrar’s Office. Since this process is handled outside the Admissions Office, a credit evaluation cannot be made until the student arrives on campus. Click here for more information.

REQUIRED RECOMMENDATIONS

We require three letters of recommendation for each applicant: one from your school counselor and two from teachers who have taught you in major academic courses (English, mathematics, social studies, sciences, foreign languages), preferably within the last two years of secondary school.

If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, at least one recommendation should be from a math or science teacher.

Ask your recommender to submit the letter through the Common Application or Coalition process. We will also accept letters by email, fax, or postal mail .

OPTIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

You can submit one Personal Recommendation from an employer, mentor, or anyone else who knows you well and can give us a better idea of who you are. Ask your recommender to submit the letter through the Common Application or Coalition process. We will also accept letters by email, fax, or postal mail .

The application includes space for up to ten extracurricular activities. Use as few or as many spaces as you need. Be sure to include school, community, family, and work commitments on your list. Keep in mind that we are more interested in seeing sustained commitment rather than a long list.

Duke does not accept separate resumes. You may include extra honor and accomplishments in the “additional information” section of the application.

Both the Common Application and the Coalition Application include a one-page personal essay as well as short essay questions specific to Duke. You can submit the supplemental essays with or after the other student portions of the application, no later than the application deadline.

LONG-ESSAY PROMPTS

• All applicants who complete the Common Application will respond to one of seven essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle.
• All applicants who complete the Coalition Application will respond to one of six essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle.
• For transfer students, we would like to understand more about you and your academic path. Why and how did you choose your current or most recent college or university? What has changed since then, and what has led you to consider transferring? Please respond with an essay of between 250 and 600 words.

SHORT-ESSAY PROMPTS

• What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)
• We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.
• Tell us about an intellectual experience in the past two years that you found absolutely fascinating .
• We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?
• We recognize that “fitting in” in all the contexts we live in can sometimes be difficult. Duke values all kinds of differences and believes they make our community better. Feel free to tell us any ways in which you’re different, and how that has affected you or what it means to you.
• Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community.
• The Common and Coalition Applications will also include a section for students to disclose if they were impacted by community disruptions such as natural disasters and COVID-19.

Submitting Payment

You must send your nonrefundable $85 application fee or fee waiver request along with the Common Application or Coalition Application. Both applications accept online payment via credit card or electronic check.  Please note that we do not accept credit card payment by telephone.  If you pay by check, please make the check payable to Duke University. Checks must be for payment in U.S. dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank.

Fee Waivers

We offer fee waivers for qualifying students, which means under many circumstances we will waive the $85 application fee for students with high financial need. Through your Common Application or Coalition Application you may request an application fee waiver online, and your school counselor will receive an email invitation to endorse your request.

Alumni interviews are an optional component of the Duke application process. Due to the volume of applications to Duke, we regret we are unable to interview all applicants. The Admissions Office will prioritize interviews for students for whom we need additional information. Not being offered an interview does not affect your chances of admission. After students submit their applications, those offered an interview will be matched with alumni volunteers who will contact them via phone or email to arrange a virtual interview. Students may expect the interview to last 30-60 minutes. We do not offer on-campus interviews with admissions officers, nor can students request an interview.

Applicants are welcome to record a Glimpse video. Glimpse is an opportunity to share a 60-90 second video helping us to get to know you better. For more information about Glimpse please visit the Glimpse website here . Currently, Glimpse is only available for students attending high school in the United States. For consideration in the Duke Admissions Process, Glimpse videos must be submitted by November 6 for Early Decision and January 16 for Regular Decision.

For international applicants, Duke will also consider interviews from InitialView. Students attending schools in China are particularly encouraged to arrange an interview with InitialView. Applicants interested in an InitialView interview are encouraged to make a reservation here as soon as possible in order to secure a timely appointment.

ARTS SUPPLEMENT

If you have exceptional talent in dance, music, photography, film/video/digital, or theater, you may submit optional arts supplement(s) to be evaluated by a Duke University faculty member in that program or department. Typically, such submissions should demonstrate extraordinary talent beyond standard high school level accomplishment. Arts supplement applicants have often received significant awards and honors at a state, national, or international level. Consider carefully whether your supplemental materials demonstrate unusual talent before submission. For more information about what we look for, you may reach out to the departments directly.

For the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, we are unable to accept visual art supplements (including photographs of artwork).

Learn more about art supplements

RESUMES, ABSTRACTS, ETC.

We hope to get to know you through the documents we require as part of our application process. Therefore, Duke does not accept resumes, research abstracts, and media files. We are happy to accept artistic supplements. We will accept one additional letter of recommendation should you choose to submit it.

If you have information that you need to share with us that will not be reflected elsewhere in your application, you may add it to the Additional Information section of the application.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Every fall, approximately 50 students transfer into Duke from another college or university. Most will enroll as sophomores, although the selection committee will also admit a small number of juniors. While transfer students are new to the Duke community, they bring with them the same characteristics of talent and engagement as the rest of their undergraduate peers.

The application deadline for transfer admission is March 15.

ELIGIBILITY

• If you have attended any college or university in the past four years and will have successfully completed at least one full year of transferable college work by the August in which you hope to enroll, you qualify to apply to Duke as a transfer applicant.
• All transferable college work should be completed at an accredited degree-granting institution. College work completed at a vocational, technical, performance, or professional program will not be considered.
• If you are a high school student in an “early college” or dual-enrollment program earning an associate degree while finishing high school, you should apply as a first-year applicant.
• If you have already completed an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree at a four-year college, you cannot be considered for transfer admission.
• Students who attend Duke Kunshan University and wish to transfer to Duke University are not at an advantage in our admissions process.
• A high school diploma or GED is required for admission to Duke.
• Unfortunately, you may not apply for transfer to Duke as a part-time student.  Instead, we encourage you to contact  DUKE CONTINUING STUDIES  for information on taking courses on a non-degree basis.
• The admissions committee seeks applicants who can provide evidence of academic preparation within the past four years. If you have not recently attended high school or college, we strongly encourage you to do so prior to applying for transfer, either through  DUKE CONTINUING STUDIES  or an accredited degree-granting institution in your local area.
• Transfer admission to Duke is highly selective, with the admission rate ranging from 3% to 7% over the past five years. Transfer applicants are expected to have demonstrated a high level of academic talent, both at their current higher education institution and in high school.
• The most successful applicants will have a minimum college GPA of 3.7 in a challenging academic program.
• Please note that Duke will be test-optional for transfer students for the 2023-2024 cycle.

2022-2023 Transfer Student Application Cycle

• Applications: 2,126
• Admitted Students: 89
• Matriculated Students: 56
• Admit Rate: 4%

2022-2023 Admitted Transfer Student Profile

• GPA average = 3.90
• Mid-50% range = 3.85 – 4.0

REQUIRED MATERIALS AND DEADLINES

• Your application must be submitted electronically through either the  COMMON APPLICATION  or COALITION APPLICATION by March 15. The Transfer Admissions Committee begins to review applications after the application deadline. We will notify applicants of admissions decisions by mid-May.
• Required materials for transfer admission include an application for transfer admission, College Report, college transcript, final high school transcript, two instructor evaluations (at least one evaluation must be from a college instructor), and required financial aid forms.
• Duke University is test-optional for transfer students who plan to apply during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle for enrollment in the fall of 2024 . If you choose to submit ACT or SAT scores, they must be completed within the past five years.
• If you intend to apply through the Common Application, please visit their website for a TRANSFER APPLICATION GUIDE .
• Both the Transfer Common Application and the Coalition Application include a one-page personal essay as well as short essay questions specific to Duke.  The transfer application has a character rather than a word limit. If your essays exceed the character limit, you may email the essay to [email protected] . Please ensure that you include your full name, date of birth, and current college so that we match it with the correct application.
• If your current college/university does not allow the submission of recommendation forms through the Common Application portal, you can find printable Duke-specific PDF versions on the Common Application portal. These forms should be either mailed or faxed to our office.
• If you have exceptional talent in dance, theater, art, or music, you may submit supplementary material to be evaluated by an appropriate faculty member. LEARN MORE ABOUT ART SUPPLEMENTS
• Alumni interviews are offered on a very limited basis, based on the availability of our volunteer alumni.  Unfortunately, we are unable to interview every applicant, every year. If we are unable to assign you an interview, please don’t worry . It will not hurt your application in any way. There is nothing that you need to, or can do, to request an interview. If we were able to assign you an interview this year, you will be contacted by the interviewer to coordinate.  All interviews will be conducted virtually.
• Transfer Applicants are welcome to record a GLIMPSE video. Glimpse is an opportunity to share a 60-90 second video helping us to get to know you better. For more information about Glimpse please visit the Glimpse website HERE . Currently, Glimpse is only available for U.S. Citizens and permanent residents. For consideration in the Duke Transfer Admissions Process, Glimpse videos must be submitted by March 22. Glimpse videos are not required as part of the transfer admissions process. For international applicants, Duke will also consider interviews from InitialView. Students attending schools in China are particularly encouraged to arrange an interview with InitialView. Transfer Applicants interested in an InitialView interview are encouraged to make a reservation HERE as soon as possible in order to secure a timely appointment.

TRANSFER OF CREDIT

• Duke does not offer a preliminary credit evaluation to prospective transfer students.
• We are unable to connect prospective applicants with an advisor to discuss credit transfer. However, there is a good chance that credits will transfer if coursework taken at the applicant’s current/previous accredited college is comparable to courses offered at Duke in areas such as natural science, math, foreign language, literature, social sciences and the arts.
• Duke will grant credit for no more than two years of coursework completed elsewhere, regardless of the number of credits a student has previously earned. In order to earn a Duke degree, a transfer student must spend at least two years at Duke.
• At least half the courses of all majors, minors, and certificates must be taken at Duke, although individual departments and programs offering majors may require that a greater proportion be taken at Duke.
• Please see the  DUKE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN  for more information on how transfer credits are evaluated.
• You may find a list of courses offered at Duke by searching our online course catalog .

FINANCIAL AID

• The number of semesters of aid eligibility for students transferring to Duke is based on the policy of up to nine academic semesters less the number of semesters studied elsewhere. This also includes financial assistance for one summer term, if needed.
• Duke admits transfer applicants who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, undocumented or DACA students without regard to financial circumstance or aid eligibility and meets 100 percent of each admitted student’s demonstrated need throughout their undergraduate enrollment.  Unfortunately, need-based financial aid is not available for international transfer student s.  In addition, Duke does not offer merit-based scholarships to transfer students.
• Submit a fee waiver via Common Application, or
• Sign and submit the NACAC Transfer Fee Waiver Form, or
• Provide a brief statement attesting to receiving a Pell Grant from your current college.
• Provide a brief statement describing why you are unable to pay the application fee.
• Fee waiver requests should be directed to  [email protected] .
• For detailed instructions on how to apply for financial aid, please visit the  OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE FINANCIAL AID

Other considerations

Every year, we receive a diverse array of extraordinary applicants from around the world with varied backgrounds and situations. Whether you’re an international applicant, one that is undocumented, homeschooled, transferring, or one with a disability—we are here to help you navigate the application process.

Please refer to the FAQs for additional information .

Have more questions?

Resources + Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

Students from more than 100 countries have found a home at Duke. Innovative, restless, and driven: these are qualities not confined by geography.

There is no separate application for international students.

STANDARDIZED TESTING CONSIDERATIONS

• Testing policies are the same for all applicants; there are no additional requirements for international students.
• While we do not require any English proficiency scores, we are happy to consider them for non-native English speakers who want to demonstrate their English ability beyond the materials in their applications. We accept the Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency Tests ,  Duolingo English Test ,  the IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System) , the  PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English) , and the  TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) . Since official submissions of the Duolingo English Test are free, we suggest the official submission of those results; applicants can self-report all other English proficiency test scores.

TRANSCRIPTS 

VISA INFORMATION

• To obtain an F-1 visa for study in the United States, a foreign citizen must furnish his or her home country’s U.S. consulate with proof of ability to meet educational expenses, along with a certificate of eligibility for a visa application (the I-20 form). I-20 forms for incoming foreign students are issued only after a student has accepted an offer of admission at Duke and returned a completed Certificate of Financial Responsibility.
• Visa services and advice on federal regulations concerning non-U.S. citizens are available through  Duke Visa Services .
• While not required for admission, interviews provide an opportunity for the applicant to learn about Duke and for a representative of the university to learn about the applicant’s strengths. We have alumni volunteers conducting interviews in forty-two countries worldwide.
• Because of the high volume of applicants we receive from China, Duke will accept admissions interviews from  InitialView for students attending school in China. These interviews will serve in lieu of alumni interviews. We encourage interested students to arrange an interview with InitialView as soon as possible in order to secure an appointment. All interviews must be submitted by December 1 for Early Decision and March 1 for Regular Decision.
• Duke offers need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships to US citizens and to foreign citizens following the different policies outlined below.
• For U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens, an applicant’s need for financial aid, or the fact that a student has applied for financial aid, will not disadvantage a student in the admissions process. Students needing financial assistance are strongly encouraged to apply for aid at the same time as for admission. Please go to the Financial Aid website for more information.
• Foreign citizens must apply for need-based financial aid in the original first-year application in order to be eligible for need-based funding from Duke at any point . You can find the comprehensive costs for attending Duke in 2023-2024 here . You can find more information about financial aid for foreign citizens at Duke here .
• The admissions process for foreign citizens is more highly selective: the admit rate for foreign citizens seeking financial aid is usually less than half of the overall admit rate. We consider admissions applications from foreign citizens requesting need-based financial aid in this more competitive pool no matter how great or small the family’s financial need may be.
• Duke offers a small number of merit scholarships for which all applicants to Duke are automatically considered. Applying for need-based aid does not have any negative effect on merit scholarship selection. You can find more information about merit scholarships at Duke  here and  here .
• We do not require applicants to submit any financial forms as a part of the admissions process; the financial aid application is simultaneous with but separate from our admissions consideration. The amount of need-based financial aid for which each student/family qualifies depends solely on financial calculations and not on the strength of the admissions application.
• If you have more specific questions about financial aid, please feel free to contact the Karsh Office of Undergraduate Financial Support at  [email protected] .

UNDOCUMENTED OR DACA APPLICANTS

We welcome applications from undocumented and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students. DACA applicants apply in the same way U.S. citizens and permanent residents do, and your application will be considered the same way U.S citizens and permanent residents are, by the regional admissions officer responsible for where you attend high school.

When you apply, you should be honest about your current citizenship status. You do not need a social security number to use the Common Application or Coalition Application; that field can be left blank.

Beginning with students who are applying for admission for Fall of 2021, Duke will review undocumented and DACA students using the same “need-blind” process as applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents .

• Undocumented or DACA students who wish to apply for financial aid should fill out the  CSS Profile by the appropriate Early Decision or Regular Decision deadline.
• Information about the financial aid process for undocumented students can be found  here , and answers to frequently asked questions can be found  here . For general instructions on how to apply for financial aid, please visit the  Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid website .

DUKE’S SUPPORT FOR UNDOCUMENTED AND DACA STUDENTS

• Duke University’s goal is to provide access, inclusion, and support to all of our students and their diverse backgrounds and needs.
• We encourage you to read more about how this support applies to undocumented and DACA students in this  message from the Duke University President .

If you have questions or concerns, please  contact our office .

HOMESCHOOLED APPLICANTS

Duke welcomes applications from students who are educated in alternative ways such as homeschooling and online-schooling. While we do not have any additional application requirements for these students, there is some benefit to providing supplementary information to help us better understand the context, the rigor, and the students’ achievements in their chosen educational path.

Below are some suggestions for homeschooled or online-schooled students to better elucidate their academics and involvement in our application process.

• In general, students should take the best and most challenging courses available. We recommend but do not require four years of English and at least three years of mathematics, natural science, foreign language, and social studies.
• For students applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, we require coursework in calculus and strongly recommend physics.
• We understand that each individual family best decides the choice of curriculum. Whatever path a student chooses, we would like information about the student’s homeschool experience and environment that would be helpful for our committee.

TRANSCRIPTS

• In addition to the courses and grades, we are interested in knowing how and why the student and family chose an alternative means of schooling and the philosophy behind the education provided.
• For courses that are taught at home, we would like an explanation of the grading scale or other methods of evaluation.
• When a student indicates that he/she is homeschooled, the Common Application generates supplemental questions on the School Report that should be completed and submitted to provide this information.
• Students are also welcome to share their insights into their educational choice, especially their thoughts about the benefits they have gained and how the experience will allow them to contribute to the community at Duke.
• If the student has taken courses from a distance learning program, traditional secondary school, or any institution of higher education, we require official transcripts from these institutions. Applicants are not required to present a GED or proof of accreditation.

STANDARDIZED TESTING

• The standardized testing requirements are the same for all Duke applicants.
• We encourage homeschooled students to submit AP test and/or additional SAT subject results in the absence of grades to demonstrate additional evidence.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

• Although a parent may complete your school report to provide context for your academic choices, we encourage students to provide two additional letters of recommendation from non-relatives and preferably from individuals who have worked with the student in an in-person academic setting.
• Employers, religious leaders, sports coaches or other adults can write these recommendations if all academic instruction takes place in the home.
• Letters from online instructors are less helpful if they have not had direct contact with the homeschool student.

Duke offers military veterans a high level of support as they transition to our campus community. For more information about the resources available to veterans, please visit Student Affairs or the Office of the University Registrar .

APPLICANTS WITH DISABILITIES

Duke University is committed to the equality of educational opportunities for all qualified students. Students with disabilities (including learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairments, mobility impairments, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, psychiatric impairments or chronic health disabilities) who apply to Duke can choose whether or not to disclose their disability to us.

• Our office is prohibited by law from making inquiries about a student’s disability in the admissions process. We will not require you at any point in the admissions process to disclose if you have a disability.
• We evaluate a student’s accomplishments within the context of any opportunities or challenges presented to that student. We do not use information about a disability to deny admission to a student.
• There is no separate admissions process at Duke for students with disabilities. All students who apply to Duke, including those who have a diagnosed impairment/disability, are evaluated using the same criteria.
• If you have questions or require additional information, please contact the Admissions Office at (919) 684-3214 and ask for the admissions officer responsible for students with disabilities.

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DUKE

• All students have the right to request reasonable accommodations at Duke.
• Students requesting consideration for accommodations must have an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and should contact the  Student Disability Access Office .

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

2 Strong Duke Essay Examples

With a very low acceptance rate, Duke is one of the most competitive U.S. colleges to get into. Alongside killer stats, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation, admissions officers are looking for engaging, concise, and thorough essays to put you over the top.

In this post, we’ll share a Duke essay written by a real student and analyze what it did well and where it could be improved. Hopefully, you can take away some insight that will help you write your Duke essays.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our Duke essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. 

Duke Pratt School of Engineering Essay Example – Why Engineering?

Prompt:   If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering as a first year applicant, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke (250 words).

One Christmas morning, when I was nine, I opened a snap circuit set from my grandmother. Although I had always loved math and science, I didn’t realize my passion for engineering until I spent the rest of winter break creating different circuits to power various lights, alarms, and sensors. Even after I outgrew the toy, I kept the set in my bedroom at home and knew I wanted to study engineering. Later, in a high school biology class, I learned that engineering didn’t only apply to circuits, but also to medical devices that could improve people’s quality of life. Biomedical engineering allows me to pursue my academic passions and help people at the same time.

Just as biology and engineering interact in biomedical engineering, I am fascinated by interdisciplinary research in my chosen career path. Duke offers unmatched resources, such as DUhatch and The Foundry, that will enrich my engineering education and help me practice creative problem-solving skills. The emphasis on entrepreneurship within these resources will also help me to make a helpful product. Duke’s Bass Connections program also interests me; I firmly believe that the most creative and necessary problem-solving comes by bringing people together from different backgrounds. Through this program, I can use my engineering education to solve complicated societal problems such as creating sustainable surgical tools for low-income countries. Along the way, I can learn alongside experts in the field. Duke’s openness and collaborative culture span across its academic disciplines, making Duke the best place for me to grow both as an engineer and as a social advocate.

What the Essay Did Well

A strength of this essay is how it grows in specificity as it progresses, and in college-essay-writing, specificity is key. In the first paragraph, there’s a smooth yet concise transition from a general childhood fascination with engineering to a more mature and specialized field of interest. We learn more and more about this student, almost in layers; first we learn they loved math and science, then engineering, and then biomedical engineering. In every sentence, each of this student’s personal qualities and traits builds off of the one before it, adding more dimension and nuance to their character.

In shifting from her past experiences to Duke’s academic offerings, this student uses their similarly interdisciplinary natures to connect the two. This penchant for smooth, concise transitions is an especially important asset when working with a sub-300 word limit. This applicant chose Duke-specific opportunities to discuss, giving no generic desires for “great professors,” a “top” program, or empty appeals to emotion (“The campus just felt like home!”)

The final sentence serves to nicely tie the essay up, re-affirming the student’s personal qualities and how they suit the student for Duke, personally and academically.

What Could Be Improved

This essay could be made stronger with some improvements to the second paragraph. When including Duke opportunities they want to take part in, this student tells us “ I am fascinated by ,” and it “ interests me ,” but this is fairly basic writing. The reader shouldn’t have to be told about your interest and excitement over something; it should jump off the page.

Rather than telling us they are fascinated by interdisciplinary research, they could write something like this: “ I’d take the thrill of finding connections between two seemingly unrelated topics, knee-deep in library archives, over the drop on the Kingda Ka rollercoaster.”  Notice how this sentence doesn’t explicitly say anything about how they find research fascinating, but by describing it as a more thrilling experience than a rollercoaster, the reader gets a strong visual of the student’s passion.

Another thing missing from this essay is the  why behind this student’s interest in helping others. They clearly flush out their motivation for pursuing engineering, but they never explain what draws them into being a social advocate. Throwing in how they want to “ improve people’s quality of life “, “ create sustainable  surgical tools for low-income countries “, and be a “ social advocate ” has little impact if we don’t understand the importance. A sentence or two that provides background on this student’s compassionate side and where it originated from or what it looks like in action would help bring more weight to their claims of becoming a social advocate.

Duke Essay Example – Why Duke?

In the last six years, my community has been disconnected from the national grid. The result? I watched my mother spend so much money on fuel and patronizing nearly every generator technician in town so we could access electricity. I developed the habit of going to my tutorial centers with my phone charger, hoping that by some streak of luck, the generator would be on. However, with Duke’s minor in Energy Engineering, all these could become things of the past. I especially look forward to courses like ENERGYER 310: INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY GENERATION and ENERGYER 490:RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, which will equip me with the knowledge I need to design cheap and environmentally friendly energy systems.

Outside the classroom, I hope to contribute to Duke’s mission of supporting positive change worldwide by participating in some of Duke’s signature programs, especially the Duke engage gateway program. I am a big fan of math competitions and math in general. As a result, I worked with some of my friends in 2019 to set up a math enrichment organization for high schoolers. I plan to someday have the Duke engage program work with our organization to help provide STEM classes and encourage hand on design projects among Nigerian high school students. I look forward to the academically challenging classes, interactions with strangers, and all the other things that come with being a blue devil.

This essay, which is responding to a textbook example of the “Why This College?” prompt, does a nice job of clearly explaining this student’s motivation for pursuing the specific opportunities at Duke they mention. Because of the story at the beginning about what this student and their mother went through to access energy, the reader understands the personal connection this student has to energy engineering. That personal connection, coupled with the fact the student names specific energy engineering classes at Duke, proves that their interest in the subject is genuine.

The student’s discussion of the Duke engage program is also backed with a personal story that deepens the connection between their past experiences and the things they hope to accomplish at Duke. Rather than just saying they want to join the engage program because they like creating positive change, their description of creating a “math enrichment organization” in high school shows Duke admissions officers that they have already embodied that value of making the world a better place.

One way this essay could be improved would be to more empathetically drive home the theme of making the world a better place. Between this student’s passion for bringing energy solutions to their community and helping Nigerian students access STEM resources, they clearly have a genuine desire to be a force for positive change. Right now, however, the essay feels somewhat like two distinct anecdotes stuck together, rather than a cohesive story focusing on this aspect of their personality, with Duke-specific opportunities woven into that story.

Centering the essay on this quality would shift the focus from the programs at Duke, and how the student fits into them, to the student’s personality, and how Duke aligns with it. It might seem like a subtle difference, but the result would be an essay that both flows naturally and highlights the student’s admirable character.

How would the student go about making this change? The essay could start with a sentence that shows us their passion for helping others in general, rather than in the context of their local power grid of the math organization they cofounded. This line could be quite simple, for example: “ ‘To help others!’ That’s how I answered my mom every year when she asked what I wanted for my birthday. ” 

Then, the student could move into talking about the helplessness they felt not being able to fix the power grid, and how that feeling motivated them to pursue energy engineering. Their story would continue by transitioning into a discussion of how they hope to help people in a variety of ways, not just by improving their access to electricity. They could cite their math organization as an example of another way they’ve worked to make people’s lives better, and demonstrate their commitment to that organization by describing how they hope to grow it with the skills they learn from the Duke engage program.

This version of the essay, by centering on their personality from start to finish, would feel more cohesive, while still incorporating why the student wants to attend Duke specifically.

Where to Get Your Duke  Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Duke essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 4 tips for duke essays that will get you accepted.

College Essays

Do you want to be a Blue Devil? If so, you'll need to submit strong Duke essays as part of your application.

Duke requires its applicants to answer two essays, one as part of the Common or Coalition app, and one "Why Duke" essay. Students will also have the option to answer up to two more personal essay prompts, but they aren't required.

We're going to break down all the prompts for you and walk you though how to write amazing Duke supplement essays. So let's get started!

What Is the Duke Supplement Essay?

Duke requires that you submit two to four essays as part of your application. You're required to answer one "Why Duke?" essay prompt, as well as a Common Application essay or a Coalition Application essay (depending on which one you use to apply). Additionally, you have the option of answering up to two more essay questions.

Duke requires the Duke supplement as part of its application process for a couple of reasons. First of all, written essays are a great way to assess your preparedness for college. Duke wants to see that you can write clearly and concisely and can follow all of the necessary grammar conventions.

Duke also wants to get to know you more as a student and possible member of its campus. Essays are a great way to learn more about who you really are beyond your test scores and other credentials.

Finally, your Duke essays are where you can demonstrate your affinity for Duke itself. Why do you want to go there? Your essays can highlight your passion for the university.

It's extremely important to put time and effort into each one of the Duke supplement essay prompts so that you're able to meet all of these needs.

Duke Supplement Essay Prompts

You'll have to answer at least two and as many as four Duke supplement essay prompts for your Duke application. All students are required to write one longer essay. The essay you write will be determined by whether you're submitting the Common Application or the Coalition Application (Duke accepts both).

You're also required to answer the "Why Duke" essay prompt. There are four more personal essay questions that are optional for all applicants. You can answer up to two of them.

2022-2023 Duke Long Essay

The long essay prompt is actually the essay you'll write as part of your Common App or Coalition App. There's not a separate "long essay" prompt for Duke, so don't worry when you don't see the prompt pop up when you click over to the writing supplement tab.

On the other hand, that means that the long essay prompt you submit will depend on whether you're using the Common App, QuestBridge App, or Coalition App. These apps have slightly different essay prompts associated with them!

If you apply to Duke via the Coalition Application, you'll select one essay prompt to answer. For more information on how to ace your Coalition Application essay and an analysis of each prompt, check out our in-depth guide .

If you apply to Duke via the Common Application, you'll also need to select an essay prompt to answer. For more information on how to craft an amazing Common Application essay and in-depth look at each prompt, check out our blog post dedicated to that very topic .

2022-2023 "Why Duke?" Essay

All Duke students are required to answer the "Why Duke?" essay . Here's the essay prompt for 2022-2023:

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there's something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)

For more information about how to answer this question, you can check out our in-depth post to the "Why Duke?" app. 

2022-2023 Optional Duke Essays

You also have the option of responding to optional Duke essays. There are four prompts, and you can answer up to two of them. However, you don't need to answer any if you don't feel the need to. Duke makes it clear that these Duke admissions essay prompts are completely optional. Their exact phrasing is, " Feel free to answer them if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application." For each prompt you choose to answer, you can write up to 250 words.

Here are the four prompts:

We seek a diverse student body that embodies the wide range of human experience. In that context, we are interested in what you’d like to share about your lived experiences and how they’ve influenced how you think of yourself. 

We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?

 What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?

Duke's commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you’d like to share with us more about your identity in this context, feel free to do so here.

Required Duke Essay, Analyzed

Guess what: 250 words isn't a lot of words to describe your love for Duke! You'll need to be clear, succinct, and honest in order for your Duke admissions essay to stand out.

Because the word limit is so constrained, it's better to focus on one or two specific ideas, rather than trying to cram as many thoughts as possible into your short essay. For instance, while you may be enamored of Duke's entire faculty, choose one specific professor whose work you admire and expand on that. Any depth you can achieve in this small space will go a long way.

The key here is to be specific about why Duke is the best school for you. We just mentioned discussing faculty, but you can also talk about specific classes you want to take, academic organizations you want to be involved in, or even research opportunities you want to pursue. That means you'll need to do your research, but trust us: it will make a huge difference.

If you're still confused about this prompt and want a little extra help, don't miss our entire article about how to write an amazing "Why Duke" essay!

Optional Duke Admission Essay Prompts, Analyzed

Treat this question as an opportunity to share more about yourself. If you have something real and important to write about, do so. But don't try to invent an experience that doesn't actually belong to you—it'll come across as fake and insincere. Unless you really have nothing to say, I'd suggest including something.

If you choose to answer this question, lean into authenticity. Don't be scared to be vulnerable or honest. While the question talks about Duke's commitment to diversity, don't feel like you have to invent diverse experiences just to fit in.

Share about your unique perspective. Be sure to indicate why this point-of-view belongs to you, and you alone. Your perspective is made up by your experiences and interactions, so you can highlight how these have affected you.

For this prompt, Duke is giving you the chance to share your values and how you communicate and respond to opinions different than your own. College is a place where you'll encounter people with many different beliefs, and Duke wants to make sure its students are able to respectfully talk about big topics, even if the people you're speaking with don't have the same beliefs or values as you do.

If you decide to respond to this prompt, think about a person or people you particularly love debating or having discussions with. Be sure to explain who you agree/disagree with, what topics you discuss, if you generally agree or disagree, and specifically how you make sure the conversation is respectful and thoughtful. 

Show Duke that you're able to contribute positively to any discussion, even if you disagree with what's being said .

What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?

Here Duke wants to know what motivates and excites you academically. Did you love partaking in a class debate? Maybe your best experience was bonding with a study group and helping each other learn the course material, or maybe it was doing a deep research dive to become an expert on a particular topic.

The specific experience you choose matters much less than your explanation of why it was so positive. Be sure to discuss exactly what you found about the experience you found enjoyable and  what you took away from it. If you can, try to tie it in to how you'll be a strong student at Duke and continue to find positive academic experiences.

Duke's commitment to diversity and inclusion includes gender identity and sexual orientation. If you would like to share with us more about either, and have not done so elsewhere in the application, we invite you to do so here.

Don't answer this optional essay unless you have something real to say. Don't feel intimidated or scared that ignoring this question will reflect badly on you. It won't. You should really only address this prompt if you're a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

What will reflect badly on you is making something up that comes across as insincere, or worse, ignorant. Speak truthfully and from the heart.

Similarly, if you do have reflections on gender identity and sexual orientation, don't feel like you have to share them. Remember, this essay is optional. It's completely fine if you're not quite comfortable enough or ready to talk publicly about these topics.

If you choose to answer this question, only speak about real experiences that happened to you. It's better to keep them personal. This essay isn't the place to reflect on the overall political climate surrounding LGBTQ+ rights, especially if those issues don't relate to you. It is, however, the space to talk about your specific identity and journey.

How to Write Great Duke Essays

If you want your Duke essays to stand out and help you get admitted, follow these tips!

#1: Use Your Own Voice

The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person.

You should, then, make sure that the person you're presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don't try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you're not.

If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Duke wants you to be.

#2: Avoid Cliched or Overused Phrases

When writing your Duke essays, try to avoid using clichés or overused quotes or phrases. These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Strive for originality.

Similarly, avoid using clichés, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work. Don't speak in platitudes about how the struggle for gay and lesbian rights has affected you… unless it actually has!

#3: Check Your Work

It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Duke essays are the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Duke application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your Duke essays, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be.

That being said, make sure you don't rely on them for ideas or rewrites. Your essays need to be your work.

#4: Only Answer What You're Comfortable With

Remember, Duke's optional essays are just that—optional. It can be tempting to respond to everything on the application and if you have an important story to tell, you definitely should.

However, if you have nothing to say, don't feel like you need to make something up. You're better off answering less, honestly, then you are answering more, dishonestly.

What's Next?

Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet? Not sure which one you'll do best on? Read our guide to choose the test that's right for you .

If you've taken the SAT and want to improve your score, check out our guides to improving your Reading , Writing , and Math scores.

Not sure what you want to major in? Don't worry! With our advice, you'll figure out what you should study as an undergrad.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

MPP How to Apply

Mpp admissions timeline.

The MPP admission cycle begins in early September, when the MPP application for the upcoming August intake becomes available. Between early September and the January 5 th deadline, applicants should engage with our admissions team, complete and compile the mandatory application materials, and proactively contact their 3 recommendation writers so as to give them sufficient time to write their letters of recommendation.

• The MPP application deadline is January 5 th at 5 pm EST.
• The program distributes admission decisions in mid-March, via the application system.
• Enrollment confirmations are due April 15 th at 5 pm EST.

A Completed Application Includes:

Your personal statement should have a clear narrative and should be “more” than just a reiteration of your transcripts and resume. In your personal statement, please describe:

• how your professional, academic, personal, and lived experiences have shaped you and inspired your interest in public policy
• why you are interested in obtaining a master’s degree in public policy
• what your professional goals are upon graduation 
• how the Sanford School of Public Policy and Duke fit into those goals

Your personal statement should not exceed 1500 words.

Resumes should not exceed two printed pages. In addition to your professional and academic experiences, applicants should highlight relevant skills, accomplishments, awards, and honors.

Applicants must have the equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree (we will review three-year international degrees based on the European Ministers of Education, Bologna Declaration). As part of the application, you will upload your undergraduate transcript(s) with the degree posted, along with all other transcripts from other colleges and universities previously attended.

Note: transcripts uploaded t0 the MPP application are considered "unofficial", as applicants are uploading their own copies; unofficial transcripts are sufficient for application review. If admitted to the MPP program, enrolling students will be required to submit official transcripts as part of the summer onboarding process. For a transcript to be considered official, it must come directly from the issuing institution directly to the Sanford MPP Program.

As part of the online application, applicants will provide the names and email addresses of three recommenders. The application system will email recommenders with instructions for completing and uploading their letters of recommendation online.

Good letters of recommendation show that the writer knows the applicant, their ability, and their character well. Note: first-hand knowledge of the applicant supersedes the letter-writer’s title. For applicants with fewer than two years of work experience, we recommend two academic and one professional recommendation. For applicants with three or more years of work experience, we suggest one academic recommendation and two from work-related professionals. Applicants with four or more years of work experience may include three work-related references.

Applicants should ensure that all three recommendations have been submitted by the January 5 th deadline. We encourage applicants to proactively ask their recommenders at least two months before the January 5 th deadline. This will give recommenders sufficient time to craft and submit their letters of recommendation.

We will not process applications until we have received all three recommendations.

GRE (optional):  As of Fall 2020, the GRE is optional. Applicants may choose to submit GRE scores for consideration, but they are not required.

To submit optional GRE scores, please use the Duke University Institution code – 5156.

English Proficiency Test: For applicants whose native language is not English, proof of English proficiency must be submitted as part of their MPP application. For proof of English proficiency, our applicants have the option of submitting scores from the following tests:

• Duolingo (minimum score of 130; scores of 140 or higher preferred)
• TOEFL (minimum score of 100; scores of 110 or higher preferred)
• IELTS (minimum score of 7; scores of 7.5 and higher preferred)

To submit TOEFL scores, please use the Duke University Institution code – 5156.

English Proficiency Testing Waiver: Applicants qualify for an exemption from the proof of English proficiency requirement if they satisfy any of the following:

• Applicants who hold citizenship/permanent residency in a country where English is the sole, official language of the nation, and who have resided within that nation for at least 10 years.  
• Applicants who have received/will receive a four-year, undergraduate degree from an accredited university in the United States.  
• Applicants who have received/will receive a four-year, undergraduate degree from an accredited university where English is the sole language of instruction. The program retains the right to request additional documentation from the institution to confirm that English is the sole language of instruction.

Our application software will automatically recognize countries where English is the sole, official language of the nation and will not ask for further material. For applicants in the remaining two categories, please contact our admission office ( [email protected] ) after submitting your application, and our office will manually waive the requirement on your application.

Dual Degree Applicants:  For applicants applying to a dual degree program, if the partner program requires standardized test scores (LSAT or GMAT), applicants may also upload these scores to their MPP application as supplemental material, if so desired.

Our application will provide applicants with a question to be answered in real time. Applicants will have the opportunity to test their computer equipment, to make sure they are able to record the video introduction using a webcam. Once applicants have confirmed they are ready, a prompt/question will be shown. Applicants will have 60 seconds of preparation time, and then will have up to 3 minutes to record their answer. Applicants do not have to use the entire 3 minutes. The questions range in topics, but are general in nature. The system allows for up to three re-recordings, but new questions will be provided each time.

Please note, this video introduction is required, and is a separate application component from the optional curated video essay.

Please prepare a short video (one-minute maximum) to inform the admissions committee who you are as person. The video must be of the applicant (if there is more than one person in the video, please clarify which person is the applicant). You might consider sharing a lived experience, or an aspect of your personality that is not captured by standard application questions, or your unique perspective on a policy topic.

Upload the video to a website such as YouTube and provide the URL within the application. If using YouTube, we suggest using the  “Unlisted Video” setting  so only individuals who have the URL can view it. We are unable to watch videos that come in any form other than a URL link and do not accept videos sent by email or DVD.

The application fee is $80 USD. We accept Visa or Mastercard (debit/credit). We do not review applications until we have processed the application fee. We offer application fee waivers to applicants from four specific partnerships: Pickering Fellows, Rangel Fellows, PPIA Fellows, and Truman Scholars. Contact  [email protected]  prior to submission to request your fee waiver. Barring these four partnerships, we do not offer application fee waivers.

Deadline: January 5th

The application deadline is  January 5th  at  5 pm EST.  This deadline includes receipt of all application materials, all 3 letters of recommendation, and the $80 application fee. 

Applications open in September.

• Enter the application portal
• Click on "Start New Application"
• Select  Sanford School of Public Policy 2025 .

For additional information, please visit our  FAQ section .

Additional Information

If you are a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program Applicant, you must:

• Indicate your Peace Corps service dates, country, and description of service on your resume
• Upload a copy of your Description of Service (DOS) within the online application.
• If you have not received the DOS, you should submit it no later than 14 business days after it is available.

To be eligible for the Coverdell Program, you need to have completed your Peace Corps service satisfactorily:

• You have completed the full two-year tour of Peace Corps service or the full tour minus up to 90 days if you returned home on emergency leave, or
• You were granted an “Early Close of Service” or an “Interrupted Service” due to circumstances beyond your control, or
• You were medically separated

We do not offer application fee waivers for Paul D. Coverdell Fellows applicants but do offer guaranteed tuition fellowships for accepted Peace Corps alumni.

Our admission offer is only for the year specified in the letter of admission.  We do not allow applicants to defer an offer of admission to a subsequent academic term or year. You should submit your application during the academic year before your desired year of attendance ( i.e. by January 5, 2024 to start in August 2024 ).

Dual degree applicants (JD, MEM, and MBA) begin the MPP program in the first year of academic study. Prospective candidates should coordinate in advance with their JD, MEM or MBA program to ensure that they may begin the MPP program in that first year.

The Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report include institutional policies concerning campus safety and security, as well as statistics for the previous three years concerning reported crimes that occurred on Duke University property and on public property adjacent to campus and fires that have occurred in residence halls.

A copy of this Report can be obtained by contacting the Duke Police Department at 684-4602 or writing to 502 Oregon Street, Durham, NC 27708 or by accessing:  https://police.duke.edu/news-stats/clery

Policy & Equality - Antonio's story

Before grad school, Antonio Butler MPP'23 was working for a faith-based organization helping disadvantaged students apply to college. But he soon began to think that, as a country, "we can't educate our way out of all issues." That realization led him to pursue a policy degree. "My goal is to see at least one day in the U.S. where racism—and sexism, homophobia, etc.—doesn’t exist. If I only get one day, that’s worth fighting for," he says.

Policy & Environment - Matthew's story

Matthew Vining MPP'23 chose Sanford because he is passionate about environmental issues, especially issues linked to social and human health outcomes. He completed an internship at the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park. He said pairing his classroom studies with an internship at the EPA was invaluable. "At the end of the day you're designing solutions that will be used by the community - by humans. I'm excited to be a part of that," he says.  After graduation Matthew took a position as a policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy.

Duke University 2022-23 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 3

You Have: 

Duke University 2022-23 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: One required 250-word essay and two optional 250-word essays Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Communit y, Diversity

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you?  If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)

Admissions is truly asking you to do your homework here. What do you make of Duke and why do you want to go there? This space is a wonderful opportunity for you to summarize the aspects of a Duke college experience that call to you and to address your personal connection to this elite school. Were you able to tour campus last year? What drew you in? What part of campus could you see yourself hanging out in? Where do you see yourself studying for exams? Admissions knows that Duke is a prestigious university, with impressive alumni to boot, so make sure to personalize your answer. Instead of showering Duke with compliments, focus on how Duke has attracted your interest and how you hope an education at Duke will prepare you to accomplish your goals—academic and otherwise.

We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer them if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application.  Four optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected.

Please select 0 – 2 optional essay topics. (respond in 250 words or fewer.), 1) we seek a diverse student body that embodies the wide range of human experience.  in that context, we are interested in what you’d like to share about your lived experiences and how they’ve influenced how you think of yourself. .

Odds are that this isn’t the first “diversity” essay prompt you’ve come across this year. If it is, however, please read on. Duke wants to accept students from a range of backgrounds who will contribute to diversity on campus, so tell admissions about what makes you you and how you will be a meaningful addition to the Duke student body. Think about times when people have been intrigued by or curious about your identity, upbringing, or background. Consider the parts of yourself that you take pride in, parts that set you apart from others. Maybe you were diagnosed with a rare condition that impacts your daily life. Have you adapted to a new normal? Did you have to mature quickly to make adjustments to your lifestyle? Perhaps your family has been hosting international students for as long as you can remember. How has meeting people from all over the globe impacted your worldview and the way you relate to others? Invite admissions to get to know you on a deeper level through the story you tell. 

2) We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?

This prompt is an inquiry: how do you communicate with others about difficult topics and issues? Duke wants to foster the kind of learning environment that encourages respectful discussions about beliefs and values, so tell them about someone you speak with about issues you hold dear to your heart. Maybe it’s a mentor in your life, who you consult when you feel overwhelmed by current events. Do they provide reassurance that you’re on the right path? Perhaps it’s a family member who tends to disagree with your worldview and vision for a better future. How do you approach these complex conversations? Have you ever questioned what you believe in, or perhaps, discovered a new perspective you hadn’t considered before? How have you become a better listener or speaker because of these chats? Don’t forget to mention the topic or issue of importance here, so you can also give admissions insight into what you care about. 

3) What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?

It’s no surprise that Duke is hoping to invite students to campus who are excited about learning, so take this opportunity to geek out about an awesome learning experience you had recently. Maybe you were given permission to write your research paper on a historic event that has always amazed you, and through that project, you were able to deepen your understanding of the complex social hierarchies during the Qin dynasty. Perhaps you had the opportunity to take a class or seminar with a teacher you really admire or you went on a field trip that expanded your horizons. Whatever it may be, this is the perfect place to show admissions your passion for your academic interest(s). 

4) Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you’d like to share with us more about your identity in this context, feel free to do so here.

Duke was one of the first schools to embrace the subject of sexual orientation in their essay questions, and this is yet another step in their overt attempt to recruit a truly diverse pool of applicants. They want you to know that they are embracing all sexual orientations, and if you are open to discussing your own history and identity, feel free to share your story. Note that this question will likely not be applicable to all students, so if you don’t have a related story to tell, we recommend responding to two of the other three prompts!

About Kat Stubing

View all posts by Kat Stubing »

We're here to help.

Contact us for information on rates and more!

• I am a * Student Parent Potential Partner School Counselor Private College Counselor
• Name * First Last
• Phone Type Mobile Landline
• Street Address
• Address City State / Province / Region Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syria Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, the United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Türkiye US Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands Country
• Which best describes you (or your child)? High school senior High school junior College student College grad Other
• How did you find CEA? Internet Search New York Times Guidance counselor/school Social Media YouTube Friend Special Event Delehey College Consulting Other
• Common App and Coalition Essays
• Supplemental Essays
• University of California Essays
• University of Texas Essays
• Resume Review
• Post-Grad Essays
• Specialized Services
• Waitlist Letters
• Private School Essays
• General College Counseling
• School list with priorities noted:
• Anything else we should know?
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
• Agnes Scott College
• Alvernia University
• American University
• Amherst College
• Babson College
• Bard College
• Barnard College
• Baylor University
• Bennington College
• Bentley University
• Berry College
• Bethany College
• Bishop’s University
• Boston College
• Boston University (BU)
• Bowdoin College
• Brandeis University
• Brown University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Bucknell University
• Butler University
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
• California Lutheran University
• Capitol Technology University
• Carleton College
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Catawba College
• Centre College
• Chapman University
• Claremont McKenna College
• Clark University
• College of Mount Saint Vincent
• College of William and Mary
• College of Wooster
• Colorado College
• Colorado School of Mines
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Culver-Stockton College
• D'Youville University
• Dartmouth College
• Davidson College
• Drexel University
• Duke University
• Earlham College
• Elon University
• Emerson College
• Emory University
• Flagler College
• Fordham University
• George Mason University
• Georgetown University
• Georgia State University
• Georgia Tech
• Gonzaga University
• Harvard University
• Harvey Mudd College
• Haverford College
• Hillsdale College
• Hofstra University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Illinois Wesleyan University
• Indiana University Bloomington
• Ithaca College
• Johns Hopkins University
• Kalamazoo College
• Lafayette College
• Lehigh University
• Lewis and Clark College
• Linfield University
• Loyola Marymount University (LMU)
• Lynn University
• Macalester College
• Malone University
• Manchester University
• Marist College
• Mary Baldwin University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Meredith College
• Monmouth College
• Moravian University
• Morehouse College
• Mount Holyoke College
• New York University (NYU)
• North Park University
• Northwestern University
• Occidental College
• Oklahoma City University
• Olin College of Engineering
• Pepperdine University
• Pitzer College
• Pomona College
• Princeton University
• Providence College
• Purdue University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rice University
• Saint Elizabeth University
• Santa Clara University
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Scripps College
• Seattle Pacific University
• Smith College
• Soka University of America
• Southern Methodist University
• St. John’s College
• Stanford University
• Stonehill College
• Swarthmore College
• Syracuse University
• Texas A&M University
• Texas Christian University
• The College of Idaho
• The George Washington University
• The New School
• Trinity College
• Tufts University
• Tulane University
• University of California
• University of Central Florida (UCF)
• University of Chicago
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Maryland
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Miami
• University of Michigan
• University of Minnesota
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Oregon
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Richmond
• University of San Diego
• University of San Francisco
• University of Southern California (USC)
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Tulsa
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia (UVA)
• University of Washington
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Vanderbilt University
• Vassar College
• Villanova University
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest University
• Washington and Lee University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Wellesley College
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
• Yale University

Want free stuff?

We thought so. Sign up for free instructional videos, guides, worksheets and more!

One-On-One Advising

Common App Essay Prompt Guide

Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

• YouTube Tutorials
• Our Approach & Team
• Undergraduate Testimonials
• Postgraduate Testimonials
• Where Our Students Get In
• CEA Gives Back
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Private School Admissions
• International Student Admissions
• Common App Essay Guide
• Supplemental Essay Guides
• Coalition App Guide
• The CEA Podcast
• Admissions Stats
• Notification Trackers
• Deadline Databases
• College Essay Examples
• Academy and Worksheets
• Waitlist Guides
• Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

Admissions and application questions, q: when are admittance decisions made.

Most interviews will take place in mid to late March and all admissions decisions will be made by March 31st. Thank you for your patience.

Q: Who should apply for the Duke Master in Interdisciplinary Data Science (MIDS) program?

Q: what is the admissions committee looking for.

MIDS seeks creative, self-motivated students who are passionate about using data to solve problems. We’ll look for evidence that you’ve made efforts to learn about data science and that you’re confident data science is the right path for you.

We’re particularly excited to welcome students who want to apply data science to topics in which they already have deep expertise. Although certainly not required, we value compelling stories about specific problems you want to solve.

Q: When is the application deadline and is there an "early" deadline?

February 15, 2024.

Q: Is there an “early” deadline?

Q: what are the requirements to apply to mids.

Applicants need to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution (or will have completed their undergraduate degree before the fall semester begins).

• Transcripts
• 3 letters of Recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• English Language Proficiency Test Scores (if English is not your first language)
• 2-minute video

Not required but successful applicants to MIDS tend to also have:

• previous quantitative coursework (i.e., linear algebra, statistics, etc.)
• previous computer programming coursework or experience  (i.e., Python)

Q: Is the GRE required?

The GRE is optional for the 2024 admissions cycle.

Q: Is there a minimum GPA or GRE needed to apply?

There are no minimum test score or GPA requirements to apply to MIDS. Our admissions committee reviews applications holistically and test scores and GPA are considered alongside other application components. See the Statistics section of The Graduate School’s website for the average GRE scores and GPAs of previously admitted applicants.

Q: Who should I ask to write me a recommendation letter? Do they all need to be from academic sources?

Q: do you require a writing sample in the mids application, q: is work experience required, q: do i need a stem degree to apply, q: my undergraduate degree is not in a stem field, how do i provide evidence of technical background/ability, q: are international students eligible to apply, q: do you accept other english language proficiency exams.

Yes. Please refer to this webpage for more information about English language proficiency exams.

Q: What is Duke University code for the GRE and TOEFL?

Q: do you prefer applicants who have just completed their bachelor’s degree or applicants with more professional experience, q: i’m currently in a graduate program but i’m thinking about transferring to mids, is this allowed, q: do you admit students transferring from other graduate programs, q: how do i apply.

You can find detailed instructions on how to  apply here .

Q: Can you provide feedback on my application before I submit it?

Q: i am having technical issues with the application, what should i do, q: how will i know when a decision has been made on my application, q: if i am denied admission, can i apply again, q: if i am denied admission, will i be told why, q: i have a three-year undergraduate degree, can i apply, q: does mids require an interview.

Some candidates may be asked to interview if we have additional questions regarding your application/candidacy .

Q: Do I need to apply separately to be considered for a MIDS scholarship?

No, a separate application is not required. 

Financial Questions

Q: what are the costs to attend.

Please see The Graduate School’s website for tuition and other costs to attend: https://gradschool.duke.edu/financial-support/cost-attend/#masters

Q: Does MIDS offer scholarships?

Q: can i apply for fafsa.

Be a United States Citizen or an eligible noncitizen

If you have a “green card” (in other words, if you are a permanent resident alien), you will be considered an “eligible noncitizen” and will be able to get federal student aid if you meet the other basic eligibility criteria.

Q: What other resources are there for funding?

Q: is there any funding for international students, general questions, q: when does the fall 2024 semester start.

The fall semester is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 26, 2024. For other academic dates, please refer to the University’s academic calendar .

Please note that MIDS requires an online summer review (June-July 2024) and an on-campus programming bootcamp tentatively scheduled to begin on Monday, August 5, 2024. More information will be shared to admitted students in spring 2024.

Q: How long will it take for a full-time student to complete the Master’s program?

Q: does the master in interdisciplinary data science (mids) program have stem accreditation, q: am i able to enroll part-time.

Due to the cohort nature of MIDS and sequencing of the curriculum, we do not allow students to enroll part-time.

Q: How many credits do I need to graduate?

Q: what courses do i need to take to graduate.

Students take 7 core MIDS courses, a 1 year Capstone Project course, and half credit seminar/workshop courses that focus on professional development. Further, MIDS students need to complete at least 4 semester long electives to graduate. A complete list of MIDS core courses can be found  here .

Q: Are we able to waive certain CORE courses if we have already completed it at undergrad level?

Q: can i transfer credits from another institution, q: is the degree offered online, q: how do i find a list of pre-approved elective courses i can take.

There is a list on the MIDS website with “pre-approved” courses that are most common to students enrolled in MIDS. You can find that list  here . However, students are not limited to these courses and should use DukeHub to explore other options related to their academic and career interests.

Students can also discuss with MIDS staff/faculty what they are looking for and then MIDS staff/faculty can advise from there. Please note: students are advised to not take an elective during their first semester.

Q: Can I take an undergraduate course and use it to fulfill a MIDS elective course requirement?

Q: can i audit a course outside of the mids program, q: will i be able to work or obtain a research assistant or teaching assistant position, q: how is a master in interdisciplinary data science (mids) degree different from a degree in statistics, math, or computer science, q: how is a duke master in interdisciplinary data science (mids) degree different from a degree in business analytics, q: what is the online review, q: what is bootcamp and when does it start.

Bootcamp is an intensive dive into programming and begins 3 weeks prior to the start of the fall semester. Bootcamp is required of all incoming students.

Q: Does MIDS assist with career and other professional development?

Yes. MIDS students take a 0.5 credit workshop series that focuses on career and professional development.

What is the minimum TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test score required to apply?

The Graduate School and Duke MIDS generally seeks scores no less than: 90 for the Internet-based TOEFL, 577 for the paper-based TOEFL, 7.0 for the IELTS test, or 115 for the Duolingo English Test.

May I submit a WES or ECE credential evaluation with my application?

Yes, you may submit a credential evaluation from a third party (e.g. WES or ECE), but you must also submit the transcript from your institution.

Can I submit my application before all my recommendations are submitted?

Yes. Submit your application as soon as you have completed all the sections and sent recommendation requests to your recommenders. After you submit your application, the graduate admissions office can link recommendation letters as they are received. It is critical that your letters of recommendation arrive by the application deadline.

Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 64
• Students: 78
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 100%
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: November 30

Matt Scaglione, PhD Director of Graduate Studies Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology DUMC Box 3054 Durham, NC 27710

Phone: (919) 684-9152

Email: [email protected]

Website:  http://mgm.duke.edu

Program Description

The Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology graduate program trains young researchers to solve fundamental problems in microbiology and genetics. Research in the program spans both model and pathogenic organisms and the full spectrum of genetics from unicellular to multicellular eukaryotic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, C. elegans, zebrafish, stickleback fish, mice, and humans. Interdisciplinary centers associated with the program include the Center for Host-Microbial Interactions, the Center for Virology, the Division of Human Genetics, the Center for RNA Biology, and the Duke Microbiome Center. There is also focus on chromosome biology; DNA repair and surveillance; neuronal development, function and dysfunction in diverse models; as well as next-generation genomic and computational approaches to these questions. In addition to course work, training and interactions are supported by student-centered activities in a diverse, supportive community that includes students, post-doctoral fellows, staff, and faculty.

• Molecular Genetics and Microbiology: PhD Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
• Molecular Genetics and Microbiology: PhD Completion Rate Statistics
• Molecular Genetics and Microbiology: PhD Time to Degree Statistics
• Molecular Genetics and Microbiology: PhD Career Outcomes Statistics

Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline:  November 30

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required
• Résumé: Required
• GRE General: Optional
• GRE Subject tests (Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology): Optional This program does not require applicants to provide GRE (Graduate Record Examination) or other graduate entrance exam scores, but does allow you to upload scores if you feel they enhance your application. If you choose to submit test scores, you may enter them on the Test Scores page. If you choose to enter self-reported test scores, official test scores will become a required component of your application.
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required

Department-Specific Application Requirements (submitted through online application)

Writing Sample None required

Additional Components Optional Video Essay: How would a Duke PhD training experience help you achieve your academic and professional goals? Max video length 2 minutes; record externally and provide URL in application.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

List of Graduate School Programs and Degrees

WXIN-TV Indianapolis

Westfield mayor speaks out against Duke Energy after rate increase

Posted: April 11, 2024 | Last updated: April 11, 2024

More for You

15 Supermarket Buys That Are a Huge Waste of Money

Putin's Kremlin Responds to Donald Trump's Ukraine Peace Plan

Rare six-legged gazelle spotted in Israel

This Is How Long You Can Leave Butter On the Counter, According to Land O'Lakes

Renowned photographer leaves Ford foundation board after Cheney passed over for award

96 shots in 41 seconds: Seatbelt violation leads to death of Black Chicago motorist

Boeing 737 Max diverts to Idaho after in-flight emergency

Over 900 Black actors respond to racist remarks aimed at Black ‘Romeo & Juliet’ co-star: ‘We want to send a clear message’

Trump loses 11th attempt at delaying Monday's hush money trial — and he only has 5 days left to try again

Here’s How Long You Should Walk Every Day to Keep Your Heart Healthy

4 Things You Should Never Cook in Cast Iron

'American Idol' recap: Loretta Lynn's grandchild wows judges, Jelly Roll grieves with contestant

27 Side Characters That Stole The Spotlight

US Ally Intercepts Chinese Warships in Pacific

Eye injuries after solar eclipse surge following phenomenon

The Best Tea for Lowering High Blood Pressure, Recommended by a Dietitian

7 CDs You Probably Owned, Threw Out and Now Are Worth Bank

Harris agrees with interviewer that 2024 could be last US democratic election

Spain to deport dozens of cruise passengers after removing them from ship

New 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Footage Introduces Jenna Ortega's New Character

Quick Learner Video: What is Autism?

Made with the assistance of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, this video explains what we know about autism, and what many people get wrong about the neurodevelopmental condition. During Autism Acceptance Month in April, researchers, autistic individuals and their families are promoting awareness to make society more inclusive. 

Autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children in the United States. You’ve probably heard a lot of thoughts and ideas about autism. What better way to honor World Autism Day on April 2 than by raising our own acceptance of people on the autistic spectrum.

The Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development delivers state-of-the-art interdisciplinary clinical care, conducts cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientists, and advocates for public policies to help ensure people with autism reach their full potential.

October 3, 2023

A 10-Minute App Can Screen for Autism

Read on Pratt School of Engineering

April 1, 2024

Improving Medical Care for Autistic Patients at Duke Health and Beyond

Read on Duke Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

February 14, 2023

Harnessing Electronic Health Record Data for Earlier Autism Detection

Read on School of Medicine

September 7, 2022

Duke Awarded $12M Research Grant to Use Artificial Intelligence to Detect Autism

Read on Duke Health News

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

James by Percival Everett – Huckleberry Finn reimagined

A bravura rewriting of Mark Twain’s classic from the enslaved Jim’s point of view

P ercival Everett’s new novel lures the reader in with the brilliant simplicity of its central conceit. James is the retelling of Mark Twain’s 1884 classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the point of view of Jim, the runaway slave who joins Huck on his journey down the Mississippi river.

While it would be possible to enjoy James without knowing the original, its power derives from its engagement with Twain’s book. For British readers, it also helps to know something about the centrality of Huckleberry Finn in American literature – and African American discomfort with that centrality.

As an American growing up in the UK, I had an early and personal taste of the first. It was a proud day in 1983 when we got our author copies of the new Puffin edition of Huckleberry Finn, with its introduction by my dad, Paul Theroux. I still have mine: a red paperback illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was part of a series of canonical children’s books that included Treasure Island, The Secret Garden and The Railway Children. My dad’s breezy foreword was aimed at young British readers who were unfamiliar with the book – an unimaginable category in the US, where Huckleberry Finn was a staple on the school curriculum. And yet as early as the 1950s there was growing debate about how and whether the book should be taught. There are more than 200 occurrences of the N-slur in the text. How would that go down in America’s newly desegregated classrooms? And could, or should, a white teacher attempt to read aloud Jim’s dialogue, written in dialect? In 1984, in a long critical essay in the pages of the Mark Twain Journal, the African American writer Julius Lester wrote: “I am grateful that among the many indignities inflicted on me in childhood, I escaped Huckleberry Finn.”

The most vexed aspect of the book is the portrayal of Jim, for decades the most prominent black character in the American literary canon. While 14-year-old Huck memorably struggles to reconcile his learned prejudice with his growing love for his enslaved companion, Jim – an adult with a wife and children – has no such arc. Jim in fact becomes progressively more one-dimensional as the book flops towards its clumsy denouement. Loyal, superstitious, childishly simple, Jim’s main purpose in the novel is to give Huck an opportunity to exhibit his moral growth.

Enter Percival Everett, no stranger to debates about the representation of race. His 2001 novel, Erasure , adapted for the screen as the Oscar-winning American Fiction , told the story of a highbrow African American novelist despairing at the reception of his work and winning unexpected acclaim with a bogus account of black urban despair. With James, Everett goes back to Twain’s novel on a rescue mission to restore Jim’s humanity. He reconceives the novel and its world, trying to reconcile the characters and the plot with what now seems obvious to us about the institution of slavery. The result is funny, entertaining and deeply thought-provoking – part critique and part celebration of the original.

It would be a shame to reveal all the myriad ways that Everett subverts and reclaims the original story. But, in essence, its controlling idea is that “Jim” is a performance, a disguise that conceals the real James. First of all, James doesn’t talk the way Twain – or Huck – thinks he does. In private, on paper, and among other black people, James speaks and writes in correct, formal English. The south, as we see it through James’s eyes, is a Truman Show for white people, in which the black cast is careful not to break character. As soon as a white person is within earshot, the black characters slip into dialect and perform a version of blackness that’s designed to make them appear non-threatening. In a comic early scene, James coaches his children on the correct forms of incorrect speech. As he reminds them, “The only ones who suffer when they are made to feel inferior is us.” And whereas the Jim of Huckleberry Finn is ignorant and superstitious in ways that are played for comedy, James is a thoughtful bibliophile who debates in his dreams with Voltaire and John Locke and harbours an ambition to write his own story one day.

As in the original novel, James and Huck take flight together on to the Mississippi: Huck running from his abusive father, James because he’s going to be sold. Many of the same key incidents occur. In Huckleberry Finn, there are various sections when Jim and Huck become separated. Now we learn where James has been in these interludes. One, dripping with layers of irony, involves James, who’s blessed with a decent tenor voice, getting recruited to perform in a touring minstrel show. This is a wink at the fact that Twain, who loved blackface performance, drew on its tropes for Jim’s speeches in dialect and the comic set pieces built around his apparent stupidity.

The demotic poetry of Huck’s first-person narration is one of the things that gives the original book its strong claim on being canonical. Everett doesn’t try to compete with this. Instead, the book’s narrative voice is precise and almost pedantic. Huckleberry Finn is intoxicated with the romance of escape, but the prose style of James reminds us that the reality of being a runaway slave is sober vigilance. We are constantly shown that the stakes for James are life and death. One of the most celebrated sections of Huckleberry Finn involves two characters called the King and the Duke, a pair of shameless con artists who join Huck and Jim on their raft. In Everett’s retelling the episode acquires a much more unsettling edge because the two old frauds possess a power over James that is so complete.

after newsletter promotion

Even the celebrated moral climax of the original novel is transmuted into something bleaker. The culminating moment of Huck’s journey in Huckleberry Finn comes in a passage where he wrestles with the question of whether to denounce Jim to his owner. Huck turns away from the racist morality he’s internalised since childhood and chooses loyalty to Jim, though he believes it means spiritual damnation. “All right then,” he concludes. “I’ll go to hell.” This is the crux of Huckleberry Finn and a key part of its claim to be an anti-racist novel. Everett’s book reminds the reader that Huck’s self-sacrifice remains purely theoretical. Despite its deft humour, comic set pieces and great lightness of touch, James is the story of a man who knows that he’s already living in hell.

Most viewed

• Share full article

Advertisement

Subscriber-only Newsletter

Frank Bruni

Republicans are fleeing the stench of a rotten congress.

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

When it comes to Donald Trump, House Republicans do a convincing pantomime of love. Many of them chirpily parrot his lies. Most of them merrily launder his misdeeds. They grovel for his favor, gush about getting his endorsement and speak and vote in line with his desires.

They’re half partisan, half courtesan.

But there’s heartache underneath. Misery, even. That’s the truth of the Trump era, and that’s the moral of the 2024 exodus from Congress.

More than two dozen House Republicans, along with more than two dozen House Democrats, have headed or are headed for the exits , but the largeness of those numbers — which track with those in other election years over the past decade — don’t tell the story. What matters is who those Republicans are, the disgust in their goodbyes, their palpable sense of defeat and how it contradicts the fact that they have been in the majority in the chamber since early 2023.

In power, they have found themselves close to powerless. That’s the hellish paradox of their surrender to Trump.

For many of them individually, his blessing is the best or only way to maintain support among their Republican constituents back home and win election. But for the lot of them, he’s a curse, because he has contributed mightily to a degrading and dysfunctional culture on Capitol Hill.

Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz and other banes of a serious, half-serious or even quarter-serious Republican lawmaker’s existence are Trump’s spiritual spawn. He begot their antics. He nurtured their rage. If being a House Republican has become unbearable, he bears critical responsibility for that.

The Trump giveth, and the Trump taketh away.

Five of the Republicans who decided to escape the Hill’s poisonous climate didn’t or won’t even wait until the end of this year and finish out their terms. They can’t flee fast enough.

Among them is Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican. “This place just keeps going downhill,” he told reporters, “and I don’t need to spend my time here.” You say that kind of thing about a rundown bar where there’s no eradicating the stench of spilled beer. He was talking about a broken-down institution that reeks of abandoned principles.

It’s losing longtime Republican leaders estranged from and spurned by greener, meaner MAGA hellions. Kevin McCarthy, who was the House speaker for less than 10 months last year, has already resigned and is gone. Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, who served as a temporary speaker after McCarthy, won’t seek re-election.

They carry the scars of a scabrous 2023. Such was the Republican infighting that McCarthy’s ascent to House speaker required an unprecedented 15 roll call votes — and then he was ousted after the third-shortest speakership in history.

In a profoundly depressing analysis in The Times, Carl Hulse called 2023 “one of the most tumultuous and unproductive legislative years in recent memory.” Vital bills languished. Bedlam prevailed. Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, said that McCarthy had purposely elbowed him in the kidney. “And then I chased after him,” he proudly reported. Zygotes behave more maturely.

“It was historical and hysterical,” Representative Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican, said at the time. McHenry called it “a very actively stupid political environment.”

Now, its fruits. “Four G.O.P. committee chairs are leaving,” Marianna Sotomayor wrote in a roll call of the Republican refugees in The Washington Post last weekend. “Eight lawmakers are retiring from the coveted Energy and Commerce Committee, and eight subcommittee chairs are leaving.”

Sotomayor quoted Buck as saying: “The populist wave has eroded the conservative values that I had when I came to this place. Now, we’re impeaching people like it’s some kind of carnival, and the Constitution is just a thing of the past to the very same people who were tea party patriots 10 to 12 years ago.”

A carnival ethos. Contempt for the Constitution. Call to mind any former president you know?

In terms of the Republican Party’s devolution over the past dozen years, there can be genuine debate: Which came first, the tempest or the Trump? But it’s indisputable that he worsened the weather. Perhaps he swept in on storm clouds already formed. But only then came the lightning.

And now they seek shelter — McCarthy, McHenry, Buck and so many more. They weren’t built for the apocalypse. They should have done more to head it off.

For the Love of Sentences

The writer Gary Shteyngart spent a week on the Icon of the Seas, billed as the biggest cruise ship ever, and his account in The Atlantic was a prose buffet from which many of you plucked morsels. “The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally,” he wrote. “It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots.” Also: “There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy.” (Thanks to Melissa Guensler of Fredericksburg, Texas, and Pam Vetter of Austin, Texas, among many others, for spotlighting Shteyngart’s article.)

In The Santa Barbara Independent, Zak Klobucher marveled at one of Bruce Springsteen’s live performances: “He carped so much diem that when he called on the audience, ‘Can you feel the spirit?’ Robin Williams showed up to ask him to take it down a notch.” (Mark Flannery, Fullerton, Calif.)

In The Star Tribune of Minneapolis, James Lileks described his attempt to use a snowblower as a slush blower: “I pushed it into the drift, and it was like trying to eat a thick, wet pillow with your dentures out.” (Marie McGeehan, St. Louis)

In The Financial Times, Anjana Ahuja questioned the potential of a new meat: “With half the U.K. population reporting anxiety about snakes and about one in 50 harboring a phobia, the idea of snakes as the new livestock of choice might not have legs.” (Lois Russell, Somerville, Mass.)

In The Times, Wesley Morris appraised Larry David: “I’ve never seen any actor with David’s grasp of how to play skepticism for laughs. Eyebrows as up-yanked drawbridge, forehead creases as lasagna of vexation. That rawboned voice of his soars, if not in octaves, then certainly with tickly, prickly dynamism.” (Carol Ball, Boston, and Annie Stamford, Philadelphia, among many others.) I was as taken with this bit of Wesley’s about “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: “It presents the American id at war with its puritanical superego. Sometimes Larry is the one. Sometimes he’s the other. The best episodes dare him to inhabit the two at once, heretic and Talmudist.”

Also in The Times, Kevin Roose gave thanks for Andres Freund, a Microsoft employee who might have prevented a major cyberattack: “In the cybersecurity world, a database engineer inadvertently finding a back door in a core Linux feature is a little like a bakery worker who smells a freshly baked loaf of bread, senses something is off and correctly deduces that someone has tampered with the entire global yeast supply.” (Paul Frame, Long Island City, N.Y., and Meg Smith, Old Saybrook, Conn., among others)

Ezra Dyer paid tribute to an automotive throwback, the Dodge Challenger Black Ghost: “It’s a stupid car, really, peak mouth-breather, screaming of wretched excess. But its analog mechanical brutality activates some primal lobe deep in our brains, the one that catalyzes noise into adrenaline. The final V-8 Challenger rolled off the line on Dec. 22 last year, another dinosaur obliterated by the E.V. asteroid.” (Gerry O’Brien, Goderich, Ontario)

And Christopher Kuo reported on a gang of museum robbers less polished than their serial heists suggest: “In court records and interviews, they come across as more 7-Eleven than Ocean’s Eleven.” (Gary Carter, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Miriam Bulmer, Mercer Island, Wash., among others)

In The London Review of Books, Michael Hofmann took pointed issue with some right-wing warriors: “It seems there is only one model for today’s ‘man of action,’ and that is shock and awe. Overwhelming force deployed suddenly and overwhelmingly. A theatrical performance with no audience as such, only a houseful of victims. The lions eat the circus and then tweet about it.” (William Wood, Edmonton, Alberta)

And in The Atlantic, David Frum remembered the death of Miranda, his daughter, in her early 30s: “For me, the thought of my own death has never been a distressing subject. We live, we love, we yield the stage to our children. I hoped that when the time arrived, I would have the chance for farewells. If that wish were granted, I could with total content ride the train to my final destination. It never occurred to me that one of my children might board the train first, pulling away as her parents wept on the platform.” (Howard Yegendorf, Ottawa)

To nominate favorite bits of recent writing from The Times or other publications to be mentioned in “For the Love of Sentences,” please email me here and include your name and place of residence.

What I’m Reading, Writing and Doing

My pooch partiality perhaps makes me the wrong judge, but I had a blast reading an advance copy of “ Dogland: Passion, Glory and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show ,” by Tommy Tomlinson, which will be published on April 23. It’s more than a behind-the-curtain look at that storied competition. It examines the history, absurdities, vanities and poignancy of our relationships with dogs, at times making the case that they’ve trained us every bit as much as we’ve trained them.

As someone who has written the kinds of articles that fetishize and make much fuss about food, I appreciate counternarratives that puncture all that pretension. Peter C. Baker’s “ The Case Against ‘Good’ Coffee ,” published in The Times Magazine, does precisely that, with abundant style and sense.

If you aren’t aware of and haven’t been reading The Point, a relatively new blog in Times Opinion, please check it out . It’s a showcase of quick takes by columnists and other Opinion writers and editors. I recently contributed this post about some Democrats’ complaints that other Democrats are being unduly alarmist about the 2024 election.

I’m excited to be onstage with David Axelrod at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics at lunchtime on Friday, April 26, for a conversation about my new book, “The Age of Grievance,” that doubles as a live taping of his “Axe Files” podcast. Registration details here . I’ll discuss the book with Katie Couric at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in Manhattan on Wednesday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. Details here . Other cities and events are listed here on my website.

On a Personal Note

There’s a riot outside my bedroom window.

Chirping. Trilling. Cawing. Squawking. I need a thesaurus to do a proper aural inventory. I need noise-canceling headphones to make it go away. But I don’t want to silence or muffle it; it’s an exquisite cacophony, a tapestry of sound that’s perfect, even though it’s all loose threads. I’m nestled in a noisy aviary.

And in a vivid garden. There’s a second riot outside the window, one of color: the pinkish blossoms of a tree whose pedigree I keep forgetting, the red and white flowers spread like frosting atop a hedge of azaleas, the purple fringes of my redbud trees. Early April is when spring struts the most flamboyantly here in my area of North Carolina. The Duke campus is positively Edenic.

And it’s scrambling my relationship with the seasons. I’ve always been an autumn guy — and, for the most part, still am. It’s hard to argue with those colors and with the delicious bite of the air in early November.

But now that I have a house and a yard with yellow daffodils that showed up like an advance guard more than a month ago, pink and red camellias that followed fast on their heels and a cherry tree that peaked for a few glorious mid-March days, I’m wondering if spring has the edge. There are no leaves to collect (though there is the green pollen spreading across my screened porch). No frigid hints of the winter to come.

And there are all these chattering birds! I know that they’re talking with one another, but I like to pretend they’re speaking to me. They’re telling me that amid all the ugliness these days, there’s ample beauty.

Frank Bruni is a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, the author of the book "The Age of Grievance" and a contributing Opinion writer. He writes a weekly email newsletter .   Instagram   • Threads •  @ FrankBruni • Facebook