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 ach
year, Duke University President Richard H.
Brodhead encourages students to explore new
areas and step outside their comfort zones.
“It’s the whole person, not the student alone
but all the sides of you, fully engaged and
acting in concert, that will get the full
education Duke can give you,” he says. “The way
to find yourself at Duke is to lose yourself in
the new things it offers, to take some chances
and follow the lure of what’s interesting,
without undue concern to demonstrate
moment-by-moment that you are on the official
road to success.”
President Brodhead advises students to take advantage of the pervasive
academic energy and restlessness that is found
both in Duke’s award-winning faculty and in
their fellow students. As a group, Duke
undergraduates are intelligent, talented, and
bold; they are not content with the status quo.
As individuals, they represent diverse economic
situations, cultural and ethnic backgrounds,
values, and interests. At Duke, they enjoy
exceptional academic opportunities, paired with
a youthful sense of flexibility and school
spirit – a combination that makes Duke unlike
any other institution in American higher
education.
Admissions Criteria: The
university seeks and attracts students who are
considered thinkers as well as doers. “There is
no single profile of the Duke undergraduate,
because the university emphasizes
individuality,” said Christoph Guttentag, dean
of undergraduate admissions. “One of the many
things we look for is the student who thinks
well, who makes theoretical connections and
recognizes contradictions, who is an active
learner rather than a passive listener.”
Because the university emphasizes a melding of experiences inside and
outside the classroom, the Admissions Committee
looks at many criteria, including the student’s
academic record and quality of the secondary
school program, recommendations from teachers
and counselors, extracurricular activities and
accomplishments, the application essay, and
standardized test scores. In addition, the
committee strives to create balance in racial
and economic diversity as well as a variety of
backgrounds and interests. This year’s entering
class reflects 38 foreign countries, and
students of color comprise 42 percent of the
class.
What Duke Offers: To help
students explore areas that kindle their
enthusiasm for learning, Duke provides both a
rigorous academic curriculum and considerable
flexibility in course selection and degree
programs. Undergraduates can choose courses in
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nearly 100
different programs comprising the humanities,
social sciences and natural sciences,
mathematics, and engineering. Duke students are
extremely well prepared for
graduate/professional schools, where their
acceptance rate is well above the national
average.
Students with interests outside one of the 36 established arts and
sciences majors can design their own curriculum
with the help of a faculty advisor. In addition,
the university offers five accredited
engineering programs, dual degrees, minors in
most fields, and 16 certificate programs in
fields such as architectural engineering, human
development, neurosciences, and policy
journalism.
Teaching Environment: At Duke,
learning is a priority and teaching is personal.
Ninety percent of the faculty teaches
undergraduates, primarily in small classes of 16
to 35 students. The undergraduate
student-faculty ratio is 11:1.
Several programs are specifically designed for first-year students. One
program unique to the Duke philosophy is Focus,
around a dozen different programs of
interrelated seminars for first-year students
who live and learn together. Also, in more than
45 first-year seminars, professors chosen for
their outstanding undergraduate teaching lead
classes of 15 or fewer students.
Undergraduate Experience:
The Duke undergraduate experience is designed to
enhance a life of learning. Everything – from
the curriculum to the many opportunities for
community service, academic support, and
special-interest clubs and organizations –
supports the natural intellectual curiosity of
Duke students and their commitment to make a
difference in the world when they graduate. |
