We know that as a graduate student you’re looking for several things—a place where you can study with the very best minds in your field of interest, and a place where you can be happy and get the academic, social and career development support you need and want.
Research and Learning at a Top Tier Institution
Duke is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation. So we’re good, but we also know how to make the most of our strengths. At Duke, we strive to make our programs interdisciplinary—that means we’re busting through traditional silos and boundaries. The vast majority of our research programs focus on areas where more than one discipline of study is needed to solve the problems at hand.
Our faculty is working with researchers from Duke’s medical school, the Nicholas School for the Environment, departments of chemistry, physics, math and computer science—and with scientists and engineers around the world. The most exciting science and engineering is happening in diverse groups where no idea is off limits and everyone has something to offer. What’s more, such relationships will stretch you intellectually, help you build technical depth, and help you get a job after graduate school.
And we’re growing—really growing. Over the past 10 years we have increased our research by 200%. That’s a faster rate of growth than at any other engineering school in the top ten rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
Out students often go on to careers in academia, but if your goal is to get into industry or management we've got that covered too. Two of our graduate programs that go beyond research-focused MS/PhD routes: our master of engineering management and master of engineering programs. In these programs, our graduate engineering classes reflect our research, but you also get the right mix of business, finance, law, and entrepreneurship courses to launch the career you want to have.
Our Faculty
But we’re also still pretty small, compared to the mega huge engineering schools. And that is good for our students because you will know your professors and your fellow graduate students. We offer a very supportive, close-knit place for you to make your own contributions to the field. And you’ll form lifelong collaborations and friendships.
We work hard to make our students feel part of a community that extends beyond their immediate research group. We do this partly through an aggressive first year fellowship structure for incoming students. Providing such fellowship opportunities gives you the time and flexibility to explore the breadth of your chosen discipline, to carefully choose an adviser, and to intelligently design your course of study. We also feature seminars, workshops, social gatherings and networking events, and special departmental graduate course offerings designed to take your experience to the next level.