7 Reasons to Choose Duke

1.  A First Year Designed To Help You Succeed

We know it’s a big transition from high school to college, so our first-year programs are designed to help you succeed at Duke, starting from day one. In addition to living together on East Campus, you will join other first-year students for a writing and a seminar course to build critical thinking and communications skills needed throughout your undergraduate career. We also offer the Focus Program for first-year students only, letting you jump into clusters of provocative courses on themes designed to cross different disciplines.

2.  Liberal Arts Skills = Life Success

The beauty of a Duke liberal arts education is that you gain skills and ways of thinking that will serve you well on any career path. We will teach the skills needed to work in teams and thrive, to think critically and explore different perspectives, to write persuasively, to analyze with precision, and to develop high order reasoning and independent thought. You can take these experiences anywhere.  Learn more about where our students go.

3.  Flexible & Interdisciplinary For a Reason

Duke students are crazy-smart, creative thinkers determined to make a difference in the world. We make the most of all that potential by offering extraordinary flexibility in our curriculum. At Duke, you can craft the best educational experience possible for you. It’s easy to pair majors, minors and certificates—not to chase credentials, but to help build the life you want to live. We also value an interdisciplinary focus in all we do, from research to education. Our Program II is designed specifically to be responsive to students whose interdisciplinary interests aren’t easily fulfilled within existing offerings. This blurring, crossing and mixing of traditional academic boundaries often leads to great insight and discovery.

4.  Research for All Majors

Undergraduate research is a core experience at Duke, and we offer numerous research opportunities to students across all majors. There is no better way to learn, explore and advance in your field of study than to conduct mentored research and immerse yourself in the methods, philosophy and questions of your chosen discipline. It’s a great way to get ready for graduate school or your first job.

5.  Emphasis on Study Abroad, Language & Global Awareness

Nearly half of our students study away or abroad. We’ve made it possible regardless of your major, and in many cases, we have relationships with domestic programs and foreign universities that allow you to take courses in your major. We also ask you to study a language, because there is no better way to take yourself outside of your own culture and comfort zone. In today’s interconnected world, a range of global experiences and perspectives will serve you well.

6.  Many Ways to Make a Difference

Duke students expect to change the world, and they are ready to start right now. We help them become leaders, who may launch commercial and nonprofit companies based on their own inventions, ideas and solutions to social challenges. We help them dig into real world problems right in the classroom, and give them the perspectives needed to be positive agents of change. We also believe service learning in our local community or around the world is as valuable as what occurs inside a classroom, library, lab or studio.

7.  A Lifelong Duke Community

At Duke, you will meet faculty who will change your life. You will make lifelong friends and become part of the tightly-knit Duke alumni network. Community is a big part of the Duke experience. You may join a scholar society such as the Baldwin, Cardea or Mellon Mays Fellows. You might join one of many student clubs, take part in student performances or study groups; or travel to another country to work or study with classmates. However you decide to engage, you’ll discover that people are the Duke Difference.