Duke University - Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Undergraduate Research

From their first year, Duke undergraduates enjoy opportunities to engage in original research that help them develop essential intellectual skills, mentored by world-class faculty.

The Undergraduate Research Support Office identifies grants and job opportunities for undergraduate projects and summer programs. Summer opportunities for first-, second-, and third-year students are offered through the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Program, the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, the Pratt School of Engineering, and a variety of departmental programs.

Graduate Research

Duke University Graduate School strives to promote responsible research and academic integrity by:

  • engaging in strategic planning on RCR education
  • providing training on RCR topics
  • developing RCR educational resources
  • evaluating RCR educational programs, and
  • presenting key findings to the scholarly community.

RCR training is a formal requirement of the Ph.D. degree in every department and program of study at Duke. This reflects our expectation that every doctoral candidate will be well qualified to address the growing ethical challenges that arise when teaching or conducting research.

If you're looking for...

More than 50% of Duke undergrads complete faculty-mentored research projects. Find out why research is so popular in a quick roundup of Duke's 2011 undergraduate research showcase.

    • Mon Mar 12
    • Brain Awareness Week Begins!
    • Guest post by Sandra Ackerman, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. FASTER than the blink of an eye . . . MORE  POWERFUL than a champion bodybuilder .  .  . ABLE to span whole galaxies in a single thought .  .  . This marvel of multitasking is the human brain. As you take a few seconds [...]
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    • Thu Mar 8
    • Neutrinos change their flavors, again
    • By Ashley Yeager Elusive particles called neutrinos can change their flavors, just like the Wrigley Company trying out a new taste of Starburst candy. Now, physicists say they have gotten the best glimpse yet of the most elusive change in neutrino flavors. The result is the “missing piece in the puzzle to understand the phenomenon [...]
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    • Thu Mar 8
    • Another hint of the Higgs, maybe
    • By Ashley Yeager Scientists may have spotted the Higgs boson again. But, Duke physicist Mark Kruse says Fermilab has made its latest announcement prematurely. Physicists have been searching for the Higgs for more than 40 years, hoping to find it and at last explain how mass in the universe is created. Last year, the Fermilab [...]
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    • Wed Mar 7
    • Leading nuclear physicists to speak at Duke
    • By Ashley Yeager More than 20 years after Haiyan Gao began her work on the neutron, she is hosting the Symposium on Electroweak Nuclear Physics at Duke to celebrate Caltech physicist Robert McKeown’s influence on her and others in nuclear physics. The event will also honor his achievements in the field and celebrate his sixtieth [...]
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    • Fri Mar 2
    • Raiders of the Lost Blood Spots
    • By Nonie Arora Almost every newborn in the United States is pricked on the heel within hours of birth for a few drops of blood that are then tested for conditions like PKU, sickle cell anemia, and cystic fibrosis. But then the sample is often put on small piece of blotter paper and filed away [...]
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    • Thu Mar 1
    • Solving cells’ social networks
    • By Ashley Yeager “Cancers are complicated systems, and you want to figure out how they work,” says mathematician Rick Durrett in a Q&A in the latest editions of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Durrett, who was recently elected to the Academy, came to Duke in the summer of 2010 and has been [...]
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    • Thu Mar 1
    • John Lennox: Christianity Gave Me My Subject
    • By Becca Bayham Is God relevant? "The first question is to ask what, and to whom," Dr. John Lennox said during a public lecture, Feb. 21. Lennox, a professor of mathematics at Oxford University, regularly debates religion with the likes of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer and Peter Singer. His talk was presented by [...]
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    • Thu Mar 1
    • New Blogger Ashley: Welcome to blogging
    • Meet Ashley Mooney, or Ashe as my friends call me.  I am a coffee addict who loves her animals. I'm a sophomore majoring in evolutionary anthropology and receiving a certificate in policy journalism and media studies. I’m from Portland, Oregon--the home of coffee and rain. After school, I'm hoping to attend either medical or veterinary [...]
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    • Thu Mar 1
    • New Blogger Nonie: Joining the Team
    • By Nonie Arora Hello there, This is Nonie Arora, a freshman A.B. Duke Scholar from Novi, MI. I am excited to join the Duke Research Blog team. I've been involved in research since my freshman year of high school. Back then, I was obsessed with the concept of "superbugs" and antibacterial resistance. I ordered E. [...]
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    • Fri Feb 24
    • Get Aware of Your Brain, Wouldya?
    • Are you even aware of your brain? Well you should be, and the good people at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences are here to help you. Their third annual Brain Awareness Week March 12 to 17 features a series of five great lectures in venues all over town. Social neuroscience in a wine bar? [...]
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