Cultural Anthropology

The Department of Cultural Anthropology ranks among the top programs in the country. Undergraduates can either major or minor in Cultural Anthropology; in both cases, we strongly support study abroad, summer ethnographic research, and the senior thesis capstone experience. Our doctoral program prepares students to meld grounded field research with theoretical sophistication in doing anthropology sensitive to the challenges and complexities of making sense of human experience. Our department is on the cutting edge of new debates about globalization and diaspora, popular culture and mass media, nationalism and identity, race and sexuality, and the politics of tradition and modernity. We explore these issues through a range of theoretical orientations that include postcolonial and Marxist theory, feminist and critical race theory, psychoanalysis and psychology, political ecology and science and technology.

Economics

The Economics department is rapidly approaching the top ten programs nationally.  It is broadly focused on econometrics, micro- and macro-economic theory, and applied economics, with distinctive collaborations across these boundaries. Faculty research encompasses the broad fields of finance, international trade, development, public sector studies, law, business and monetary economics, with specialized scholarship focused on environmental and ecological economics, cultural, agricultural and natural resource economics, education, racial inequality, and labor and economic demography. At the undergraduate level, we offer a B.S. or a B.A. in economics, minors in economics and finance, and a finance concentration. At the master's level, we offer a master of arts in economics, a master of arts in analytical political economy, a master of science in economics and computation, and a master of science in statistical and economic modeling. We also offer a Ph.D. program in economics. 

Education

Duke's Program in Education is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Our small class size creates a highly personalized learning environment for our students. We offer several options for teacher certification. For Undergraduates: We offer a Minor in Education, and two teacher preparation programs (Elementary and Secondary Education) that lead to licensure in North Carolina and beyond. Service learning and field experiences are a foundation of all our programs. For Graduate Students: We offer a year-long Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree that explores the most exciting and challenging questions in education research and practice. For In-Service Teachers: We offer a non-degree Academically/Intellectually Gifted add-on licensure program.

Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies

The Duke Program in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies is dedicated to exploring gender identities, relations, practices, theories and institutions. We offer an undergraduate major and minor, and a graduate certificate in Feminist Studies. Faculty scholarship encompasses historical, political, literary, philosophical, economic, representational, technological, sociological and scientific analyses. Research themes include the social impacts of the intersectionality of gender, race and class; sexuality and reproductive ethics; food politics and alternative approaches to economics; women’s writing and feminism in contemporary art; ecofeminism, ethics and human rights; religion and psychoanalysis; identity and subjectivity in the Arab world; Anglo and Francophone literature; and feminist theory.

History

The History department is among the top programs nationally. Faculty research encompasses intellectual, legal, medical and military history; politics, public life and governance; labor and working class history; gender, race and ethnicity studies; global transnational history and comparative colonial studies; religion and social movements; and an emphasis in medieval and early modern history. Regional specializations include early North America, Antebellum U.S., Modern America, Afro-America, American South, Latin America, Africa, Europe, British Empire, South Asia, Japan, China, Russia, and the French Caribbean and the Atlantic World. At the undergraduate level, we offer a major in history with both thematic or geographic concentrations, and a minor in history. At the graduate level, we offer a Ph.D. in history.

International Comparative Studies

The International Comparative Studies Program helps students create coherent bachelor degree programs that emphasize the study of critical transnationalism. Students engage in interdisciplinary coursework focused on regions, engage in global education programs, and integrate the fields of culture, history, politics and language.

Linguistics

The Linguistics Program is a unique inter-disciplinary program offering undergraduate classes, majors and minors, and honors thesis supervision. The program draws on faculty expertise from across the university to provide an education which is both deep and broad. Particular research and teaching strengths include language and the brain (neurolinguistics), language change (historical linguistics), language and society (sociolinguistics) and language and politics. Linguistics majors are able to analyze and use language effectively, but they also develop excellent problem-solving, pattern-recognition and critical thinking skills that are highly valued in the job and graduate school markets. Many students go on to law or medical school, or other post-graduate training; others successfully pursue careers in a variety of fields including the media, advertising and marketing, finance, and education.

Philosophy

Duke's Department of Philosophy has a strong faculty that is committed to excellence in both research and teaching. In a recent ranking of philosophy programs in the United States, the department was recognized for particular strength in the areas of philosophy of biology (rated as one of the two top programs in this area), philosophy of mind, political philosophy, applied ethics, philosophy of social science, 17th- and 18th-Century philosophy and Chinese philosophy. Expertise in the Department also extends to other areas of the history of philosophy such as ancient philosophy, Kant, 20th-Century analytic philosophy, and history and philosophy of science, cognitive science, moral psychology, normative ethics, philosophy of law, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophical logic. We offer an undergraduate major and minor, a Ph.D. in philosophy, and a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Arts degree.
 

Political Science

The Political Science department has been among the top ten programs nationally for many years. Its faculty contributes to the general fields of political economy, philosophy, institutions including law, and public policy. Our research encompasses the broad fields of normative political theory & philosophy; political behavior & identities; political economy; political institutions; political methodology; and security, peace & conflict. At the undergraduate level, we offer a bachelor of science in political science and a minor. We are also affiliated with the Certificate in Philosophy, Politics & Economics, and the Certificate in Decision Sciences. At the graduate level, we offer a master of arts or Ph.D. in political science, a master of arts in analytical political economy, and a joint master of arts/Juris doctor program.

Psychology and Neuroscience

The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is internationally known for leadership in cognitive science and clinical psychology. Research in the fields of developmental psychology, social and personality psychology, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and systems and integrative neuroscience deploy techniques such as experimental research with humans and animals, surveys, longitudinal field studies, brain imaging, genetic mapping and computational models. Scholarly exploration addresses topics in decision-making, self-concept and self-regulation, post traumatic stress disorder, health and behavior, achievement and motivation, emotional memory, language acquisition and visual perception, to name just a few.

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences faculty are broadly engaged in neuroscience research and education, with particularly strong affiliation with the interdisciplinary Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. Our undergraduate program in neuroscience offers an interdisciplinary major/minor that draws faculty and courses from many individual departments, chiefly the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Department of Biology. Administrative support for this curriculum is provided by TCA&S and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. Graduate programs encompass the graduate admitting program in Cognitive Neuroscience, and doctoral programs in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience and Systems and Integrative Neuroscience.     

Sociology

The Sociology department is ranked among the top 12 and rapidly approaching the top ten programs in the country. Faculty specializes in comparative and historical sociology; population studies across time focusing on fertility, migration, morbidity and mortality; medical and economic sociology; social stratification; and the sociology of morality and religion. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are deployed to understand the structure and dynamics of human societies, particularly in a global context; the formal organization and social implications of health care policy, infectious and chronic illness patterns and social epidemiology; society as structured by race, education, occupations, markets and economic organizations; social networks, personality and group processes; and how religion shapes and is shaped by organizations, subcultures and demographic composition. We offer a major and minor in sociology, and a Ph.D. in sociology.