Academic Policies & Procedures for Undergraduates ("T-Reqs")

This section includes the policies and procedures that govern the undergraduate curriculum and the academic life of students in Duke's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Informally known as the Trinity Requirements or T-Reqs, they are intended to ensure that each undergraduate in the College pursues a liberal arts education. We view education as a partnership between faculty and students, with ongoing facilitation and support provided by an extensive network of advisors and Deans.

If you have questions about how an undergraduate policy or procedure applies to you, contact your academic dean.  His or her name can be found on your Student Center Page on DukeHub.  If you are a student in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, undergraduate policies and procedures are listed on their website.

T-Reqs Listing

Title
Academic Accommodations
Academic Communication via Email
Academic Concerns of Students
Academic Deans
Active Student Status
Bereavement Policy
Class Attendance and Missed Work
Continuation Requirements
Courses: Auditing
Courses: Changing a Cross-Listing
Courses: Course Load
Courses: Curriculum Codes
Courses: Double Counting for Majors, Curriculum
Courses: Dropping, Adding, Course Corrections
Courses: Enrolling in Graduate and Professional School Courses
Courses: Incomplete Course Work
Courses: Interinstitutional
Courses: Repeating
Courses: Sequencing
Courses: Withdrawal from
Courses: Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory Grading Option
Credit: AP and IPC and PMC
Credit: AP Credit by Department
Credit: Limitations and Restrictions
Credit: Study Abroad
Curriculum: First-Year Requirements
Curriculum: Foreign Language (FL) Requirement
Curriculum: Frequently Asked Questions
Curriculum: Overview
Directors of Undergraduate Studies
Duke Community Standard and Student Conduct
Education Records: FERPA
Emergencies, Personal
Final Exams: Scheduling, Conflicts and Absences
Grades: Academic Warning
Grades: Changes
Grades: Complaints at End of Term
Grades: Dean's List
Grades: End-of-Term
Grades: Grade Point Average (GPA)
Grades: Midterm Grades
Grades: Notations
Grades: Probation
Graduation: Change of Graduation Date
Graduation: Commencement and Notification of Intent to Graduate
Graduation: Graduating Early
Graduation: Graduating with Distinction
Graduation: Latin Honors
Graduation: Ninth Semester of Enrollment
Graduation: Part-Time Status
Graduation: Requirements
Harassment, Nondiscrimination and Title IX (including Sexual Misconduct)
Health Issues, Short- and Long-Term
Honor Societies
Identification Numbers
Independent Study
Internships, Credit for
Leave of Absence: Medical
Leave of Absence: Personal
Majors, Minors, Certificates
Majors, Minors, Certificates: the Interdepartmental Major
Program I and Program II Requirements
Religious Observance & Holidays
Research Independent Study - Writing Code
Robertson Scholars: Academic Responsibilities
Seminars
Summer Sessions and Policies
Transfer Credit
Transferring from Duke to Another Institution
Transferring to/from Pratt School of Engineering
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Academic Calendar
Tuition Refund Policies
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs)
Varsity Athletic Participation (NOVAP)
Withdrawal: Voluntary
Withdrawal: Academic Dismissal
Withdrawal: Administrative (Financial and non-Financial Reasons)
Withdrawal: Disciplinary Suspension
Title Summary
Academic Accommodations If you have a documented disability, you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Academic Communication via Email Trinity College uses email as an official means of communication with students. Deans, faculty, and administrators will generally employ your Duke email address (@duke.edu) when reaching out to you, and you are expected  to check your Duke email account on a regular basis and to respond in a timely fashion. If you have your @duke.edu forwarded to a different email address, it is your responsibility to ensure that important and time-sensitive communications are not lost. Failure to read and respond to official email in a timely fashion can have serious consequences for you.
Academic Concerns of Students This procedure guides resolution of student-faculty issues related to a course or departmental policy.
Academic Deans The Academic Deans assist students in achieving their academic goals and fulfill the various graduation requirements.
Active Student Status Definition of active student status, and restrictions placed on inactive students.
Bereavement Policy Students who suffer a personal tragedy or trauma can ask for academic accommodations and support.
Class Attendance and Missed Work What to do if you cannot attend class or turn in work that is due
Continuation Requirements You must achieve a satisfactory record of academic performance each semester and make satisfactory progress toward graduation each year to continue in Trinity College.
Courses: Auditing Auditing a course yields no academic credit but can be a way to explore areas of interest. [FORM]
Courses: Changing a Cross-Listing There is flexibility in how a cross-listed course can appear on a student's transcript.
Courses: Course Load This policy defines a normal undergraduate course load, and the eligibility restrictions and procedures for enrolling in a course overload or underload in a semester. [FORM]
Courses: Curriculum Codes The Trinity undergraduate curriculum categorizes courses to signal how they fulfill general education requirements.
Courses: Double Counting for Majors, Curriculum An explanation of how individual courses may count toward various graduation requirements.
Courses: Dropping, Adding, Course Corrections You must drop or add courses during the published drop/add period, but can make corrections during the schedule correction period that follows the end of drop/add.
Courses: Enrolling in Graduate and Professional School Courses    
Courses: Incomplete Course Work What to do if you are unable to complete all the work for a course by the end of the semester. [FORM]
Courses: Interinstitutional Duke students can receive credit for courses taken at UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, or UNC-Greensboro, NC Central University, or NC State University. [FORMS]
Courses: Repeating Students have the option of repeating a course, when appropriate. [FORM]
Courses: Sequencing Some courses have to be taken in sequentially because the concepts introduced in the first courses are needed for successful work at higher course levels.
Courses: Withdrawal from Procedures to follow when withdrawing from a course.
Courses: Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory Grading Option Students can register for one S/U graded course per semester, with permission. S/U replaces the former Pass/Fail option. [FORM]
Credit: AP and IPC and PMC AP, IPC and PMC courses can yield limited elective credit at the time an undergraduate matriculates at Duke.
Credit: AP Credit by Department bHow AP courses affect your placement in Duke courses.
Credit: Limitations and Restrictions There are limitations on the counting of credit toward the Bachelor's Degree.
Credit: Study Abroad Learn how to get study abroad courses approved for credit.
Curriculum: First-Year Requirements In your first year as a Duke undergraduate, you are required to take a writing course and a first-year seminar.
Curriculum: Foreign Language (FL) Requirement The foreign language (FL) requirement at Duke University is intended to enable all students to engage meaningfully with another culture in its own language. Specifically, Duke’s foreign language courses are designed to help students to:
Curriculum: Frequently Asked Questions Answers to common questions about how to navigate the curriculum and complete the graduation requirements for the Bachelor Degree.
Curriculum: Overview Duke's undergraduate curriculum encompasses 34 course credits, including courses that fulfill a major, and satisfy various general education requirements.
Directors of Undergraduate Studies The director of undergraduate studies (DUS) is the departmental or program officer responsible for coordinating and overseeing the undergraduate curriculum and courses of instruction.
Duke Community Standard and Student Conduct Duke Community Standard Duke University is a community dedicated to scholarship, leadership, and service and to the principles of honesty, fairness, respect, and accountability. Citizens of this community commit to reflect upon and uphold these principles in all academic and nonacademic endeavors, and to protect and promote a culture of integrity. To uphold the Duke Community Standard:
Education Records: FERPA Duke complies with FERPA guidelines for allowing students and third parties access to student information.
Emergencies, Personal Students faced with a personal or family emergency or a long-range or chronic health condition can ask for academic accommodations and support.
Final Exams: Scheduling, Conflicts and Absences What to do if you have scheduling problems or miss or need to miss the final exam in a course.
Grades: Academic Warning Explanation of academic warnings given to students with weak performance in one or more courses.
Grades: Changes Changes in end-of-term grades may be made by the instructor only because of an error in calculation or an error in transcription, with a couple of exceptions.
Grades: Complaints at End of Term What to do if you wish to challenge a course grade.
Grades: Dean's List Explanation of Dean's List and Dean's List with Distinction in recognition of academic excellence.
Grades: End-of-Term Explanation of end-of-semester grade reporting and the consequences of poor performance in courses.
Grades: Grade Point Average (GPA) Explanation of grade point average calculation.
Grades: Midterm Grades First year students received midterm grades to help keep the on track. Sophomores, juniors and seniors only receive midterm grades if a low grade is reported.
Grades: Notations Definitions for grading codes.
Grades: Probation Explanation of academic probation and procedures for clear probation.
Graduation: Change of Graduation Date How to change your anticipated date of graduation, either by graduating early or remaining for a ninth semester.
Graduation: Commencement and Notification of Intent to Graduate Submit a diploma form as formal notification that you plan to graduate.
Graduation: Graduating Early With careful planning, it may be possible to complete your degree requirements one or two semesters early. [FORM]
Graduation: Graduating with Distinction Explanation of the honor program at Duke leading to Graduation with Distinction on the basis of an honors thesis.
Graduation: Latin Honors Explanation of how Latin Honors are earned.
Graduation: Ninth Semester of Enrollment Students may extend their time-to-degree by a ninth semester with permission from an academic dean. [FORM]
Graduation: Part-Time Status Graduating seniors who need fewer than 3.0 course credits to graduate may request permission to study on a part-time basis in their last semester of enrollment. [FORM]
Graduation: Requirements A Duke Bachelor Degree requires 34 course credits as well as various general education and major requirements.
Harassment, Nondiscrimination and Title IX (including Sexual Misconduct) Duke's harassment policy ensures that all members of the academic community have a safe and nurturing place to work and study.
Health Issues, Short- and Long-Term Students are expected to notify their instructors when they become incapacitated due to an illness or injury that prevents them from completing an assignment. [FORM]
Honor Societies Learn more about Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.
Identification Numbers Students are assigned a variety of identifiers; take care to distinguish among them.
Independent Study Independent study enables a student to pursue for course credit a research or other academic topic of interest under the supervision of a faculty member. [FORM]
Internships, Credit for Duke supports internships as valuable learning experiences, but academic credit at Duke for internships is limited.
Leave of Absence: Medical https://undergrad.duke.edu/timeaway/requestThis article explains the requirements of and the procedures to follow when requesting a medical leave.
Leave of Absence: Personal A personal leave of absence allows you to interrupt your studies at Duke for one or two semesters with the approval of your academic dean.
Majors, Minors, Certificates Description of majors, minors and certificates.
Majors, Minors, Certificates: the Interdepartmental Major The Interdepartmental Major enabling you to integrate two academic interests into a single program of study. [FORM]
Program I and Program II Requirements Compare the requirements of a traditional degree (Program I) and an individualized alternative option called Program II.
Religious Observance & Holidays Students are permitted by university policy to be absent from class to observe a religious holiday.  [FORM]
Research Independent Study - Writing Code Students can fulfill a Writing in the Disciplines requirements through a research independent study.
Robertson Scholars: Academic Responsibilities Robertson Scholars are subject to the academic policies, requirements, and deadlines of other Duke undegraduates. [FORM]
Seminars A seminar is a course offered to between 12 to 18 students, where a primary goal of the course is discussion.
Summer Sessions and Policies There are several  term options available to students in Duke Summer Sessions, but there are credit limitations that apply.
Transfer Credit Duke will offer credit for courses taken at another four-year college or approved study abroad courses.
Transferring from Duke to Another Institution Students must withdraw from Duke to transfer to another university.
Transferring to/from Pratt School of Engineering Students can transfer between Duke's two undergraduate schools after completing their first academic year.
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Academic Calendar This calendar includes notes on deadlines important to undergraduates.
Tuition Refund Policies Tuition can be refunded or carried forward as a credit for later study if a student withdraws from the university.
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) Undergraduate students can serve as teaching assistants.
Varsity Athletic Participation (NOVAP) Athletes must notify the university when competitions will take them away from classes and exams and cause them to miss work.  [FORM] 
Withdrawal: Voluntary Students who wish to withdraw from the college must give notification in writing to their academic dean.
Withdrawal: Academic Dismissal You can be involuntarily withdrawn from the University for academic reasons, if you fail to meet continuation requirements or clear probation.
Withdrawal: Administrative (Financial and non-Financial Reasons) You may be withdrawn from Duke for administrative reasons.
Withdrawal: Disciplinary Suspension Students who exhibit harmful, potentially harmful, or disruptive behavior toward themselves or others or who are found responsible for academic dishonesty may be suspended from the University.