Review/Notification

A fall day at Duke

Your file is assembled in the Graduate Enrollment Services Office where all official record-keeping is maintained. Although we will notify you of our receipt of your application and inform you of any missing credentials, you must assume the responsibility for making your application complete by the appropriate deadline. Incomplete applications will either not be considered, or they may be rejected on the basis of incompleteness.

Here are some things you can do to speed the processing of your application:

  • Send all required supporting materials in one envelope and be sure to indicate on the outside your name and the department to which you are applying.

  • Do not send required application materials to the department to which you are applying (except for the writing sample for those departments that require one); doing so will delay the processing of your application.

  • Be sure that your full name, as given on your application, appears on all documents submitted on your behalf, including the application fee check. Please call our attention to variations in your name that might appear on materials submitted.

  • In any correspondence you may have with the Graduate School, always indicate the department to which you have applied. When communicating via email, please include the name of your department or program in the Subject line. Make your message as brief and concise as possible, and write only when necessary. Send your message only once and do not copy multiple individuals on it. It may be difficult for the Enrollment Services Office to respond to lengthy, multiple messages during the busy admissions season.

  • Do not submit an overabundance of materials or any unneccesary documents, such as secondary school records. We do not need to see awards/certificates/commendations that are not strictly academic credentials as stated in our requirements. Three recommendations from well chosen evaluators should be adequate. A file stuffed with extra or unnecessary papers is burdensome to reviewers and may ultimately cause your file to be viewed unfavorably.

  • Submit your application at least two weeks before the stated deadline to ensure that our office will have adequate time to assemble all items related to your application.

  • All correspondence concerning your application should be sent directly to: Graduate Enrollment Services Office, Duke University, 127 Allen Building, P.O. Box 90065, Durham, NC 27708-0065 USA.

The actual in-depth review of your file is conducted in the department by an admissions committee, usually headed by the Director of Graduate Studies. All applications are reviewed competitively. Attention is given to every aspect of an application, with an attempt made to evaluate past achievement as well as scholarly potential. Academic records, letters of evaluation, GRE scores, as well as your own statement of goals and objectives, are all taken into consideration in the review process.

Applicants are understandably concerned about Duke's standards for admission with regard to grades and GRE scores. Duke does not have an absolute cut-off point for either of these, although it may be useful for you to review the averages (and ranges) for grades and scores for applicants admitted in recent years. This information can be found by selecting the appropriate program in Departments and Programs. These numbers do vary from department to department; on a school-wide basis, however, the average GRE score in each section (verbal and quantitative) is usually well above 600, and the undergraduate grade point average is usually well above a "B." You should keep in mind that, depending upon the department, any one of the sections of the GRE may be weighted more heavily than the others. What is most important to understand is that all applications are considered competitively, and the quality of the application pool for a given term will significantly determine your chances of being offered admission.

Remember that grades and GREs are only two factors taken into consideration in the review for admission, however. Letters of evaluation and your own statements are equally important. While your concern obviously is to have evaluators who will make complimentary remarks, remember that the Graduate School is interested in evaluators who are in the best position to assess your true potential as a graduate student, particularly those who are in a relevant field of study. Take care, too, with your personal essay. Be as specific as possible about your research interests and qualifications. If you have particular reasons for choosing Duke, be sure to indicate these.

The Graduate School has a policy of limited enrollment; in recent years approximately one in five applicants has been offered admission, with the expectation that a third of those offered will actually matriculate. However, in some departments the competition for new student slots is quite keen, and the ratio of applicants to offers of admission can be thirty-five to one, or even higher. In fall 2006, out of a total enrollment of 2,810 and an application pool of 7,927, new students numbered 673.

NOTIFICATION OF DECISION:

Once your file is sent to the department, it is entirely up to their reviewing schedule as to when decisions are made. The earliest decisions may be made in January, with the review process continuing into February, March, and April (particularly for those on alternate-for-admission lists).

When a decision to accept or reject has been reached, the department returns the file to the Enrollment Services Office for final approval. Applicants will receive an e-mail stating that a decision has been made on their applications. That message will provide instructions for accessing the on-line decision letter.

If you are offered admission, the on-line letter of admission will include a link to an on-line enrollment form. The process of admission is not complete until you have submitted this form to the Graduate Enrollment Services Office. Admission to the Graduate School is offered only by the Dean and only for the term and program specified in the letter of admission. Admission may not be deferred from one term to another. Students seeking the A.M. or M.S. degree must re-apply for admission to a Ph.D. program.

In general, and unless otherwise indicated, we expect to hear back from you by April 15, or within 15 days of your receipt of the admission letter, whichever is later.

Every candidate who completes an application will receive, at the earliest possible time, notification of the decision reached on the application. Questions about the timetable for decisions may be addressed directly to your department.