Financial Support
The contributions of graduate students are highly valued in the university and Duke has a strong commitment to financially support the students it selects for graduate study. The Duke University Graduate School and its graduate programs offer a wide array of financial support. Funding is available from annually allocated awards funds, instruction, endowed fellowships, foundations and other private support, as well as federal research and training grants.
Graduate Student Funding at Duke
Students studying for the Ph.D. are typically supported for a period of 5 to 6 years (or in some cases, until completion of the degree). Standard support packages for Ph.D. students may include a scholarship which covers all or a portion of tuition, and a fellowship stipend and/or assistantship to help defray cost of living expenses. Students in humanities and social science departments are supported for 9 months, with summer fellowship support available for advanced students on a competitive basis. In natural science and engineering departments, 9 month awards are also made, although summer support for Ph.D. students from research and/or departmental funds is frequently available. In the biomedical sciences, support is typically provided over a 12 month period. For students pursuing the master of arts and master of science degrees, some limited funds for tuition scholarships may be available; these are awarded by the individual departments and programs.
In addition to those awards available through the university, applicants are urged to compete for national and foundation awards available for graduate study. A website maintained by Duke's Office of Research Support lists awards available from a variety of federal and private sources, as well as awards funded by the university. External awards, which are prestigious and a valuable acknowledgement of a student's intellectual project and promise typically replace departmental or Graduate School awards.