We are seeking applicants who have a strong undergraduate background in biology, psychology, and the physical sciences. Scores on the general test of the Graduate Record Examination are required of all applicants. No subject test is required. TOEFL scores are required of international applicants. We do not have a cut-off point for either the grade point average or the GRE scores, but you might find statistics on our entering students instructive. Grades and GREs are only two factors taken into consideration in the review for admission. Letters of evaluation and your statement of research interests are extremely important. We receive about 130 applications each year; we offer admission to fifteen to twenty applicants, and five to nine new students enter the program each fall.

For additional information on programs in the Neurosciences at Duke please visit the Consortium of Neuroscience Graduate Programs.

The Duke University Graduate School requires that applicants use the electronic application, available on the Duke University Graduate School web site.

The deadline for submission of applications for admission in Fall 2012 is December 8, 2011. The application fee is $75.

The admissions committee reviews applications in December and January and identifies promising candidates. The selection is based on academic success, laboratory and research experience, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and GRE scores. We will invite selected domestic applicants to the Duke campus for interviews in January; we contact competitive international applicants for telephone interviews, usually in January.

We encourage applicants and our current students to seek outside funding, but each student accepted into the program, whether or not they bring outside funding, is guaranteed full financial assistance for six years as long as they remain in good standing. For the 2011-2012 year, the award comprises a personal stipend of $27,730, plus tuition, registration fee, recreation fee, health insurance, and the student health service fee. The 2011-2012 award for each first-year student totals $72,083. This support comes from a number of sources, including the department's NIH predoctoral training grant, department funds, and university and endowment fellowships. In the first and second years, students who do not have outside support for travel receive a travel award of $800 per year to be used for travel expenses to meetings such as the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. After the second year, advisors assume responsibility for funding student stipends and fees.

The department encourages applicants to seek outside funding. Some external funding sources are:

Additional sources of support are available for qualified minority predoctoral candidates. Minority applicants should indicate their ethnic status on the application.

The Graduate Program in Neurobiology in collaboration with the School of Medicine provides a special fellowship to promote diversity among its graduate students.   Diversity Enhancement Fellowships are provided to students who—by reason of their background, culture, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, work, and life experiences—contribute to a fuller representation of perspectives within the academic life of the University.  The Program is committed to promoting diversity by encouraging nominations of students who are Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Hispanic/Latino Americans as well as students with disabilities, and from financially or culturally disadvantaged backgrounds.  All candidates must be invited to interview and be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.  The Fellowship provides a $5,000 stipend supplement each year for the first four years of graduate study.  Candidates who are eligible for this award will be vetted internally by the program and the School of Medicine.  Candidates can be simultaneously nominated for and accept university-wide fellowships such as the James B. Duke Fellowship. 

Graduate students are eligible to live in university-owned housing located on campus. Monthly rents average about $500 per person. The Housing Administration Office can provide additional information on university housing and also assist students seeking off-campus housing.

Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina (population 262,715) in the heart of the Research Triangle area, home to three major research universities: Duke University in Durham, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The triangle has a total population of over one million people. The Duke campus is bordered by Durham's Ninth Street and Brightleaf commercial districts, known for their eclectic shops and restaurants. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of popular Durham Bulls baseball, is located within minutes of campus, and the city is also home to ten annual music and dance celebrations including the Bull Durham Blues Festival and the American Dance Festival. Cultural and historical sites and events are plentiful. And, of course, Duke is home to the legendary Duke Blue Devils basketball team.

Temperatures are moderate, allowing outdoor recreation in all seasons. In about three hours, a triangle resident can be on the North Carolina coast to the east or in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to the west.

For other information on the Graduate Program in Neurobiology at Duke University, please contact Beth Peloquin, program administrator, by email, peloquin@neuro.duke.edu, or by telephone, (919) 681-4243.

See also:
Bulletin of the Graduate School (pdf file)
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available here)
electronic application
program statistics
admissions

Graduate School Enrollment Office contact information:
Duke University Graduate School
Office of Admissions
Box 90065, 2127 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27708-0065 USA
grad-admissions@duke.edu
Duke Graduate School admissions web site
(919) 684-3913