PhD, Master of Arts and Master of Science Degrees
The Ph.D. degree is offered through the Duke Graduate School via various departments. You may work toward a Ph.D. at the Marine Laboratory through any of the following: 1) Environment - Marine Laboratory ( Division of Marine Science and Conservation ), 2) Ecology Program, or 3) Toxicology Program. At this point the most direct route to the Marine Laboratory is through Environment - Marine Laboratory. The program is exclusive and small; three to four PhD candidates are accepted to the Marine Laboratory each year. Because the program is small, it is not possible for us to serve all of the qualified individuals who apply. Funding is available for the PhD programs. There are restrictions on funding for foreign students. Qualified applicants may also be eligible for funding from a department, from a program (such as the Integrated Toxicology Program), or directly from the Marine Laboratory. To choose between these degree programs, please do the following:
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Determine if there are Marine Laboratory faculty members who have research interests that overlap with your interests. This information can be located in the section on Faculty and Research. If you are already communicating with faculty at the Marine Laboratory, seek their advice.
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Contact Dr. Andrew Read, Director of Graduate Studies (email aread@duke.edu) to discuss your specific interests prior to submitting an application. He will advise you on how best to proceed. The Marine Laboratory receives hundreds of inquiries concerning graduate study each year. Therefore, we recommend visiting after admission to the program is deemed highly likely.
- If you apply for a position at the Marine Laboratory, please notify Helen Nearing (e-mail hnearing@duke.edu). This will ensure that your materials will receive faculty evaluation. Applications of all qualified candidates will be given serious consideration.
Graduate School Admissions information is available on the internet. Also available on the internet is an online (electronic) Graduate School application which is the preferred method of application. The Graduate School web site also contains a very informative section on Frequently Asked Admissions Questions (FAQs). If you should have questions not answered in the internet FAQ section, you may submit your questions via e-mail grad-admissions@acpub.duke.edu. Please DO NOT request applications or send resumes via e-mail.
PhD candidate applications must be submitted directly (preferably electronically, see above) to the Duke Graduate School which then passes the application to the department specified by the applicant on the form. The Graduate School application deadline is December 15, although extensions are sometimes allowed.
An academic MS or MA is granted only under very special circumstances. Do not confuse this with the professional master's degree (MEM). Acceptance as an academic master's (MS/MA) candidate is contingent upon finding a Marine Laboratory faculty member willing to sponsor you. Should you find a faculty sponsor, submit your application directly to the Graduate School (see above). Funding for academic master's (MS/MA) degrees is usually the responsibility of the student.