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Program Prerequisites

We expect students to complete ALL prerequisites prior to matriculation in the Nicholas School. While it is possible to enroll still missing one prerequisite course, students will be required to make up that deficiency in their first semester of enrollment. Credits taken at Duke to fulfill a prerequisite do not count towards the total number of credits required for the MEM or MF professional degree. Taking a prerequisite course after matriculation at Duke will likely extend the number of semesters necessary to complete all the requirements for the degree. 

All students admitted to the school are expected to have had the following:

• Some previous training in the natural sciences or the social sciences related to their area of interest in natural resources.

• At least one introductory college course in calculus that includes algebra (graphing linear equations, solving systems of linear equations); functions (characteristics of functions in one variable, logarithmic functions, exponential functions); calculus of one variable (derivatives, definite and indefinite integrals); calculus of more than one variable (partial derivatives, total derivatives); first-order differential equations (discrete and continuous time, rates of decay, initial conditions).

• A college-level statistics course that includes descriptive statistics, probability distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlation, and simple linear regression.

• Prerequites for their specific program area (see below)

Each program requires additional courses or recommends additional preparation, as follows:

• Coastal Environmental Management (CEM)
  Microeconomics (either a full semester Microeconomics course or an introductory course that is more than half Microeconomics)
  learn more about the CEM degree >

• Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP)
  Microeconomics (either a full semester Microeconomics course or an Introductory course that is more than half microeconomics rather than macroeconomics)
  learn more about the EEP degree >

• Ecosystem Science and Conservation (ESC)
  Principles of Ecology required. Introductory Economics (Microeconomics emphasis) recommended
  learn more about the ESC degree >

• Energy and Environment (EE)
  Microeconomics (either a full semester Microeconomics course or an Introductory course that is more than half microeconomics)
  learn more about the EE degree >

• Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health (EEH)
  One semester of college Biology (including animal or human physiology), Chemistry and Organic Chemistry
  learn more about the EHH degree >

• Forest Resource Management (FRM)
  Microeconomics (either a full semester Microeconomics course or an introductory course that is more than half Microeconomics) and Principles of Ecology
  learn more about the FRM degree >

• Global Environmental Change (GEC)
  Introductory courses in Earth Sciences/Geology and Biology are strongly recommended
  learn more about the GEC degree >

• Water and Air Resources (WAR)
  General Economics required with general courses in Chemistry and Physics recommended
  learn more about the WAR degree >