| Frequently
Asked Questions
What
is a Program?
Programs are groups of researchers from widely
spread Departments in two or more Schools with
similar research interests. Unlike Departments,
which are normally constructed around undergraduate
teaching needs, Programs provide a formal mechanism
for people who would not normally interact to
meet and exchange ideas about common areas of
research. At a University like Duke, where roughly
1,500 tenured and tenure-track Faculty work scattered
over 125 buildings on 700 acres on West Campus
alone, academic units constructed around research
areas are vital.
return to top
How are
Programs supported financially?
Many programs, including the Program in Biological
Chemistry, are supported by federal training grants
from agencies such as the National Institutes
of Health, the National Science Foundation or
any of the various military agencies. While these
agencies are important sources of support, the
Graduate School also provides significant funding,
emphasizing the importance the University attaches
to Programs.
return to top
What
is the difference between Programs and Departments?
While students can enter Duke University through
both Departments and Programs, only it is generally
only Departments that grant degrees. Schools are
the major academic divisions of the University;
each School consists of several Departments. For
example, the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
includes Departments of Anthropology, Biology,
Chemistry, Math, Physics. The School of Medicine
includes Departments of Biochemistry, Cell Biology,
Genetics, ImmunologDuke has been extraordinarily
successful in creating and funding training programs.
Currently, NIH funded programs exist in Structural
Biochemistry and Biophysics (SBB, formerly Molecular
Biophysics), Pharmacological Sciences, Genetics,
Medical Scientist Training Program, Integrated
Toxicology, Molecular Cancer Biology, Developmental
Biology Cellular and Biosurface Engineering, Cellular
and Molecular Biology, Biologically Inspired Materials
and Material Systems, Bioinformatics and Computational
Biology, Computational Sciences and Engineering.
Although each has a slightly different set of
operating procedures, all are founded on the same
basic philosophy: to bring together faculty from
disparate Departments with a common set of research
interests.y, Neurobiology, Pathology, and Pharmacology
and Cancer Biology. Most Departments include a
graduate program. Departments design a graduate
curriculum that might include requirements such
as didactic and seminar course work and cumulative
exams. These requirements are superimposed on
the Graduate School requirements that candidates
successfully pass a preliminary (candidacy) exam
and write and defend a thesis.
return to top
What
is the relationship of the Medical Center and
the University?
Duke University and the Duke University Medical
Center together form what we traditionally think
of when we recall the entity called ‘Duke’.
Like most large modern institutions, Duke is broadly
divided into Schools. Within Duke University,
these schools include the Trinity College of Arts
and Sciences, the Pratt School of Engineering,
the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy,
the Nicholas School of the Environment, the Fuqua
Business School and the School of Law. The School
of Medicine resides in the Duke University Medical
Center. The Graduate School at Duke University,
the administrative unit that regulates the education
of graduate students and awards all graduate degrees,
includes faculty from both Duke University and
the Duke University Medical Center. The Biological
Chemistry program involves faculty from two institutions
– the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
and the School of Medicine. Unlike many institutions,
the Medical Center and the University at Duke
share a single campus and the buildings and facilities
that house faculty from the two bodies are increasingly
intertwined. This physical proximity greatly facilitates
the collaboration and cooperation that characterizes
Duke, encouraging the study of the basic chemical
sciences in the context of important problems
in biology and medicine – the very purpose
of the Biological Chemistry program.
return to top
Does
the Program in Biological Chemistry confer degrees?
No. The Program in Biological Chemistry is a
certificate program, not a degree-granting program.
All students, regardless of their Departmental
affiliation will receive a certificate confirming
completion of the Program.
return to top
If
I enter the University through the Program in
Biological Chemistry, in what discipline will
I receive a degree?
Your degree will be conferred through the Department
with which you affiliate. If you affiliate with
a group in Chemistry, you will receive a doctoral
degree in Chemistry; if you affiliate with a group
in the Department of Biochemistry you will receive
a doctoral degree in Biochemistry. In any event,
your degree will be certified as having completed
the Program in Biological Chemistry.
return to top
Are
there other Training Programs at Duke?
Duke has been extraordinarily successful in creating
and funding training programs. Currently, NIH
funded programs exist in Structural Biochemistry
and Biophysics (SBB, formerly Molecular Biophysics),
Pharmacological Sciences, Genetics, Medical Scientist
Training Program, Integrated Toxicology, Molecular
Cancer Biology, Developmental Biology Cellular
and Biosurface Engineering, Cellular and Molecular
Biology, Biologically Inspired Materials and Material
Systems, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology,
Computational Sciences and Engineering. Although
each has a slightly different set of operating
procedures, all are founded on the same basic
philosophy: to bring together faculty from disparate
Departments with a common set of research interests.
return to top
OK; I’ve
decided to enter the University through a Program.
How will my program of study differ from that
of a student entering through a Department?
The largest single difference between Programs
and Departments is the range of groups available
for thesis research. If you enter the University
through a Department, you will typically affiliate
with a group in your Department. If you enter
the University through the Program, you will affiliate
with a group in the Program. What’s the
difference? Departments are organized along traditional
lines to accommodate undergraduate teaching needs.
While such a construction is reasonable for ensuring
coverage of an appropriate group of topics at
the undergraduate (survey) level, the inclusion
of so many subdisciplines makes it highly likely
that only a small number of groups in any given
Department will interest any given graduate researcher.
For example, if you are reading this page you
probably have already decided you are not interested
in studying quantum mechanics. Programs, on the
other hand, bring together faculty based on research
interests. If you are interested in synthesis
and mechanism in the context of biology the Program
offers a much larger range of research groups
with foci that fit your interests.
return to top
How will
my day-to-day life differ from that of a student
entering through a Department?
It won’t be so different. In both cases
you will take courses. In both cases you will
affiliate with a research advisor sometime during
the fall semester. If you entered the University
through the Department of Chemistry, you would
teach during your first year; if you enter through
a Medical School department or through the Program
you will do research rotations. What will be different
is the courses you take and with whom you rotate.
return to top
Are
there restrictions on where I can rotate?
No, but Biological Chemistry students must complete
at least three rotations in Program faculty labs;
a fourth rotation is optional. To ensure a true
cross-training experience, students must complete
at least one rotation in a Medical School department
(Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Pharmacology and
Cancer Biology) and at least one rotation in a
University Department (Biology, Chemistry).
return to top
What
courses will I take?
Your course requirements will largely be determined
by your undergraduate background. Most students
will take a physical organic chemistry course
in the Department of Chemistry, a protein structure
and function course in the Department of Biochemistry,
and one additional course. In the Spring semester,
all students will take a mechanistic enzymology
course team-taught by faculty in the Departments
of Chemistry and Biochemistry and one additional
course determined largely by your choice of research
advisor.
return to top
Are
there additional requirements for Program students?
All students are required to receive training
in the ethical conduct of research. Program students
attend a weekend course in ethics at the Duke
University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC.
In later years, students are required to attend
a small number of discussion group seminars on
ethical issues in research. In addition to Program
requirements, students are responsible for any
Departmental requirements following affiliation.
Many Departments have seminar requirements; some
require additional courses. Currently none of
the participating Departments require cumulative
exams. All graduate students at Duke must complete
a preliminary (candidacy) exam; the timing of
this exam varies slightly from Department to Department,
but is typically held near the end of the second
or the start of the third year. All doctoral students
at Duke must write and defend a dissertation.
return to top
Are
there other mechanisms through which I can move
between Medical Center and University Departments?
Not in the Chemical Sciences, although some of
the other Programs also bring together faculty
from both the University and the Medical Center.
return to top
If
I enter the University through a Program will
I still feel like part of a Department?
Yes. Because your primary affiliation
early in your residency is to the Program and
in later in your residency is to a Department,
Program students get the best of both worlds:
a strong attachment to Departmental colleagues
and great connections to other Departments on
campus through Program peers.
return to top
What
will my stipend be? Will it be different in the
Program than it would be in a Department?
Current graduate stipends are roughly $21,000
per year (including approximately $1,000 in health
insurance). The graduate school has worked hard
to ensure that stipends across the basic sciences
are equivalent, and there are no significant differences
between stipends in the Program and the participating
Departments.
return to top
Will
I pay tuition in the Program?
No. Currently tuition and fees for the Program
are roughly $28,000; this amount is paid by the
Program in addition to your stipend.
return to top
How expensive
is living in the Triangle?
The cost of living is very reasonable in the
Durham-Chapel Hill area, and in most cost-of-living
surveys Durham finishes near 100 (against a nationwide
average of 100). One bedroom apartments are readily
available for $400-700 per month; for similar
monthly outlays two or more students can easily
rent a house. Basic public transportation is available,
although living without a car in the Triangle
is somewhat difficult.
top
|
