Graduate Program.Advising and Mentoring

Mentorship and early introduction to research and your research community are key hallmarks of the Duke University BME graduate experience. We believe in day-1 mentorship. As a new student you will meet the Director of Graduate Studies, who acts as your advocate, during orientation week. That same first week, you will meet with your Research Advisor and together you will pick out your classes and begin the long conversation that will lead to your degree. During the first semester, as you get settled in, you and your Research Advisor will identify your Departmental Advisor. Your Departmental Advisor will be on your Dissertation committee and will meet with you during the fall and spring to review and help you assess your progress toward your degree.

Some students want to 'look around' before picking a research laboratory. If you are one those students, the Director of Graduate Studies will be your advisor while you find a research area.

The process of finding the best fit between you and your Research Advisor beginning even before you are admitted. After you apply, faculty who are interested in you may contact you. We then invite the best applicants to interview with Duke BME and a group of our research advisors that have identified you as a potential graduate student. You meet them and see their labs before a formal offer of acceptance into the program is made. Because we recruit talented, focused, high-impact students, we have found that most new students have chosen the right advisor and earn their degree with that advisor. Sometimes, after learning more about Duke BME for a year or two, students may want to switch advisors. In those rare situations, the Director of Graduate Studies will work with you to secure a new Research Advisor and funding.

Over the years, our students have found that this system enables a smooth transition from undergraduate life to Duke BME, graduate life, and the world of research. Our day-1 matching of students with research advisors and our mentorship program helps to keep the time to Ph.D. at an average of 5 to 5.6 years.

The Supervisory Committee

During the second year of enrollment, once you know more about Duke BME and your research interests, you will complete the composition of your committee. This committee will be made of faculty that you and your advisor pick. You will pick a committee of faculty who can be the most help to you in your research, in assessing your progress, in selecting classes, and many other aspects of your graduate experience.

Masters students choose a committee with three members: two from BME, and one from a related area. PhD Students choose a committee of at least five members; three from BME, one from a related area, and one from a life science or clinical faculty. Your committee is very important to you. They have authority over your program, including the number and selection of courses. The committee also conducts the preliminary exam and the dissertation exam.