Graduate Program.Student Life

Duke BME graduate students are an unusually cohesive and close-knit group, interacting inside and outside the lab. The program’s collaborative atmosphere means that students often work together across research groups, and frequently gather for joint seminars and courses. Students also get together for events sponsored by the department—such as the grad student holiday party, the ACC Tournament party, and the annual reception to welcome new students to the program—as well as informal social activities among friends. These interactions create a unique sense of identity and connectedness that permeates many aspects of the graduate student experience at Duke.

Life in Durham

Students at Duke BME live and work in the Raleigh-Durham area, rated one of the nation's most livable spots by everyone from Money magazine to the Ladies' Home Journal to Places Rated Almanac.

In addition to a temperate climate, the region enjoys a thriving economy, proximity to both beach and mountains, cultural and sports attractions worthy of a much larger metropolis, and a very reasonable cost of living - in 1998, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment was $742 (affordable on the stipends of graduate students, who live off-campus). The region is home to nearly a million people and has one of the highest "PhD's per capita" rates in the country, thanks in part to its three major research universities -- Duke, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, located respectively in Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill.

In the middle of the three cities is Research Triangle Park. The world's largest university-related research and production district, with more than 100 major research companies, RTP has spawned innovations ranging from Astroturf to AZT.

Durham, home to Duke University, is nicknamed "The City of Medicine" for its more than 300 health-related companies and practices, large community and veteran's hospitals, and (of course) Duke University Medical Center. The city offers many outdoor recreation opportunities and top sports teams, including Duke basketball and Durham Bulls baseball, made famous by the movie Bull Durham.