Graduate School
Executive Summary
The preparation of this strategic plan is occurring coincident with a change in leadership of the Graduate School. Central to this strategic plan is the recognition that the quality of faculty and graduate students at a research university are inexorably intertwined and that strengthening the Graduate School will enhance the quality and activities of the entire University.
Overarching goal: Establish research-oriented graduate education as a leading priority in the University's agenda and enhance its stature and recognition both within and outside the University.
1) Strengthen the ability of the Graduate School to recruit and retain high quality graduate students by modifying the Graduate School formula to assign all tuition and fee revenue paid by students to the Graduate School, so that this revenue can be devoted as much as possible to support of students and their graduate programs.
2) Establish the Graduate School as a high priority for financial aid fund raising, with a particular emphasis on obtaining funds to endow such aid for graduate students in fields without significant access to external sources of student funding, such as research and training grants. (This could come through School or field-specific endeavors, such as finding endowment to directly support the Humanities, and/or through broader strategies such as working with the Development Office to create a naming opportunity to endow the Graduate School.)
Specific goal 1: Recruit and retain the most talented and ambitious graduate students.
1) Establish and maintain competitive financial support packages (stipends and health insurance and health fees) in all fields so that students admitted to graduate study at both Duke and peer universities can make their choices based on interest and programmatic fit rather than on financial considerations.
2) Double the number of James B. Duke fellowships to enable Duke to compete effectively for the top 20% of its pool of admitted Ph.D. students.
3) Increase the number of summer research awards in the Humanities and Social Sciences to enable entering students in those areas to have two years of guaranteed support, as is the standard at our peer universities.
4) Expand the availability of first year fellowships in all areas of the Graduate School.
5) Improve diversity by enhancing recruiting efforts, support programs, and the pipeline for underrepresented minority students.
6) Develop attractive and academically sound interdisciplinary training programs that build upon the diversity and strength of Duke University as articulated by the Strategic Plan.
GRADUATE SCHOOL: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 1 | 2 | 3