MSc, Materials Science

About University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Originally founded by Methodists and Quakers in the city of Trinity in 1838, the school relocated to Durham in 1892. In 1924, James Buchanan Duke, a prominent tobacco and electric power industrialist, established The Duke Endowment, leading to the institution's name change in honor of his deceased father, Washington Duke. The university's expansive campus covers a significant area across three contiguous sub-campuses in Durham, as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. The West Campus, designed by Julian Abele, an accomplished African American architect, showcases Gothic architecture, including the iconic Duke Chapel. The East Campus, located 1.5 miles away, features Georgian-style architecture and is primarily for first-year students. Duke University also administers two schools in Asia: Duke–NUS Medical School in Singapore and Duke Kunshan University in Kunshan, China. The university is known for its highly selective undergraduate admissions process. It is also a major research institution, investing a substantial amount in research annually and ranking among the top research universities in the United States. The faculty at Duke University is distinguished, with several members consistently recognized as some of the world's most-cited researchers. The university has a notable track record of producing Nobel laureates and Turing Award winners. Additionally, Duke has a number of accomplished alumni, including Rhodes Scholars, a U.S. president, and several billionaires. It is classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."