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PhD Degree Programs
Our doctoral (PhD) programs offers highly motivated students an opportunity to develop their research skills in close collaboration with world-renowned engineers and other scientists in Duke's uniquely interdisciplinary environment
Highly Ranked
- #1 in U.S. computer engineering research productivity 1
- #4 in the U.S. in biomedical engineering 2
- #6 in the U.S./#11 in the world in environmental science & engineering 3
- #8 in U.S. electrical engineering faculty research productivity 1
- Top 15 in U.S. mechanical engineering research productivity 1
1 Academic Analytics
2 U.S. News & World Report
3 Shanghai Ranking
Cutting-Edge and Comprehensive
Duke PhD students receive full funding for their PhD studies for their first five years.
In our research labs, we're busting through traditional boundaries. The vast majority of our research programs focus on areas where more than one discipline of study is needed to solve the problems at hand. Our faculty engineers are working with researchers from Duke’s School of Medicine, Nicholas School for the Environment, science departments of chemistry, physics, math and computer science—and with scientists and engineers around the world.
These relationships will stretch you intellectually, help you build technical depth, and help you get a job after graduate school. Learn where our PhD grads go.
Benefits for PhD Students
- Direct admission to a research group
- 100 percent funding, plus conference & travel support
- Dedicated career development, such as our innovative PhD Plus program
- Membership in our supportive departmental graduate student organizations
Biomedical Engineering
Research Areas
Major research areas for the department include:
- Bioelectric Engineering
- Biomaterials
- Biomechanics and Mechanobiology
- Biomedical Imaging and Biophotonics
- Biosensors and Bioinstrumentation
- Computational Modeling of Biological Systems
- Drug and Gene Delivery
- Immune Engineering
- Neural Engineering
- Synthetic and Systems Biology
- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
PhD Programs
- PhD in Biomedical Engineering
- MD-PhD offered with the Duke University School of Medicine, through the Medical Scientist Training Program
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Major research areas for the department include:
Civil Research Areas
- Computational Mechanics and Scientific Computing
- Geomechanical Modeling and Characterization
- Systems, Risk and Decision
Environmental Research Areas
PhD Program
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Areas
Major research areas for the department include:
- Signal and Information Processing and Robotics
- Computer Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Microelectronics, Photonics, and Nanotechnology
PhD Program
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Areas
Major research areas for the department include: