Prerequisites

The purpose of prerequisite requirements is to ensure that students are adequately prepared for their graduate-level courses in the Master of Environmental Management (MEM) and Master of Forestry (MF) professional degree programs. It is important that students complete their prerequisite coursework prior to the start of the program, regardless of their concentrations. Students may not matriculate with more than one required prerequisite deficiency. Once the student confirms their intent to enroll at the Nicholas School, their transcript is reviewed for prerequisite requirements for the program area/concentration to which they are admitted. We strongly urge students to complete their prerequisite coursework prior to matriculation. 

Note: Students admitted to the Cooperative College 3-2 program may not matriculate with any prerequisite deficiencies.


Enrollment Expectations/Graduation Requirement

Students who matriculate with one required prerequisite deficiency should plan to complete the prerequisite course in their first year of study, preferably in the fall semester. Courses taken after matriculation to satisfy a prerequisite do not count towards credits required for the MEM or MF professional degree. Successful completion of graduate-level courses in the MEM and MF program does not eliminate a prerequisite requirement/deficiency. Keep in mind, that students lacking a prerequisite may be unable to take graduate courses in the recommended sequence and may find it difficult to graduate within the standard two years of study. Students cannot waive nor can they test out of prerequisite requirements.

Successful completion of required prerequisite coursework is a graduation requirement. Students who fail to complete their prerequisite coursework by the end of the first year of study are at risk of being dismissed from the program. In addition to successful completion of prerequisite coursework, the Nicholas School administers diagnostic exams in calculus and statistics before the start of the program. All students must show proof of successful completion of their prerequisite coursework and earn passing scores on the calculus and statistics diagnostic exams to graduate, regardless of their program area/concentration.

Students who were admitted/matriculated in fall 2022 or earlier can view the old prerequisite policy here. Students who were admitted/matriculated in fall 2022 or earlier must follow the prerequisite policy/requirements in place in the year they matriculated (i.e., they are grandfathered in under the old prerequisite policy). For program area/concentration changes, priority will be given to students who have fulfilled the prerequisites – there may be other considerations as well.

Students admitted/matriculated in fall 2023 can view their prerequisite policy here. Students who were admitted/matriculated in fall 2023 must follow the prerequisite policy/requirements in place in the year they matriculated.


Prerequisites by Concentration

For guidance, we’ve outlined the key topics that a college-level course should cover to meet each of our prerequisites.

Required Courses

  • Calculus: All Concentrations require calculus
  • Statistics: All Concentrations require statistics
  • Microeconomics: Environmental Economics and Policy Concentration (EEPC)-MEM and Master of Forestry (MF)
  • Chemistry: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health Concentration (EEHC)-MEM
  • Principles of Ecology: Master of Forestry (MF)

Recommended Courses

  • Organic Chemistry: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health Concentration (EEHC)-MEM
  • Principles of Ecology: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health Concentration (EEHC)-MEM and Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments Concentration (TFEC)-MEM

Concentration Specific Guidance/Course Requirements

Eligible Courses: Prerequisite Policy

The prerequisite course enrollment policy below applies to students admitted in fall 2024 and later.

Students may fulfill prerequisite requirements by demonstrating successful completion of at least one of the following options for each required prerequisite. While strongly encouraged, students may choose whether to complete prerequisite courses recommended for their concentrations.

1.   Traditional/standard college-level course:  Complete a college-level course at any accredited college or university (including community, technical, or junior college); for graded credit and a minimum grade of B- earned (a Passing (P) or Satisfactory (S) grade) is also acceptable; and submit an official transcript to demonstrate successful completion. Although other options to demonstrate prerequisite coursework are included below, the preferred method is to take a course at an accredited college or university including community, technical, or junior college.

2.   Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB): We will accept advanced placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses if the student earns college credit for the course(s) from their undergraduate institution. College credit must be documented on the official undergraduate transcript. In the absence of the appropriate documentation on the official undergraduate transcript, we will accept an official letter from the institution’s Registrar’s Office (sent directly to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu), which confirms the student earned college credit for the advanced placement course(s); the letter may not be sent by the applicant or student.

3.   Distance Learning Courses: Students wishing to enroll in a distance learning course (i.e., online), to fulfill a prerequisite, are encouraged to seek prior approval to make sure the course is appropriate to fulfill the prerequisite requirement. Send an email to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu with the name of the institution, course title, course number, credit value, dates of the course, and the link to the online course details. Required prerequisites completed via traditional distance learning courses (i.e., regularly scheduled class meetings) or self-paced distance learning courses are not preferred but are accepted if taken for college credit. Courses completed via correspondence, independent study, Coursera, MOOC, or Opencourseware are not accepted. The Nicholas School maintains a short list of Pre-Approved distance learning courses (for required prerequisites only). To request a list of Pre-Approved Distance Learning Courses, send an email to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu.

Review and Approval Before You Enroll: If desired, students may send a copy of the syllabus or detailed course description for review and approval before they enroll and pay for prerequisite courses. While this step is not required, we encourage students to be sure that the course covers the required topics. Students are welcome and encouraged to send the course syllabus to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu. Allow up to 1-3 business days for the review process to be completed and to receive a response via email.


Diagnostic Exams

The Nicholas School administers diagnostic exams in calculus and statistics. All students are expected to take and pass the diagnostic exams. Students must complete the calculus and statistics prerequisites before taking the diagnostic exams. We encourage students to spend time reviewing the core topics in calculus and statistics before the exams. Although we want students to do well on the diagnostic exams, please do not stress about these tests in advance. The exams are intended to assess where students are in these subjects before matriculating and to ensure that students are prepared for graduate-level courses requiring calculus and statistics as prerequisites. Students cannot take the diagnostic exams to waive a prerequisite requirement.


Notification of Enrollment/Transcript Submission

Students who plan to matriculate in the fall should provide notification of enrollment in their prerequisite course(s) no later than June 15.

Transcript Submission

Students may submit official transcripts, degree certificates, course certificates, and grade reports at the link above or if the undergraduate or non-degree institution uses eSCRIP-SAFE International (or a similar transcript service) for the delivery of official electronic transcripts, please ask the university registrar to forward the official transcript to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu. If the original transcript is not in English, the student must also provide a certified English translation along with the original transcript.


Quick Links

Questions?

For questions about prerequisite courses, send an email to nsoe-registrar@duke.edu or call 919-613-7459.