DEL-MEM
DEL-MEM

Summer Onboarding 2026

Summer onboarding for the 2026-2027 school year begins in June and runs until the start of orientation in August. It is designed to provide you with all the information you’ll need to prepare for the start of your DEL adventure. Onboarding will be held online through a combination of self-paced activities and live information sessions. If you follow the timely guidance offered below (scroll down to see the full list of scheduled activities), you will be ready for a great start to the program. 

This site is your guide to summer onboarding, and we recommend checking it regularly. As new opportunities arise, we will post them into the schedule (denoted as NEW!). A handful of items listed below are highlighted in blue to indicate that we are waiting for additional information to make updates. Once updates are finalized, we will un-highlight these items. We will also send out periodic email communications with timely information. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to KT (kt.robbins-thompson@duke.edu) at any time!

Quick Snapshot of Summer Deadlines
  • June 22: Please complete a brief survey on your dietary restrictions so that we can ensure your dietary needs are met during our place-based sessions.
  • June 30: Email bio and headshot to KT (kt.robbins-thompson@duke.edu).
  • NEW! July 8: Please a moment to share your preferred t-shirt size
  • July 15: Upload final official undergraduate transcript
  • July 20, 5:00pm (ET): Email Two Truths and a Lie slides to KT
  • July 21, 8:00pm (ET): Summer virtual session – Two Truths and a Lie presentations
  • August 16: Please complete all summer readings by the start of orientation on August 17
  • August 17-20: Orientation/place-based session #1. We will begin around 10am on August 17 and wrap up by 4pm on August 20. A detailed orientation schedule will be sent later this summer.

Schedule

June 1 – June 8

Self-Paced Activities (to be started by this week)

  • Welcome to the DEL and Nicholas School communities! We invite you to share a bit about your professional journey in the environmental sphere with all of us. Please send a brief bio and headshot to KT Robbins-Thompson by June 30. We will compile bios for the Class of 2028 (aka the 28s) to share with DEL students, faculty, facilitators, and speakers. For inspiration and to get to know your future DEL-mates, you can check out the 27s’ (Class of 2027) bios here.
  • Orientation/August place-based session (PBS) accommodations: Our August PBS will be August 17-20, beginning around 10am on Aug 17 and wrapping up by 4pm on Aug 20. We have reserved a block of rooms at the AC Durham for a group rate of $159/night. You are welcome to stay wherever you’d like (please feel free to self-organize Airbnb stays!), but we wanted to provide this as an option. The hotel is within walking distance of the Nicholas School. If you choose to the stay at the AC Durham, you can book your DEL group rate here. You must book by July 16th to be guaranteed the group rate.
  • International students only: Please review the Visa Checklist for New Students. You are required to submit all requested documents (preferably as one pdf file) before our first place-based session in August. We recommend submitting this information as soon as possible. Please also take some time to review the visa process you will go through for each place-based session.
June 9 – June 15

Self-Paced Activities (to be started by this week)

  • Please complete a brief survey on your dietary restrictions by June 22 so that we can ensure your dietary needs are met during our place-based sessions.
  • Please review the Zoom User Guide and set up your Duke zoom account.
  • Environmental Leadership Summer Reading: The DEL team has curated a set of environmental leadership readings, podcasts, and videos that will help lay the foundation for leadership discussions throughout your time in the program. We will share them in two sets, one now (see below) and one later in the summer. You can access the journal articles through Duke University Libraries. Please take some time to read, contemplate, and reflect on these readings, and be prepared to bring your thoughts and insights to the group in August.

Synchronous Sessions
June 11, 9:00am (ET) (optional): Overview of the Student Accommodations Process & Community Resources
This session is a part of the Graduate and Professional Students office’s Summer Transition Series. Please register here. Hosted by the Student Disability Access Office.

June 16 – June 22

Self-Paced Activities

  • Your Duke email has been added to the relevant DEL and Nicholas School listservs. Please note that these email lists are meant for academic purposes only. Your Duke alias email was used to subscribe you to the listservs. Typically, the Duke Alias email is your firstname.lastname@duke.edu. Please notify the Nic School Registrar’s Office if you have changed or plan to change your Duke alias email address. If you do not notify the registrar’s office, you will not receive messages sent to the listservs. It’s perfectly fine to change your alias address – we just need to know so that we can update our listservs.
  • DukeCard: Please make time this week to request your DukeCard. For more information about your DukeCard, please visit the DukeCard Office.
  • Photo and Video Consent: Please take 1 minute this week to complete the Photo and Video Consent form.
  • If you have not yet done so, please complete a brief survey on your dietary restrictions by June 22 so that we can ensure your dietary needs are met during our place-based sessions.
  • Reminder about our group rate ($159/night) at the AC Durham for our August PBS. Again, you are welcome to stay wherever you’d like, but we wanted to provide this as an option. The hotel is within walking distance of the Nicholas School. If you choose to the stay at the AC Durham, you can book your DEL group rate here. You must book by July 16th to be guaranteed the group rate.
  • Continue with summer reading:
June 23 – June 29

Self-Paced Activities

  • Shopping Carts open in DukeHub at the end of June. The shopping cart is where you will put courses together that you are interested in taking. Once registration opens, you can move courses from your shopping cart into your actual registration record. Adding courses to your shopping cart does not mean enrolling in the course. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with DukeHub.
  • DEL students take their core courses during the fall semesters, which makes fall course registration very straightforward. When course registration opens, you will enroll in the courses listed below. Generally, DEL students take only the core courses during the fall semesters. However, each student’s situation is different, so you are welcome to take a look at other course offerings, which are available in DukeHub. Please feel free to reach out to KT Robbins-Thompson with any questions.
    • ENVIRON 961: Ecosystem Science and Management | Tu 8:00-9:30pm ET | Rebecca Vidra (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 966: Professional Writing | W 8:00-9:30pm ET | Kerri Ossi-Lupo (1 credit)
    • ENVIRON 973 Targeted Environmental Management and Leadership: Utilizing Cost, Quality, and Time | M 8:00-9:30pm ET | Jeremy Pare (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 995: Environmental Leadership Seminar | Th 8:00-9:30pm ET | Amanda Lindamood (1 credit)
June 30 – July 6

Self-Paced Activities

July 7 – July 13

Self-Paced Activities

  • NEW! To welcome you to the Nicholas School, we would like to gift you a Nic School t-shirt. Please take 30-60 seconds to share your preferred t-shirt size by July 8.
  • International students only: This is a gentle reminder to please submit all required documentation outlined in the Visa Checklist for New Students if you have not yet done so. Additionally, please prepare for your visit to Duke’s campus by completing all steps outlined in the place-based session visa process.
  • Please take some time this summer to read the second set of leadership readings from Innovation in Environmental Leadership: Critical Perspectives (2018), edited by Benjamin W. Redekop, Deborah Rigling Gallagher, and Rian Satterwhite. Please read the following chapters (and any others that interest you!):
    • Chapter 1. The Seven Unsustainabilities of Mainstream Leadership. Jem Bendell, Richard Little, and Neil Sutherland
    • Chapter 4. Sustainable Leadership: Toward Restoring the Human and Natural Worlds. Tina Lynn Evans
    • Chapter 14. From Peril to Possibility: Restorative Leadership for a Sustainable Future. Seana Lowe Steffen

Synchronous Sessions

NEW! July 9, 11:00am (ET): Financial Aid Presentation
This session will be facilitated by Alex Yates, Nicholas School Financial Aid Coordinator. Bring any questions you have about financing your graduate studies. Join the session.

July 14 – July 20

Self-Paced Activities (to be completed this week)

  • By July 15, you must submit your final official undergraduate transcript showing that your undergraduate degree has been conferred. Upload here. For students who graduated from an institution outside of the U.S., you must submit your final official undergraduate transcript and degree certificate
  • Reminder: If you want to stay at the AC Durham for our August PBS at the DEL group rate of $159/night, you must book your room by July 16.
  • NEW Date! July 17: Tier One Course registration begins (enroll in up to 12 credits). Incoming DEL students should enroll in the following courses:
    • ENVIRON 961: Ecosystem Science and Management | Tu 8:00-9:30pm ET | Rebecca Vidra (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 966: Professional Writing | W 8:00-9:30pm ET | Kerri Ossi-Lupo (1 credit)
    • ENVIRON 973 Targeted Environmental Management and Leadership: Utilizing Cost, Quality, and Time | M 8:00-9:30pm ET | Jeremy Pare (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 995: Environmental Leadership Seminar | Th 8:00-9:30pm ET | Amanda Lindamood (1 credit)
  • As you gear up for the start of the semester, it may be helpful to review Duke’s 2026-2027 Academic Calendar. This will give you a sense of the pacing of each semester and will highlight important registration dates, holidays and breaks, and exam schedules.
  • Continue with all summer readings.
July 21 – July 27

Self-Paced Activities

  • NEW! Summer reading for ENVIRON 961: Ecosystem Science and Management
  • NEW! Summer reading for ENVIRON 966: Professional Writing:
  • Tier One Course registration continues (enroll in up to 12 credits). Incoming DEL students should enroll in the following courses:
    • ENVIRON 961: Ecosystem Science and Management | Tu 8:00-9:30pm ET | Rebecca Vidra (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 966: Professional Writing | W 8:00-9:30pm ET | Kerri Ossi-Lupo (1 credit)
    • ENVIRON 973 Targeted Environmental Management and Leadership: Utilizing Cost, Quality, and Time | M 8:00-9:30pm ET | Jeremy Pare (3 credits)
    • ENVIRON 995: Environmental Leadership Seminar | Th 8:00-9:30pm ET | Amanda Lindamood (1 credit)
  • Continue with all Leadership summer readings.

Synchronous Sessions

July 21, 8:00 – 9:30pm (ET): Virtual Summer Session
For this virtual session, we’re asking all DEL students to participate in the DEL version of Two Truths and a Lie. We will email guidance about this in late June. Please send your slides to KT by July 20 at 5pm (ET). Zoom link: https://duke.zoom.us/j/96797389000. Meeting ID: 967 9738 9000.

July 28 – August 17

Self-Paced Activities

UPDATED: 7/27/26

>>View more information at the ‘Before You Arrive’ section