Professional Development Resources

Graduate Student Fellowships

The Duke Graduate School offers a number of fellowships for continuing Ph.D. students, including fellowships that provide full support for the academic year, summer research fellowships for the summer, teaching fellowships, and dissertation research travel awards.

The Graduate School will hold an information session on October 2, 2024, for graduate students on fellowships available to them for academic year 2024-2025, including Bass Instructional Fellowships, with time for Q&A about fellowship applications and support. 

Bass Instructional Fellowships

Created through an endowment gift from the family of Anne T. and Robert M. Bass, the Bass Instructional Fellowship Program supports high-quality teaching experiences for Ph.D. students where normal means of funding are unavailable. It also helps students become more knowledgeable in digital teaching and learning. The program offers fellowships for Instructors of Record, Instructional Teaching Assistants, and Digital Education Fellows.

Current Application Period: Oct 1 – Nov 14, 2025

Application Period for Spring 2026: Feb 13-March 13, 2026

Certificate in College Teaching

Duke’s Certificate in College Teaching program (CCT) both prepares you to teach and formally documents this professional development to make graduates more competitive when applying for positions. Students who complete the CCT will have it listed on their transcripts as an officially endorsed Duke University Graduate School certificate. The program requirements take about a year to complete, but that may vary as opportunities for gaining teaching experience vary across departments.

Applications can be submitted at any time. The latest that you can apply is before the drop-add date of the semester in which you intend to complete the certificate, but it is recommended that you apply at least a year or more before that. Typically, PhD students close to or beyond their prelims would be well-situated to enroll.

Courses on College Teaching

The Graduate School maintains a list of courses applicable to the topic of teaching at the college level, in conjunction with the Certificate in College Teaching program. The current list can be found HERE.

Conference Travel Awards for Advanced Doctoral Students

The Duke Graduate School provides awards up to $525 for domestic and $700 for international travel for advanced students who have passed all parts of their preliminary examination, submitted the results to Academic Affairs, and are actively participating (i.e. presenting a paper or poster, or leading a discussion on their research) at a regional, national, or international conference. Students are limited to one conference travel award per fiscal year (June 1 – May 31).

Students must complete and submit the following travel award application 30 days prior to their conference.

Emerging Leaders Institute

The Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) is an in-depth professional development program for Graduate School students and postdocs, designed to prepare you to perform as competent, confident, and effective leaders at Duke and beyond. The program is offered annually in the spring semester. To join the ELI mailing list for additional information and updates, visit the ELI webpage for instructions.

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring

The Graduate School presents the Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring to recognize the considerable efforts and accomplishments of faculty and graduate students who consistently serve as effective mentors. Designed to allow the university community to identify faculty and graduate students who embody both the letter and spirit of mentoring, these awards are important examples of the university’s continuing efforts to cultivate a culture of mentoring.

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

The Duke University Graduate School created the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching to celebrate and honor exemplary teaching by currently enrolled PhD students who are engaged in teaching Duke undergraduate or graduate students. Each spring, The Graduate School recognizes graduate students who best exemplify the characteristics of effective college teaching as they prepare for lives of service, leadership, and teaching.

Preparing Future Faculty

The Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program at Duke provides a yearlong experience for PhD students and postdocs to prepare them for the multiple roles they may be asked to assume as future faculty members in a variety of academic institutions. PFF fellows learn about the broad range of faculty roles and responsibilities by shadowing and working closely with a faculty mentor from one of the six partner institutions, and going on half-day site visits to each of the six institutions for campus tours, panels with faculty, staff & students, and having candid conversations about the realities, challenges and rewards of faculty life in these settings.

The Graduate School holds an informational session each spring about the program led by current PFF fellows. More information and registration will be available on the PPF website.

NOTE: Applicants are expected to have completed all their PhD course work and preliminary exams before participating in the program, and preference may be given to those enrolled in the Certificate in College Teaching program.

Professional Development Series

Attending events in the Professional Development Series can help students evaluate and prepare for the range of career options open to master’s- and PhD-prepared professionals. This series is designed to broaden graduate students’ career perspectives and develop competencies in communication, self-awareness, professional adaptability, leadership, and professionalism.  Programming is offered on a two-year cycle and changes each semester. Information about the offerings, including registration, can be found HERE.

Professional Development Grant

The Graduate School offers the Professional Development Grant to fund department/program and student efforts to offer professional development programming, including activities that support the development of transferable skills relevant to a range of careers, not limited to the traditional tenure-track path. Students, departments, and programs may request up to $2,000 from the grant to fund their efforts to provide professional development programming and resources during a calendar year (January-December). Proposals are solicited once a year in the fall.

More information, including application instructions and descriptions of past recipients, can be found HERE.

Proposal Deadline each year: Oct 15, 5:00 p.m. Eastern

Responsible Conduct of Research Forums & Training

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is a formal requirement for every master’s and PhD student enrolled in The Graduate School. The RCR training requirement reflects the expectation that every graduate student will be aware of academic standards and well-qualified to address the growing ethical challenges that arise when teaching or conducting scholarly research.  All matriculating PhD students at Duke are required to complete 3 to 4 RCR training courses (12 or 18 hours, varies by discipline; specified HERE) in the first four years of their study, including the RCR session held at orientation.

RCR forums are held by The Graduate School for all students. These are held each fall and spring on a variety of topics; advance registration is required.

College Teaching Workshops

College Teaching Workshops are an annual workshop series open to Duke graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff.  Invited speakers in this series will draw upon their experience to address topics relevant to classroom teaching, dealing with students, or faculty life and career paths.

Upcoming College Teaching Workshops can be found HERE. 

Last Updated 31Jul2025