Admission

ITEHP Fall 2025 Application Deadline: December 2, 2024

Blank digital application form on a touchscreen tablet

*Application deadlines vary by program. Click HERE to view deadlines for all Duke PhD programs.

Application to the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program (ITEHP) may be completed in one of two ways**:

(1) If your primary interest is Environmental Health, you may apply for admission directly to the Program. Once in the Program Information section in your Duke University Graduate School application, indicate your Intended Degree as “Ph.D.” then select the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program from the following drop-down menu. Students who are admitted directly into the ITEHP program affiliate with a department depending upon their choice of research mentor, typically at the end of their first year. Please note students directly admitted to ITEHP are awarded a fellowship.  These fellowships are restricted to US Citizens or permanent residents only. Non-US Citizens who are interested in ITEHP must apply via Option #2 through a participating department and pursue the ITEHP certificate once admitted to Duke.

(2) If your primary interest is in a departmentally-based field, you should apply to your primary program of interest through the standard Duke University Graduate School application. Once in the Program Information section in your application, indicate your Intended Degree as “Ph.D. (All Others)” and your Department/Degree as your program of interest (e.g. Environment – Ph.D.”). Potential degree options include doctoral programs within Duke University Schools of Arts and Sciences (e.g. Chemistry), Medicine (e.g. Pharmacology), Engineering (e.g. Civil & Environmental Engineering, Biomedical Engineering), or Environment (e.g. Environment, Marine Science & Conservation). In order to indicate your interest in ITEHP, do both of the following:

  • Enter “Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health certificate” in the free text “Area(s) of Interest” field in the Program Information section of your application.
  • Email the DGS and DGSA listed on our Contact Us page to indicate that you are interested in the ITEHP certificate. This step is an important notification for us so we can contact the relevant program and keep tabs on your progress upon admission.

There is no difference in the eventual degree granted through either mechanism; both routes result in a PhD granted by a specific department, with certification in Toxicology.

Students are offered direct admission to the Program with fellowship support based on rank among all applicants. Students may be awarded a Program fellowship (Option #1) or may be accepted into the Program via the certificate (Option #2) with support from Departmental funds. For each entering year, approximately three (3) full fellowships (tuition, fees, and stipend) are awarded.

Applicants to the Program must have a bachelor’s degree with a strong foundation in the biological and physical sciences, and in mathematics. Applicants must submit transcripts and three (3) letters of recommendation. It is expected that course work and research experience will vary among applicants, but that the applicant’s academic credentials will be sufficient to ensure successful completion of the degree.

*Important Information for Applicants:

  • Submission of GRE scores for this admissions cycle is optional. If you have taken the GRE and feel that your scores enhance your application, you will have the option to submit your scores in your application. However, GRE scores are not required for application to ITEHP for Fall 2025 admission. ITEHP admissions takes a holistic approach, where our Admissions Committee takes a broad range of factors into account when reviewing applicants for admission — we seek to look beyond only grades and test scores and consider whether an applicant will truly be successful in our program. (Note that if you are planning to pursue the ITEHP certificate and are applying to another program for admission via route #2 above, or if you are applying to multiple programs, you will need to review each specific program’s GRE requirements.)
  • If applying directly to ITEHP via route #1 above, you can include a short video component in the Departmental Requirements section of your application. This optional video is a helpful additional tool for our Admissions Committee, enhancing our ability to perform a holistic review of applicants. The video can be recorded on your smartphone or computer. You should describe in two (2) minutes or less how a Duke PhD training experience would help you achieve your academic and professional goals. If you are applying via route #2 above, you have the option (but, again, are not required) to include a video in Supplemental Uploads section of your application.
  • If applying to ITEHP via route #2 above, your advisor in your degree-granting program must be a member of the ITEHP faculty. Please contact our program if you have questions about this requirement.
  • The Duke Graduate School is offering limited application fee waivers. If interested in requesting a waiver, please review the instructions for requesting a waiver through the application system HERE. Due to the limited nature of these waivers, you are encouraged to submit your waiver request early in the application season – the waivers are “first-come, first-served” and may run out before the application deadline.

ITEHP students who are admitted through option #1 above will rotate with three (3) different labs during their first year. The student should contact faculty members ahead of time to ask IF they are taking students for rotations or, possibly, as a part of their lab. Not all faculty listed on the ITEHP webpage will be taking new students for rotations or for dissertation research projects. 

Ready to apply?  Visit The Graduate School’s Admissions page to start your application!

**This program only admits students for the fall semester.

Last updated 08Oct2024