Duke Graduate Academy

Duke University graduate and professional students can build skills, tools and knowledge to augment their regular coursework and research.

Courses in the Duke Graduate Academy cover topics not typically included in a graduate curriculum, or they provide an intensive introduction for graduate students who might not have the time or inclination to pursue a full course in a subject. Instructors are Duke faculty as well as highly trained Duke staff.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Participation is open to current Duke graduate students, including Duke law, master’s and professional students.

Fuqua students, please note: Duke Graduate Academy courses are available to Fuqua students active in an MSQM program or in the Daytime MBA program. Fuqua students must obtain proper permission from their program dean (MSQM) or the Fuqua Registrar (MBA).

COST

There is no cost for Duke participants.

ABOUT THE COURSES

Courses are not for credit and are not graded, but they will appear on Duke graduate student transcripts. No offerings require prerequisites or assume areas of knowledge. Each course meets regularly for one to three weeks.

Classes are offered online with synchronous and asynchronous elements. Instructors emphasize interactive discussion and group activities/projects to maintain a high level of student engagement.

Most courses will enroll 30 students. Courses with fewer than eight enrolled students may be canceled.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration for Summer 2025 Grad Academy is Open. Registration and drop/add follows the Duke Academic Calendar for Summer Session 1 and 2. The deadline to register for any course is by the drop/add date of its respective summer session term:

Session 1: May 16, 2025
Session 2: July 2, 2025

Space is filled on a first-come, first-served basis during registration via DukeHub. Waitlists will be used for all courses.

Login to DukeHub here

LOCATION

All classes meet online/virtually. Individual class schedules are noted in the course descriptions below and in DukeHub. Meeting details and coursework materials will be confirmed by instructor email or through course sites.

QUESTIONS

For questions regarding the Duke Graduate Academy, please contact LILE at dukegradacademy@duke.edu.

---

Best Practices in Mentoring

Summer Session I GS990 Section 1; offered May 14 – May 30, 2025, WFMFWF 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. EDT 
Wednesday, May 14
Friday, May 16
Monday, May 19
Friday, May 23
Wwdnesday, May 28
Friday, May 30

Instructor: Maria Wisdom, PhD Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Practice in the Program in Education

Having effective advisors and mentors is critical to success in graduate school. However, most academics are not trained how to mentor, and both mentors and mentees may try to “wing it” without ever asking: 

• What is mentorship, anyway?
• How will you know a good mentor when you see one?
• How do you know your mentoring relationship is “working”? 
• What can you do, as a mentee, to make the most of your relationships with mentors and advisors?

In this course we will explore best practices, for being both a mentee and a mentor. Topics include: how to establish strong working relationships from day one, how to support another person’s learning and growth, and how to create a dynamic for constructive, ongoing feedback. We will also explore systemic challenges facing both mentees and mentors in sustaining strong, effective relationships. These challenges include meeting the mentoring needs of an increasingly diverse group of young professionals, preventing mentor burnout, and balancing mentoring commitments with other demands and expectations of a busy career.

Business & Organizational Fundamentals for Entrepreneurial Action – COURSE FULL – waitlist available in DukeHub

Summer Session I GS990 Section 2; offered June 9 – June 27, MTTh 4:15 – 6:20 p.m. EDT
Instructor: Shep Moyle, instructor Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Markets & Management Studies 

Using innovation and entrepreneurship as a core theme, this course provides a broad overview of business, including strategy and leadership, negotiation, entrepreneurial finance, building culture and talent management, and practical business tools to apply in any organization and business. Students will experience the early stages of entrepreneurship, examine the basis for startup success and failure including funding, learn how to manage and inspire innovation within an organization, and evaluate the ethical implications of managing an enterprise. Coursework will be case-driven with several on line simulations and expectations for participation and engagement.

Open to all students, this course fulfills a core requirement in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate.

Communicating Research

Summer Session I GS990 Section 3; offered May 20 – June 5, TTh 10:00 a.m.– 12:05 p.m. EDT 
Instructors: Robin A. Smith, PhD, Senior Science Writer, University Communications

Scientists speak and think differently from non-scientists, often to their own great frustration when they try to communicate effectively with media, policymakers and the general public. Why do we struggle to communicate, and what can we do to lessen the problem? If we want to be ambassadors for science, we’re going to have to brush up on the language and culture of the non-science community. In this course, we will present both the theory and practice of effective science communication in written, oral, visual and social media channels. Topics include the empirical benefits of communicating science; development of speaking, writing and storytelling practices for diverse audiences; answering difficult, controversial and critical questions; and tweeting, blogging and presenting research to engage non-scientists, including potential funders and policymakers.

Session 2

Narrative Design – COURSE FULL – waitlist available in DukeHub

Summer Session II GS990 Section 1; offered July 7– July 11, MTWThF 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. EDT 
Instructor: Aaron Dinin, PhD, Senior Lecturing Fellow, Innovation & Entrepreneurship 

Students will learn to communicate why others should value their ideas and innovations, using both verbal and non-verbal elements. The first sessions will focus on common principles of storytelling and the ways in which stories have, historically, been the cornerstone of disseminating new ideas and information as far back as Homeric epics to as recently as Instagram and TikTok. Students will spend time in small groups to practice communication and design by creating and workshopping a variety of narrative materials (e.g., essay, podcast, video, presentation) related to their primary work or scholarship in another discipline. 

*Open to all students, this is a required course for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Graduate Certificate students.

Introduction to Qualitative & Mixed Methods Research

Summer Session II GS990 Section 2; offered July 14 – 22, MTTh 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. EDT
Instructors: Erin Haseley, Research Analyst I, Marissa Personette, Research Associate, Social Science Research Institute

This course presents an introduction to qualitative research methods with a lens on combining qualitative and quantitative data (i.e., mixed methods). The course will emphasize qualitative research methods, examining their uses – when they are appropriate, what unique strengths they offer, what challenges they can introduce. In addition, we will explore when it is useful and valuable to utilize a research design that combines qualitative and quantitative data. It will cover gathering qualitative and mixed data using both primary (interviews, focus groups, participant observation, surveys) and secondary sources, and managing such data during and after their collection. The course will also examine what is involved in coding qualitative data, including how coding schema are developed and applied, how coding can be done in ways that are consistent and replicable, and how to use NVivo software in coding. It will also explore how quantitative and qualitative analyses can be sequenced and/or combined, including in NVivo. Finally, we will consider reporting findings, including integrating findings from multiple data sources, how a researcher assesses what their materials teach them and how they can compile and present those findings to make their case, as well as how to respond to criticisms. This course will include lectures, active discussion, and classroom exercises.

---