Program Overview

Introduction to the Graduate / Professional Certificate

The Graduate / Professional Certificate is an experiential program designed for aspiring innovators, entrepreneurs, and founders from across Duke's graduate and professional programs. This certificate pairs with the primary degree to provide students with the skills and mindset necessary to turn ideas into reality.

Program Overview

The program focuses on building business skills, supercharging networks, taking ideas to market, and making an impact. It is designed to provide students with foundational business, leadership, and communication skills to support their future careers in industry or academia.

Build Business Skills

The program helps students gain foundational business, leadership, and communication skills to support their future careers in industry or academia.

Supercharge Your Network

Interdisciplinary courses allow students to benefit from diverse teammates' and faculty's backgrounds in engineering, business, medicine, and beyond.

Take It to Market

Students learn what it takes to start a company, commercialize a technology, or innovate within a larger organization.

Make an Impact

In experiential, collaborative courses, students develop innovative solutions based on their chosen fields of study or areas of interest and then turn those innovations into actionable ideas that impact society.

What's Involved?

To complete the certificate, students take three courses plus a 1-credit seminar by the time they graduate from their primary degree program.

Build Your Business Foundation

• I &E 800: Business and Organizational Fundamentals for Entrepreneurial Action: Learn the essentials of organizational structures, leadership, accounting, and finance.

Tell Your Story

• I &E 745: Narrative Design Seminar: Develop communication and presentation skills to make the best case for yourself and your ideas across audiences.

Customize Your Certificate

• Choose two elective courses: Select courses that complement personal and professional goals.

Eligibility

The Certificate is open to all graduate and professional students enrolled in a full-time, in-person program at Duke University that allows elective courses. Students enrolled in online or hybrid programs are not eligible for the Certificate at this time.

Application

Applications are processed on a rolling basis during the following application periods:

• Fall Enrollment: April 11, 2025 - October 19, 2025
• Spring Enrollment: November 11, 2025 - March 22, 2026

Students must apply for the Certificate by the deadline that occurs in the term before the semester they plan to graduate. For example, if you plan to graduate in December, you must apply by the March deadline. If you plan to graduate in May, you must apply by the October deadline.

Certificate Completion

Once the application is processed, the Certificate will appear on the student's record in DukeHub and on their official Duke Graduate School transcript.

Program Details

• The Certificate can be completed in one year, or over several years, and at no additional tuition cost.
• Students must complete the certificate by the time they graduate from their primary academic program.