Transcript Requirements

Each transcript must provide a year-by-year listing of all courses taken and the grade or mark received for each.
The transcript must list your name and the name of the school.
If the transcript is not in English, we need both the transcript in its original language and an English translation of the transcript. If your institution does not issue documents in English, you must have the transcripts translated by a professional translation service.
If your Social Security number appears on your transcripts, mark out all except the last four digits of the number before uploading the transcripts to your application.
If the grading scale of the institution is available, be sure to include that information.
Before uploading an electronic transcript issued by your school, make sure it can be opened without passwords or other security information.
We do not accept web page screenshots from a student information system in place of transcripts. Uploading screenshots instead of transcripts will delay the processing of your application.
You may submit a credential evaluation from a third party (e.g. WES or ECE), but if you do so, you must also submit the transcript from your institution.

Letters of Recommendation
The Graduate School requires three recommendation letters in support of your application. Your recommenders must submit their letters of recommendation electronically via the online recommendation system.

We strongly discourage requesting more than three recommendations unless you are asked to do so by the department to which you are applying. Rather than improving your chances of admission, an excessive number of recommendation letters may actually cause application reviewers to view your file unfavorably.

Should you receive and accept an offer of admission, your recommenders may be asked to verify their authorship of the submitted recommendation letters.

How to Submit
In the Recommendations section of the online application, enter the contact information of your recommenders, including their e-mail addresses. Each recommender will then receive an e-mail that includes a link to an online recommendation form. This is the form the recommender will use to upload a letter in support of your application.

The Graduate School accepts recommendations from the Interfolio letter service and other letter services that are compatible with our online recommendation system. If you are using a letter service, enter the recommender’s name in the recommendation section of the application and enter the e-mail address provided by the letter service.

Requesting Recommendations
Request letters of recommendation from people best qualified to attest to your capacity for graduate work. We prefer to have academic references representing your major field, though we realize that there are situations where this may not be possible. In such circumstances, seek out people who can comment on qualities that will be relevant to your academic pursuits, particularly research.

Statement of Purpose
As part of your online application, you must upload a statement of purpose. The statement should be one to two pages and single spaced. It should briefly discuss

your purposes and objectives in pursuing graduate study;
your special interests and plans;
your strengths and weaknesses in your chosen field;
any research projects or any independent research in which you have actively participated and how they have influenced your career choice and desire to pursue graduate studies; and
any particular reasons you may have for applying to Duke (e.g. you would like to work with a specific faculty member).

How to Submit
Upload the statement of purpose via the online application.

Resume
As part of your online application, you must upload a resume or curriculum vitae (CV). This document should summarize your education, academic achievements, work history, and professional accomplishments. It may also include a list of skills, publications, research experiences, and other credentials that demonstrate your preparedness for graduate study.

How to Submit
Upload the resume or CV to the online application.
GRE Scores
How to Submit
GRE scores: Ask Educational Testing Service to send an official copy of the scores to The Graduate School. Use institution code 5156. You do not need a department code. If ETS requires a department code, select any one of the department codes listed on its site. Regardless of the department code entered, the scores will come to The Graduate School as long as you use institution code 5156.  Be sure to alert us if the name on your application is different from the name on your score report. You do not need to notify us about minor differences in spacing or hyphenation (such as "Juan Carlos" vs. "JuanCarlos" or "Jane Henry Doe" vs. "Jane Henry-Doe").

GMAT scores: Ask Pearson VUE to send the scores directly to The Graduate School. Use institution code Q13-LX-66.

MCAT scores: In the MCAT score section of the online application, enter the score verification code and the AAMC ID. We will use this information to verify the official scores.

Score Requirements

The scores must not be more than five years old from August 1 of the application year. For example, if you submit your application between August 2017 and January 2018, your score report must be dated August 1, 2012, or later.
We do not accept expired scores, personal copies of scores, or attested or notarized score reports.
Some departments require a GRE subject test score. To determine if your department requires a GRE subject test score, see the department listing in the Departments and Programs section of The Graduate School website.

NOTES

Be sure to take the GRE in time for official scores to reach The Graduate School by the application deadline.
If you have taken the GRE more than once, please enter your highest score for each component. If you have not yet taken the GRE, please enter the date you are scheduled to take it.
We realize that the GRE scores of international students, particularly those whose first language is not English, may be affected by language and cultural differences. This is taken into consideration when applications are evaluated.

Duke does not have an absolute cut-off point for GRE scores when considering applicants, but it may be useful to review the averages and ranges for applicants admitted in recent years (see the Statistics section.)  Depending on the department, any one of the three sections of the GRE may be weighted more heavily than the others.

English Language Proficiency Test Scores
If your first language is not English, you must submit scores from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The scores will be a decisive factor during the application review process. The Graduate School only admits applicants who have one of the following minimum scores (some departments may require a higher score):

577 for paper-based TOEFL
90 for an Internet-based TOEFL
7.0 for the IELTS

How to Submit
An official copy must be sent to The Graduate School directly from the testing agency.

TOEFL: Ask Educational Testing Service to report scores to the Duke University Graduate School. Use institution code 5156. ETS will require you to select a department code. It does not matter which department code you choose. The Graduate School will receive the scores as long as you choose institution code 5156.

ETS only reports TOEFL scores for up to two years after the test date. If ETS refuses to report your score, you need to retake the TOEFL before submitting your application.

IELTS: The IELTS is administered by Cambridge ESOL, British Council, and IDP: IELTS Australia. See www.ielts.org for more information. Official IELTS scores must be mailed by the testing agency directly to the address on the Contact Admissions page.

Be sure to alert us if the name on your application is different from the name on your score report. You do not need to notify us about minor differences in spacing or hyphenation (such as "Juan Carlos" vs. "JuanCarlos" or "Jane Henry Doe" vs. "Jane Henry-Doe").

Score Requirements

Your score must not be more than two years old from August 1 of the application year. For example, if you submit your application between August 2017 and January 2018, your score report must be dated August 1, 2015, or later.
We do not accept personal copies, attested copies, or notarized copies of test scores.

Additional Language Requirements for International Students
All admitted international students whose first language is not English are required to take placement examsconducted by the English for International Students program at the beginning of the term of matriculation. Depending on the exam results, students are either exempted from or placed into EIS courses. All courses that a student places into are degree requirements.

GPA
You are required to provide an undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) in the Education section of your application. Duke does not have an absolute cut-off point for UGPA when considering applicants, but it may be useful to review the averages and ranges for grades of applicants admitted in recent years (see the Statistics section.)  While these numbers do vary from department to department, on a school-wide basis, the undergraduate grade point average is usually well above a B.

How to Submit
Enter your UGPA in the online application.

How to Calculate Your UGPA
Below are some important points to remember when calculating your UGPA.

The UGPA should include all undergraduate course work completed at the time of submission of the application.
If you attended more than one school, you must include the grades from all undergraduate schools in calculating your UGPA.
Do not include courses that were dropped or courses that did not award letter grades (e.g. satisfactory/unsatisfactory, pass/fail, credit only).
If you repeated a course, you must include both grades in your UGPA calculation.
Do not combine quarter credit hours with semester credit hours. Instead, convert quarter hours to semester hours. Generally 1 quarter hour = 0.67 semester hour.
Do not include graduate-level courses that you have completed unless they counted toward your undergraduate degree requirements. There is a separate place on the application for you to provide your graduate grade point average.
If you find it impossible to convert your GPA to the 4.0 system, in the online application, enter the GPA or average from your undergraduate transcript and indicate the grade scale used by your university.

Writing Samples
Some departments require writing samples from applicants. Check your department’s requirements.

How to Submit
If you need to submit a writing sample for your application, contact your department to determine whether the sample should be uploaded to the application, sent directly to the department, or emailed to the graduate admissions office. If the department instructs you to email the writing sample to the graduate admissions office, follow these instructions:

Include your name on the writing sample.
Eliminate unnecessary graphics.
Save all the pages of the writing sample as a single PDF attachment. Do not send Microsoft Word documents, JPEG files, Google docs, documents shared via Google drive, links to a drop box, or multiple PDF attachments.
Optimize the PDF in Adobe Acrobat by following these instructions:
Select PDF Optimizer under Advanced menu options.
On the PDF Optimizer screen, go to “Image Settings” and select “Compression:  JPEG”.
On the same screen, go to “Grayscale Images” and select “Quality: Low”.
Click OK.
Scan your document at the lowest DPI that produces a legible image (usually less than 200 DPI).
Make sure your file does not exceed 1.5 MB (1,500 kb) in size.
E-mail it to grad-admissions-center@duke.edu. Include your name and the words “Writing Sample” in the subject line of the e-mail.