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After an Unprecedented Semester, Nearly 6,000 to Receive Degrees This Weekend

On campus commencement ceremony will be held at a later date

While Duke University has delayed its formal commencement ceremony this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, it will still produce nearly 6,000 new graduates this month.

More than 1,800 undergraduate students will receive their bachelor’s degrees, and more than 4,000 have completed master’s and doctoral work as well.

Among the undergraduates completing their coursework are 26 students from 14 US states who represent the first graduating class of Rubenstein Scholars. Created in 2016, the Rubenstein Scholars program offers merit scholarships to first-generation, low-income students that cover the full cost of a Duke education.

While the traditional in-person commencement ceremony has been postponed, graduating students can celebrate via a new interactive digital experience where hundreds of people contributed words of congratulations, advice and encouragement to graduates. Marking the Moment: Duke 2020 debuts May 10.

“We are so proud to have such an extraordinary group of students who are joining the ranks of Duke alumni. They have already made a positive difference on our campus and in their communities, and they stand ready to pursue careers of leadership, purpose, and passion,” said Duke President Vincent Price. “While we’ll have to wait until next year to celebrate them with the Commencement they deserve on the Duke campus, Marking the Moment will serve as a fitting acknowledgment of our pride in their many accomplishments.”

Marking the Moment logo

Degrees to be conferred:

Duke will award degrees to about 1,885 undergraduates and 4,023 graduate and professional students who finished their course work in September or December 2019 or this spring.

Among undergraduates receiving their degrees, 315 are from North Carolina.

The estimated degree breakdowns for the graduates are as follows:

Undergraduate degrees:

  • Trinity College of Arts & Sciences -- B.A. 749; B.S. 718.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- B.S.E. 285.
  • Nursing -- B.S.N. 133.

Graduate and professional degrees:

  • Duke Divinity School -- M.Div. 92; Th.M. 12; M.T.S. 29; M.A.C.P. 18; Th.D. 9; D.Min. 21.
  • Fuqua School of Business -- MBA 655; MSQM 252; M.M.S. -- 141.
  • Graduate School -- M.A. 244; M.S. 394; M.F.A. 14; M.A.T. 20; Ph.D. 408.
  • School of Law -- J.D. 218; LL.M. 152; S.J.D. 4.
  • Nicholas School of the Environment -- M.E.M. 164; M.F. 7.
  • Pratt School of Engineering -- M.Eng.M. 168; M.Eng. 71.
  • Sanford School of Public Policy -- M.I.D.P. 37; M.P.P. 67.
  • School of Medicine -- M.D. 117; M.H.S. 100; M.H.S.-R 60; D.P.T. 78; MBS 27; MMCI 37; MSBS 47.
  • School of Nursing -- M.S.N. 183; D.N.P. 97.
  • Duke Kunshan University -- M.S. 18; MEP 17; MMS 43.