Undergraduates Have Until March 1 to Enroll in Duke Immerse Fall Programs

Civil discourse and democracy. Sustainability and ocean-based solutions.

These two Duke Immerse programs for this fall offer undergraduates highly specialized opportunities to study these topics.

But the deadline to apply is fast approaching. Students need to submit an application by March 1 to be considered for these faculty-driven, semester-long teaching and learning laboratories. (Click here to apply.)

Duke Immerse is designed to shift the discourse of education from knowledge acquisition to knowledge construction and as a way to raise the level of intellectual engagement of undergraduates and faculty.

Programs are intended to more closely connect student learning with faculty academic interests, especially issues that faculty are actively engaging in their research.
Each program includes the integration of a field experience of seven-10 days at U.S. or international sites during the semester.

Programs also take advantage of resources at Duke and in Durham.

Since Duke Immerse launched in 2012, the program has offered 10 programs 34 times across 18 semesters involving 35 instructors and 300 students.

“Participation in a Duke Immerse program is a unique opportunity to dig deep into some of our society’s and the world’s most pressing problems and questions,” said Candis Watts Smith, vice provost for undergraduate education professor of political science. “It is a chance for students to get a better sense of their own time and place; gain exposure to a wider variety of ways of knowing and being; and connect theory and practice in an applied context.

“I am appreciative of students who embark on the intellectual adventure of Duke Immerse, and I am immensely grateful for the time, care, and pedagogical ingenuity our faculty leaders put into developing these incomparable learning environments.”

For fall 2024, the Duke Immerse office is accepting student applications for the following programs:

Civil Discourse and Democracy
This program includes a field experience in London and Oxford, England, to investigate the history and origin of discourse practices and provide a comparative study between the U.S. and other countries.

Sustainability: Ocean-Based Solutions
This program, based at the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, examines cutting-edge approaches to sustainable energy and food production with a comparative study of U.S. measures and those being implemented in Northern Europe such as mussel farms and wind farms. Students and faculty will travel to France, Belgium, and Denmark.

The program has plans to offer courses far beyond next fall, said Susan Pratt, Duke Immerse program director.

“It has been a highlight of my career at Duke to work with highly dedicated faculty across diverse disciplines to help design inventive experiential opportunities for Duke undergraduates,” she said. “I look forward to further collaborations to create these innovative and highly engaging Immerse programs for future semesters.”