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Breadcrumb

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Doctoral Degrees

Joe Morton, 1st year PhD student i

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Academics

Doctoral Degrees

Doctoral students at the Nicholas School work alongside world-renowned faculty to earn degrees with a variety of programs; some of which are solely within the Nicholas School, and others that are interdepartmental within Duke.
PhD student conducting research

Earth & Climate Sciences (ECS)

The Earth & Climate Sciences program offers PhD degrees in three broad research areas: biogeosciences, oceans and climate, and earth resources.
Student collecting samples in marsh

Environment (ENV)

The Environment program is distinctive in its interdisciplinary approach to research related to natural resources and the environment.
A PhD student and her advisor labeling coral samples

Marine Science & Conservation (MSC)

The Marine Science & Conservation program ensures that students receive training in the field while being exposed to interdisciplinary knowledge.
Students researching Sooty Terns at Dry Tortugas National Park

University Program in Ecology (UPE)

The University Program in Ecology serves as a home for those studying at any of Duke's ecology research programs. Many students are advised by Nicholas School faculty.
group of UPEP students

University Program in Environmental Policy (UPEP)

Duke's University Program in Environmental Policy is a research program combining disciplinary specialization in economics or political science with environmental policy.
Durham, NC
Toxicology PhD student conducts research

University Program in Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health (ITEHP)

Duke’s University Program in Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health prepares students for research careers in environmental health and toxicology.
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Leading the Charge

You’ll find Nicholas School alums pursuing their passion and making positive impacts worldwide. Our programs give them the foundational knowledge and practical skills to become leaders and innovators in a wide array of fields and sectors.

Kristi Burkholder
Kristin Burkholder
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science
Stonehill College
Earth & Climate Sciences (ECS)

PhD'11

Lucas Joppa
Lucas Joppa
Chief Environment Officer
Microsoft
University Program in Ecology (UPE)

PhD'09

Krithi Karanth
Krithi Karanth
Associate Conservation Scientist, Adj Assistant Professor, Executive Director
Wildlife Conservation Society, Duke, Centre for Wildlife Studies
Environment (ENV)

PhD '08

Jagdish Krishnaswamy
Senior Fellow and Convenor
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
Environment (ENV)

MS'93 statistics, PhD'99 soils and hydrologic science

MMascia.jpg
Michael Mascia
Senior Vice President, Moore Center for Science
Conservation International
Environment (ENV)

PhD '00, Environmental Politics & Policy

Trevor Nace
Trevor Nace
Geologist/Entrepreneur
Founder of Science Trends
Earth & Climate Sciences (ECS)

PhD'12

Jaime Palter
Assistant Professor of Oceanography
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island

PhD'07

 

#WomenInSTEM: Danica-Schaffer Smith, Ph.D.

Danica Schaffer-Smith, a postdoctoral research associate at the Nicholas School, talks about being a woman working in STEM, her early inspirations to pursue environmental science and encouraging today's young women.

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Research@Nicholas: Environmental Contaminants

 

Duke Environment researcher Heather Stapleton studies the health risks from exposure to chemicals in products.

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Research@Nicholas: Global Environmental Health

 

Duke Environment researcher Randy Kramer studies global environmental health.

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Research@Nicholas: Coal Ash & Fracking Impacts

 

Duke Environment researcher Avner Vengosh studies the environmental and human impacts linked to coal ash and fracking wastewater.

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Research@Nicholas: Marine Fisheries

 

Martin Smith, George M. Woodwell Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics, discusses how Nicholas School research takes us from discoveries to solutions on some of the most pressing issues facing our oceans today.

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Research@Nicholas: Marine Microbiology

 

Zackary Johnson, Arthur P. Kaupe Associate Professor of Molecular Biology in Marine Science, discusses how Nicholas School research takes us from discoveries to solutions on some of the most pressing issues facing our oceans today.

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Exposure to Fracking Chemicals and Wastewater Spurs Fat Cells

The tiniest of organisms could prove a huge resource as a sustainable source of food and fuel for Earth’s growing population. Duke Marine Lab’s Zackary Johnson leads the Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC)

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PhD Student Explores Environmental Racism in Southern U.S.

PhD student Danielle Purifoy discusses her journey across the South with Brooklyn-based artist Torkwase Dyson to document the environmental legacy of racism in historic black communities in N.C. and Alabama. Their work, “In Conditions of Fresh Water,” is on exhibit at the Center for Documentary Studies through June 3, 2017. More information at https://documentarystudies.duke.edu/.

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Duke Marine Lab: Using Bamboo Poles to Build Stingray Exclusion Cages

 

PhD student Stacy Zhang and lab technician Carmen Hoyt spent the summer building stingray exclusion cages and control treatments in the local seagrass beds of Core Banks. The cages are made of bamboo cut locally in Chapel Hill as opposed to PVC piping in order to be more environmentally friendly. For a full cage treatment, a bamboo pole is placed every 25 centimeters in a hole created using a Pacer pump. In the end, there will be 42 study sites of various treatments, and the study will run for a year.

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Seaver Wang Recalls NASA Research Cruise

Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment Ph.D. student Seaver Wang sailed on the Sea to Space Particle Investigation cruise, a joint project between NASA and the Schmidt Ocean Institute. During the month-long voyage of the north Pacific Ocean, Wang operated a scientific instrument that measured phytoplankton breathing.

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