PhD German Studies (Carolina-Duke German Program) at Duke University

Programme overview

The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies is a fully merged programme of Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with joint admissions and a single diploma bearing both names. Admission is highly competitive, limited to about five students a year, with six years of full funding including tuition.

Faculty: The Graduate School | Department: Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies | Intake: Fall | Study mode: full-time | Location: Durham, NC, United States

What you will study

Full-time coursework in the first year; in later years students gain teaching experience at both Duke (private) and UNC Chapel Hill (public).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Application deadline: December 10 for full consideration (Fall entry). Applicants apply through the University of North Carolina Graduate School's electronic application, a single process for the joint programme. No GRE required. Non-native speakers of English take the TOEFL or IELTS. Statement of purpose of about 650 to 2,000 words with a brief description (20 keywords or fewer) of research interests and goals. Writing sample of about 7,000 to 8,000 words in English or German (native language encouraged), typically a humanities essay with an interpretive argument supported by literary texts or other cultural media.

Graduate School Ph.D. programmes list application deadlines for students beginning graduate study in fall 2027.

The Occupational Therapy Doctorate starts in August for applicants admitted in both the fall and spring rounds.

Fall 2027 Ph.D. deadlines (11:59 p.m. Eastern): most programmes 12/01/2026 including Biochemistry, Biology, Biostatistics, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Classical Studies, Immunology and Physics; Computer Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Policy, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Religion and Statistical Science 12/15/2026; English 12/08/2026; Economics 01/06/2027; Earth and Climate Sciences and Music 01/07/2027; Nursing 11/19/2026; Business Administration 12/14/2026; Political Science and Sociology 12/17/2026; Romance Studies 12/30/2026. Computational Media, Arts and Cultures and Public Policy Studies are not accepting applications for 2027 enrollment.

Occupational Therapy Doctorate 2026-27 application deadlines: Fall round Thursday, October 8, 2026; Spring round Tuesday, January 12, 2027 (applications through OTCAS). Fall applicants are notified the first week of December 2026 and spring applicants the first week of March 2027.

Apply through the official page: https://gradschool.duke.edu/admissions/

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