In addition to hands-on research work, the Duke University Summer Research Opportunity Program also features weekly meetings, social gatherings, and special events designed to assist students in their pursuit of a biomedical science career. Here is a look at some of these events.
Weekly Meetings
SROP students gather twice a week for meetings and discussions in which they are encouraged to ask our guest speakers plenty of questions. Past sessions have included:
- Faculty-led seminars introducing their ongoing research
- Q&A with directors of graduate studies and current graduate students in the various multidisciplinary, M.D./Ph.D., and departmental graduate programs at Duke
- Maintaining standards in the ethical conduct of research
- Tips for effective poster presentations
- Practices and critiques of short oral research presentations
Social Events
The Duke SROP program arranges a variety of social events throughout the summer, such as movie night, a visit to the Duke Lemur Center, a North Carolina-style barbecue, games nights, and an evening at a Durham Bulls minor-league baseball game.
Special Events
Programming for Duke SROP includes:
Orientation
SROP students get acquainted with Duke, discuss policies and goals, and meet their faculty and laboratory research mentors at a welcome luncheon.
Workshops on Graduate School and Beyond
Faculty and current students answer questions from SROP participants about the who, what, when, where, how, and why of applying and succeeding in graduate school.
Mock Interviews
SROP students learn and practice interview strategies and receive advice on how to improve their chances for admission.
Closing Oral Presentations and Poster Symposium
At the conclusion of the program, all the SROP students present their summer research, both in a formal oral format, and as posters at a campus-wide summer research symposium.