News

2026 Ph.D. Hooding Ceremonies: Photos and Videos

On May 9, 2025, The Graduate School held two Ph.D. Hooding Ceremonies at Duke Chapel to celebrate its 2025–⁠2026 doctoral graduates. Duke's largest Ph.D. class ever, 466 students completed their programs this academic year, a total more than the first two decades of The Graduate School combined.

In total, 344 Ph.D. graduates participated in this year's ceremonies, with over 1,400 guests, staff, and faculty in attendance and more than 3,400 viewers watching online via the ceremony live streams.

During the afternoon hooding ceremony for Ph.D. graduates in the biomedical sciences, physical sciences, and engineering, The Graduate School honored Stacey Adam (Ph.D. '07, Pharmacology) as the 2026 recipient of the school's Distinguished Alumni Award.

PHOTOS

View the online photo gallery for individual hooding photos and candid shots from before, during, and after each ceremony. You can download your desired images by right-clicking and saving. Special thanks to our friends at HuthPhoto for the photography.

Note for Duke communicators: If you need to include a photo credit, please use “Photo Credit: HuthPhoto” and tag @HuthPhoto on social media.

EVENT RECORDINGS

Both ceremonies were livestreamed and recorded. Over 3,400 tuned in to watch.

PH.D. CEREMONY FOR Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Physics

PH.D. CEREMONY FOR BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES, PHYSICAL SCIENCES, AND ENGINEERING

2025–⁠2026 Dissertations

A total of 466 doctoral degrees were awarded in the 2025–⁠2026 academic year, issued in either September, December, or May. View the full list of Ph.D. dissertations, departments, and advisors for 2025–2026 graduates.

Congratulations, again, to all our graduates!

Special Thanks

Each year, the hooding ceremonies are organized as a collaborative effort amongst the members of Graduate Student Affairs. The Graduate School would like to thank Michael Croal for his leadership in planning this year's events, and to all members of GSA for their hours of work in organizing the celebration, including Maria Parker, Leo Biggs, Melissa Bostrom, and Hugh Crumley.