Concurrent Master’s Degree in Another Discipline en route to the Ph.D.

Students actively enrolled in a Ph.D. program within The Graduate School (TGS) of Duke University can pursue one master’s degree en route to the Ph.D. without being charged for an additional 30 units of graduate credit. This is limited to master’s degrees conferred by TGS, and may be in either the same department (or discipline) as the Ph.D., or in a different department, as long as that department offers an en route TGS master's degree and has approved the awarding of it concurrently. All students who wish to receive an en route master’s degree must pass a master’s milestone examination in the department in which they intend to receive a master’s degree. Students who wish to pursue a master’s degree in a different department from their Ph.D. must be approved for admission to the concurrent master’s degree by the Director of Graduate Studies of that department, and the academic dean of TGS. 

Note that Ph.D. students who wish to receive a second master's degree en route to the Ph.D. will be charged tuition for the additional 30 course credits required. For those interested in pursuing a concurrent master’s in another department (or discipline) en route to the Ph.D., such degrees will only be awarded after their final doctoral term, concurrently with the Ph.D. A student who does not complete the Ph.D., but wishes to receive the concurrent master’s in another department nonetheless, will be charged full tuition for the master’s degree. 

There is a two-part application process.

Concurrent Master’s Application, Part 1:

1. After successful completion of the preliminary examination, but prior to the start of the student's final Ph.D. term, students download and complete Part 1 of the Graduate School’s Intent to Pursue a Concurrent Master’s Degree in Another Discipline en route to Ph.D. Form.
2. Part 1 includes a rationale for the intellectual relationship between the two programs and two letters of recommendation from Duke faculty, one from each department, supporting the relationship between the doctoral and master’s program for which the applicant is applying.
3. The completed Part 1 form, with the required approval signatures and all supporting documentation, must be submitted to The Graduate School (gradacademics@duke.edu) for review by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
4. Students will receive notification of the review outcome from The Graduate School, and, if approved, the application of intent will be saved in the official student record for final appraisal when students submit Part 2 of the application in their graduating semester.

Concurrent Master’s Application, Part 2:

1. In the semester in which students expect to graduate from the Ph.D. program, they download and complete Part 2 of the Graduate School’s Intent to Pursue a Concurrent Master’s Degree in Another Discipline en route to Ph.D. Form.
2. A copy of a transcript highlighting the courses to be counted towards the master’s that equal to 30 credits must accompany the form.
3. The completed form, with the required approval signatures and all supporting documentation, must be submitted to The Graduate School (gradacademics@duke.edu) for final review at least 30 days before the graduation deadline dates.
4. After students receive email notification of final approval, they must submit in DukeHub separate applications to graduate from their respective Ph.D. and master’s programs.