The Graduate School and Duke University specifically prohibit the following:

  • Lying: Knowing misrepresentations to gain illicit benefit or to cause harm to others. Examples include misrepresentation in applications for admissions or financial aid, lying during a formal inquiry by the University, and false accusations of misconduct by others.
  • Cheating: A dishonest or unfair action to advantage an individual’s academic work or research. Such dishonesty would include the falsification of data, representing someone else’s work as your own, and tampering with another person’s documents or research materials.
  • Theft: Misappropriation of property, services, credentials, or documents. Theft includes the misuse or willful damage of university property, equipment, services, funds, library materials, or electronic networks.
  • Harassment: The creation of a hostile, intimidating, disrespectful environment based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, in which verbal or physical conduct, because of its severity or persistence, is likely to interfere significantly with an individual’s work or education, or affect adversely an individual’s living conditions. Duke University is committed to protecting academic freedom for all members of the university community. This policy against harassment is, therefore, applied so as to protect the rights of all parties to a complaint. Academic freedom and freedom of expression include but are not limited to the expression of ideas, however controversial, in the classroom, residence hall, and, in keeping with different responsibilities, in workplaces elsewhere in the university community.
  • Sexual harassment: Coercion through speech or action for sexual purposes. Examples include verbal or written threats, unwanted sexual solicitation, stalking, and the use of a position of authority to intimidate or coerce others. Duke teaching personnel, employees, and graduate students are expected to report consensual sexual relationships between individuals in a supervisory or teaching relationship to their superiors. Examples of such supervisory/teaching relationships include: instructor and student; advisor and student; and supervisor and staff member.
  • Assault: An attack on another person resulting in either physical or psychological injury.
  • Possession of illicit drugs on university property or as part of any university activity: Students are prohibited to manufacture, sell, deliver, possess, or use a controlled substance without legal authorization. The North Carolina Controlled Substances Act defines a controlled substance as any drug, substance or immediate precursor, including but not limited to opiates, barbiturates, amphetamines, marijuana, and hallucinogens. Possession of drug paraphernalia is also prohibited under NC law and university policy. Drug paraphernalia includes all equipment, products and material of any kind that are used to facilitate, or intended or designed to facilitate, violations of the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act.
  • Refusal to comply with the directions of a university police officer: Students must comply with the lawful directions of the university police. In addition, interference with the proper operation of safety or security devices, including emergency telephones, door locks, fire alarms, smoke detectors or any other safety device is prohibited.
  • Trespassing: Students may not enter university property to which access is prohibited.
  • Possession of explosives, incendiary devices, or firearms on university property.