I understand Duke is world-renowned for its research, specifically in biology and medicine, however how does it fare in research opportunities for undergraduate? How plentiful are physics research opportunities? What are some especially notable ones? I understand Duke has a special program with CERN, may someone please elaborate on it, such as how difficult it is to be accepted, and so on?
There aren’t too many physics majors at Duke so the students who do pursue physics get unparalleled access to Duke’s faculty members. The CERN program provides for a stipend, a housing allowance and airfare. It is probably not too difficult to be accepted if you are a physics major with a reasonably high GPA and a strong interest in particle physics.
@NerdyChica I understand Duke isn’t a traditional powerhouse for Physics, relative to institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, and so forth; however, why isn’t the physics undergraduate program growing in notoriety, especially when Duke has a special opportunity to get undergrads into CERN,what is somewhat the equivalent of a Google internship for a Computer Science major?
Duke is currently building a new $100 million, 85,000-square-foot facility for physics and engineering (not scheduled to open until 2018). It’s not that Duke physics isn’t well-respected; it’s simply that it’s a fairly small department and thus the aggregate research output isn’t as voluminous as other institutions. However, it is still ranked #29 in grad school rankings according to USN&WR (tied with Brown and Georgia Tech). I would think that with the new investment on facilities, Duke may look to expand its size and scope within the department. Currently, facilities are a bit lacking/old, which may be the limiting factor rather than the professors/students. I do know of two physics majors who greatly enjoyed the close-knit community feel of the major and did some great research – one of whom did research at CERN after graduating as well and is now getting his PhD at Penn.
^ Duke’s graduate program should look to break into the top 20 by 2020. The school already attracts the brightest minds in medicine, engineering and the social sciences. This new development should ensure that the quality of the physics program improves dramatically (Duke’s math department is already truly world class).