Graduate students come to Duke Sociology for a variety of reasons. Some want to work with specific professors or in specific areas of Duke's strength. Some come because of the generous financial awards our department offers-full support for five or more years, with summer funding typically available to those who want or need it. Others find that our graduate student community is close-knit and informal, providing a collegial and supportive environment for our studies. We invite-at our expense-each accepted applicant to come visit with us over a weekend during the spring, before his or her final decision is made, to learn more about our department. You can meet with professors of your choosing and can hang out with graduate students during the evening. Many students find that this visit is the decisive factor in their decision.

Naturally, graduate student life involves a lot of studying and fretting. But given that all of our students are funded, academic life here is not cutthroat-graduate students are not competing over the same limited sources of funding. First year students are assigned office space together, to allow them to get to know one another and to provide the help that everyone wants-or needs!-at some point. Each cohort begins their graduate life in a first-year seminar in which the areas of concentration available in the department and the professional norms required to survive in academia are outlined. A weekly colloquium provides opportunities to learn from some of the best minds Sociology has to offer, both inside and outside the department.

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