appprocedures

Program II: Helpful Hints Regarding the Application Process

Several years ago, one of our Program II students, Ann P. Wooster, was kind enough to develop some helpful hints regarding the Program II application process for prospective applicants. She hoped that her suggestions would help future applicants to better understand what they needed to do to prepare a successful application.

Beginning the Application Process

To apply to Program II you must be a freshman, a sophomore, or first-semester junior. But before you start, read about Program II on this website and attend an Information Session. These are scheduled twice per semester.

Begin formalizing a proposal by making a list of your goals and areas of academic interest. Once you’ve formulated a theme for your Program II , you can refer to the Bulletin of Undergraduate Instruction and the Schedule of Courses on ACES to select courses that correspond to your interests. The courses may be from various departments or programs.

Finding an Advisor

As someone interested in applying for Program II, you may have already consulted with or sought advice from one or more members of the faculty. If so, perhaps one of these persons is willing to serve as your advisor. Presumably your advisor will be drawn from a list of professors teaching courses related to or having intellectual interests similar to your own.

Your advisor should be knowledgeable in your areas of interest and enthusiastic about your program. Ask your advisor to help you define and refine your theme and to critique your personal statement. Dean Keul, Program II Committee members, and students in the program may offer further suggestions.

The Breadth Requirement

Program II is not a creative way to avoid college requirements for graduation. Breadth is expected in Program I; your proposed curriculum must also demonstrate breadth. Courses that contribute to breadth may be core courses and/or elective courses.

The Application Itself

Your application has six parts:

First is the coversheet and abstract of your proposal.

Second is your list of core courses. These are the courses (equivalent to a major) that you are proposing to take to develop and explore in depth the topic of your Program II.

Third is the check sheet, where you list semester-by-semester the courses you have already taken and plan to take in the future. It will include all of your core courses. It should also specify how you will satisfy the requirement for breadth comparable with that of Program I.

Fourth is the personal statement. This is your chance to communicate your educational goals and justify the selection of courses you propose to take in fulfilling these goals. The essay should demonstrate how these courses drawn from various departments are integrated into a cohesive program. It’s not generally helpful to the Program II Committee to list courses with Bulletin descriptions. Instead, present the basis on which you’ve selected each core course or group of core courses. Your essay should be four to five typed pages in length.

Fifth is a letter of support from your advisor. Of course you cannot dictate what your advisor will write, but it will be to your advantage to see that your advisor knows your program well enough to discuss and support it strongly. Be sure to complete your application early enough to allow your advisor ample time to read it and write a strong letter of support.

Sixth is a letter of support from the Director of Undergraduate Studies in your advisor's department. This should be the last step. The DUS needs to see your completed application if s/he is to be able to comment on its feasability and equivalency to a major in Program I.

Other Hints

Take advantage of all the resources available to you. For instance, you might elect to study abroad as part of your program. If a study abroad experience is to be an integral part of your program, you’ll need to include and discuss the study abroad courses that you intend to include among your core courses.

You may also want to make use of the Inter-Institutional Agreement that allows Duke students to take courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University and North Carolina State University. Such arrangements should be made through Dean Keul’s office.