Life At Duke : The First-Year Experience : First-Year Learning

[First-Year Requirements & Opportunities]  [Research Culture]  [Academic Advising]

Research Culture

Your opportunities to engage in the processes of inquiry and discovery begin in your very first year. As a top research university, Duke provides you with the resources to support original scholarship and the creation of new knowledge.

In fact, Duke’s support for undergraduate research begins as soon as you arrive on campus. No matter what your field of interest happens to be, university faculty members and administrators are available to help you find the resources you’ll need.

For more information about research opportunities click here.

Duke University Libraries
First-year students have full access to the exceptional research services and collections of Duke University Libraries,  including the William R. Perkins library and its seven branches, as well as the libraries of the schools of business, divinity, law, and medicine.  Duke has a premier collection of more than 500 research databases, providing access to the scholarly journal literature in every subject, as well as government documents, images, DVDs, rare books, manuscripts, digital collections, and print materials in excess of 5 million volumes. The library’s rapidly growing collection of electronic resources is accessible from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Duke students also enjoy borrowing privileges at three other large research libraries in the Triangle area.

Students at Duke can get expert help with their research questions by IM, e-mail, phone, or by visiting the library.  One-on-one research consultations are also popular and are available by appointment with one of our many professional subject librarians. The libraries offer computers, wireless access, Ethernet ports, and laptops for checkout. Perkins Library, with its new Bostock addition, provides group study rooms, spacious and attractive reading rooms, and a café situated in a beautiful glass-enclosed pavilion.

Two library branches are located on East Campus, Lilly Library and the Music Library & Media Center.  

Librarians in the House is a program for first-year students that includes late evening visits by librarians to the residence halls to help students with research projects.  Each Focus program is also assigned a librarian who assists students with library resources and research guides, participates in the weekly IDCs, and holds office hours in the residence halls.