Incoming & First-Year Students

All Trinity undergraduates will complete a first-year experience as part of either Constellations or FOCUS. 

What are Constellations?
Constellations are year-long, multidisciplinary first-year experiences designed to build communities among first-year students. They comprise interconnected courses that explore a topic from multiple perspectives and feature small-group learning. Each Constellation will also offer at least one experiential component per semester.

Once matched to a Constellation, students will take three courses from their Constellation throughout their first year: one in the fall semester, one in the spring semester, and their writing course (Writing 120CN) either semester.

What is FOCUS?
The Focus Program (FOCUS) is an exciting opportunity for first-semester Duke students to be exposed to ideas from the vantage point of different disciplines across the Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities. We offer 19 multidisciplinary clusters that nurture your intellectual curiosity and sense of academic adventure. Each cluster provides a range of interrelated seminars and features a community element while fulfilling your Duke curriculum requirements.

Students enroll in two courses in their fall semester and a first-year writing course (Writing 120) in the spring semester. Additionally, FOCUS features a residential community element.

WRITING 120: All students must take Writing 120 in their first year.

FOCUS Students: Most students in FOCUS will register for Writing 120 in their spring semester, except those in the Focus cluster that includes WR120. 

Constellation Students: Every Constellation has its own integrated sections of Writing 120CN and you can only register for sections within your matched Constellation. Those who are not assigned to WRITING 120CN for fall will register for their Constellation's W120CN in the spring.

1. Your first year can be for exploring.
Aside from the First-Year requirement of FOCUS or Constellations, including Writing 120, you are free to take any courses that interest you.

2. What about you thinking about for the language requirement?
While you are not required to begin courses for the language requirement in your first year, it makes sense to start if you can, especially if you are interested in studying abroad.

3. Are you considering a health profession post-graduation?
You can learn more about these requirements on the health professions advising website.

4. Think about balance in your schedule.
Generally, a mix of larger and smaller classes is a good idea. It is also important to take courses from different academic disciplines, or what we call liberal arts categories.

5. Don’t forget to leave time between classes.
Be sure you have enough time to get from one class to the next. Need to catch a bus? Grab some coffee? What about lunch?

7. Consider how your classes are spread across each day and throughout the week.
You may prefer to have your classes concentrated on a few days each week or to spread them out more evenly.

Be sure to look at introductory courses, or 100 or 200 level elective courses as these are a good way to explore departments and subjects. Use Advanced Search in DukeHub to look at classes by general academic area, like the natural sciences, arts and humanities, and social sciences. You can also search for fall courses in the course catalog and schedule of classes.

For an overview of the course registration process, and information on how to register, refer to the Registrar's Registration Guides.

When do I really register for classes?
First-year students register Monday, November 10, at 7:00 AM ET. 

What is drop/add?
This is the time that follows the registration windows, after everyone has had a chance to register, when all students can add and drop classes and make schedule changes. You can learn about the policy here and you can learn about the drop/add dates on the Registrar's Registration page.

What does “validate a schedule” mean?
It means that DukeHub will check your proposed schedule for missing prerequisites (for courses with enforced prerequisites) and time conflicts. If validation is successful, it means that you are eligible to enroll in those courses if they are open. Learn how to validate a schedule here.

I’m validating my schedule but can’t seem to enroll. What’s wrong?
You can validate your schedule on any day, but you can’t actually enroll until the registration date. Be mindful of enforced prerequisites or time conflicts between classes. If there's a course that requires certain AP credit and you don't have that credit listed in your record, you won't be able to enroll in the class (you can find your AP credit listed under DukeHub, Academics, Test Scores). Refer to these Registration Guides for help figuring out what the issue might be.

What is a waitlist?
If there's a waitlist for a class you want, you can add yourself to the waitlist,  but you should be cautious because if you're on a waitlist, that class doesn't count as an enrolled class so you won't be enrolled in a full course load. 

How do I enroll in classes that have multiple parts (discussion, lecture, lab) like Chemistry?
Many classes have a required discussion or lab component as part of the lecture. For most of these courses, you will register for a discussion section, and will then automatically be enrolled in the lecture. If there is a required lab component, you'll also have to register for that separately. You can see what the required components for any class are by looking at the Class Detail page, from Class Search.

Does Duke have a language requirement?
Yes. You must complete three courses in a single language sequence; or two courses at the 300-level (or higher); or one course at the 300-level (or higher) and two courses in another sequence. This page outlines the languages taught at Duke.

Can I use my AP (IPC, PMC) credits to satisfy the language requirement?
No, but you can use them as a guide to place into an appropriate level for your language study.

How do I know if a course counts toward the language requirement? 
You will see an LG as a curriculum code on the Class Detail page on DukeHub.

How do I figure out my placement in a language? 
Go to the Trinity languages page, and click on the department of the language you are interested in and then look over their placement guidelines. You can also Google, Duke (name of language) placement. Do your best to choose a course based on the departmental placement recommendations, and then talk with the instructor the first day to make sure the course is a good fit for you.

Should I take a language course in my first semester? 
It's a good idea to begin your language requirement early, especially if you're planning to study away or develop a high level of language facility. If you can enroll for the course you place into based on the department's placement recommendations, it's a good idea to start in the fall. If the appropriate level class is full, you can postpone until spring, but you can also check the class later, before classes begin, to see if it opens up. Many language departments offer most options in fall and spring, but some less common languages only begin in fall, so check with the departments to see when classes are offered. You can find contact information for the language departments here.

What do AP, IPC and PMC credits count for?
Please review the AP / IPC / PMC page to learn more about the different kinds of credit and how they work. You can also refer to the Blue Book, in the "Learning at Duke" section. AP credits cannot be used to satisfy any curriculum code requirements but can be used for placement into higher level classes, and to meet co-requisite requirements for some majors (math, economics, computer science, and others). AP placement is most important in STEM majors as most humanities and social science courses don't have pre-requisite requirements. A Trinity student can subtract a total of two AP/ IPC/ PMC credits from the 34 needed for graduation, so students with at least two credits will only need to complete 32 credits to graduate in four years, taking four classes a semester, which is a full time load. You don't select which AP credits to use, just submit all your scores to Duke via the College Board. Students may also use additional AP credits later if they want to graduate early. You can see how your scores will equal Duke credit on this chart.

Should I send all my AP scores to Duke? 
Yes, send all your scores. To receive credit for your AP exams, you need to request that the College Board  sends your scores directly to the Office of the Registrar at Duke.

I took Calculus BC and do not have my AP scores back yet. Will I be able to see them before I have to register for classes?
Probably yes. AP scores are usually sent by the College Board to the Duke Registrar’s office the first week of July, and credits will be posted on the Academics tab of DukeHub, under Test Scores.

How will I know that my AP scores have been received?
Check your Test Scores under the Academics tab on DukeHub.

Other students have their AP scores, but mine are not showing up. What should I do?
Check with the College Board to see if they have been sent. If the College Board says they’ve sent your scores, then check with the Office of the University Registrar (registrar@duke.edu, 919-684-2813) to see if they’ve been received, but wait until after the first week of July to give the Registrar's office time to process them.

I had my AP scores listed on my Duke application, so the Duke Admissions Office should have them. Is this sufficient?
No. All AP scores must be sent from the College Board directly to the Registrar’s office.

I am just now having AP scores sent, and registration is tomorrow. Based on my scores, I should place into CompSci 201 and Math 202. Can I enroll in CompSci 201 and Math 202, or do I have to wait for my AP scores to be received and posted?
You can enroll in courses that don’t have an enforced prerequisite, but not those with an enforced prerequisite. (MATH 202 has an enforced prerequisite; COMPSCI 201 prerequisite is not enforced so you can enroll without AP scores.) Refer to the individual department's placement guidelines for more information. Look on the class details page, under the Enrollment Requirements section, to see if there is an enforced prerequisite. Unenforced prerequisites are listed under the Description section of the class details page.

Can AP scores be used to fulfill curriculum requirements like QC, HI, and NW?
No, AP credits don’t fulfill curriculum requirements.

I took Calculus AB my junior year and will have credit for Math 21. Do I have to take more calculus at Duke? 
Only if you choose a major that requires higher-level calculus courses. Majors that require additional math include biophysics, computer science, chemistry, economics, math, neuroscience, physics, psychology (BS degree) and statistics. Biology majors usually take an additional semester of calculus or statistics.

I have AP credit for MATH 21 and MATH 22, but I was thinking of enrolling in one of these again as a refresher. Will DukeHub let me do that? 
Yes. If you have AP credit for MATH 21, you can still enroll in MATH 111L. However, you will lose the AP credit as this is considered repeating a course. (See the Math's Department's placement information.)

I scored a 5 on the AP Chemistry exam, so I can go into CHEM 201DL (organic chemistry). How hard is organic chemistry? 
It requires excellent study habits and good memorization skills. Enroll according to your placement and re-evaluate when you come to Duke by checking the textbook and syllabus and talking with the instructor. You can postpone chemistry until spring semester if you wish. Refer to the Chemistry Department's placement guide for more information.

I have a 3 on the AP Chemistry exam, but I’d like to enroll in CHEM 110DL. I have lots of research experience in chemistry. I think I just had a bad day on the AP exam. Is this OK?
Maybe. Read the chemistry website for placement information. Also, check with the director of undergraduate studies in chemistry (dus@chem.duke.edu), and/or enroll as you think you should and then evaluate more fully when you arrive on campus in August.