Nathaniel Chaney
nathaniel.chaney@duke.eduCEE Director of Doctoral Studies, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PhD Admissions
Esteemed Faculty. Interdisciplinary Research.
When you join the thriving, interdisciplinary research community at Duke CEE, you gain access to unique opportunities in translational research.
Come to Duke and Durham, and get a PhD experience like no other.
Focused on Making a Better World
The Duke Civil Engineering & Environmental Engineering PhD program offers you opportunities to develop your research skills in close collaboration with our world-renowned experts.
Areas of Expertise
- Environmental Health Engineering
- Computational Mechanics & Scientific Computing
- Geomechanics & Geophysics for Energy and the Environment
- Risk & Resilient Systems
- Hydrology & Fluid Dynamics
Find Your People with CEESA
We like building things, of course — we’re engineers! And CEESA (CEE Student Association) is about building community.
From fun social events and new friendships to professional connections and student advocacy, CEESA brings Duke CEE students together and encourages professional growth.
For International Students
Students from more than 100 countries are part of the Duke community! Explore support services, find application info, and read the latest visa updates on the Pratt School of Engineering website.
Help With Your Application
Engineering Graduate Ambassadors are Duke students who help applicants navigate the PhD application process. Help includes 1:1 advising and exclusive webinars.
Benefits for CEE PhD Students
- Direct admission to a research group
- 100 percent financial support during the duration of your studies, plus national and international travel opportunities
- Dedicated career development support, such as our innovative PhD Plus program
- Representation in SAGE, our graduate student association
A Seriously Great Location
Our engineering campus adjoins one of the nation’s most esteemed academic medicine enterprises—Duke University Medical Center. We count many of its clinicians as partners in our research and education programs.
Research Triangle Park
Plus, we’re only miles from Research Triangle Park—the 7,000-acre home to nearly 400 science and technology firms, government agencies, academic institutions, startups and nonprofits. Learn more about RTP.
Major EPA, NIH and Forest Service Sites
Within RTP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency operates a 10-acre campus with over 2,000 employees working in 1.2 million square feet of laboratory, computing and office spaces.
Near that, you’ll find the HQ of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the USDA Forest Service’s Southern Research Station. The Duke campus is just minutes away.
No Undergraduate Engineering? No Problem.
We admit competitive applicants with academic backgrounds in areas other than civil or environmental engineering.
To help them be well-prepared for our graduate programs, these applicants may be required to take some undergraduate courses in engineering.
But don’t worry—some of these undergrad courses may be counted toward a Master of Science or PhD.
For more information, contact our director of graduate studies.
World-Class Engineering Research
As a Duke Civil Engineering & Environmental Engineering PhD student, you’ll have opportunities to develop your research skills in a uniquely interdisciplinary environment.
- Duke CEE faculty members are engaged in a wide range of efforts to improve the resilience of engineered structures, develop advanced computer models of complex natural phenomena and investigate approaches to predicting, monitoring and managing human impacts on air, water, land and global cycles–and environmental effects on human health.
- Our faculty engineering researchers work closely and collaboratively other Duke faculty in physics, chemistry, computer science and in the nearby Duke University Nicholas School of Environment. This breadth of expertise is reflected in all our research programs listed below.
PhD Contacts
