PhD Student Outcomes

Launch into a High-Impact Career

Whether the compass guiding sense of purpose points toward a startup, or a career in academic research or industry, from Duke CEE you’ll launch into a career that means something to you—and to the world.

A person stands before the skyline of New York City

Meet Our PhD Students

Our students have the freedom to focus making impacts on the topics most important to them. Click to hear their stories.

Kim Bourne is a CEE PhD student working with Mark Borsuk to model the interactions between society and the environment. Kim Bourne
Kim Bourne: Modeling Interactions Between Society & the Environment
Trisha Dupnock is a CEE PhD student working in the lab of Marc Deshusses, on a project focusing on converting waste to energy. Trisha Dupnock
TRISHA DUPNOCK: Converting Waste to Energy
Clay Sanders is a CEE PhD candidate who works with Wilkins Aquino to optimize the shapes of structures and materials. Clay Sanders
CLAY SANDERS: Optimizing Structures & Materials
Josin Tom is a CEE PhD student who works with Andrew Bragg to model turbulent flows. Josin Tom
JOSIN TOM: Modeling Turbulent Flows

Success in Numbers

Our PhD graduates go on to make important contributions across a range of opportunities.

More Data
44%

go on to careers in industry, government and nonprofits

with leading organizations such as Boston Consulting Group, Geosyntec, HDR, Sandia National Lab, USDA, USEPA and Veoli

31%

go on to positions in academia

at places such as Bucknell, Ohio State, Portland State, Texas Tech, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Washington State

16%

go on to further training

including post-doctoral fellowships

Meet Duke CEE Alumni

More alumni stories
2006 CEE alumni Clare Hawthorne, Will Senner, Ashleigh Hales, and Serdar Selamet.
7/2 Alumni Engagement

Four Alumni, Four Paths: Lessons After 20 Years

Four Duke CEE alumni from the Class of 2006 reunite to swap unforgettable undergrad memories, share wildly different career paths, and offer practical advice for future students.

Alexandra Rivera
6/12 Alumni Engagement

From CEE Student to CTO

Alexandra Rivera (BS ’23) shares how the mentors she found and the research she did during undergrad led her to become CTO of a Duke spinoff company.

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