Duke Embark: A Coastal Start to Your Duke Education

your duke journey starts here

Duke Embark offers incoming students the opportunity to start their at the ��Ĵ�ý Marine Lab in the fall, then transition to the Durham campus in the spring.

The Duke Marine Lab, in Beaufort, North Carolina, is home to a welcoming, curiosity-driven academic community. It is an ideal place to “get your feet wet,” both in the field and in the habits of inquiry that shape Duke’s .

In Beaufort, coastal environments become both subject and setting, with marshes, estuaries and coastal communities serving as extensions of the classroom. Known for interdisciplinary, experiential education, the Marine Lab environment also facilitates easy interaction with peers and professors alike.

Duke Embark students will be part of the broader Duke community from the beginning of their academic journey. Like all first-year students, Embark students will be connected to a West Campus quad, and assigned housing in an East Campus residence hall for the spring semester. Campus connections will be cultivated throughout the fall, including planned weekend visits to Durham. During these visits, students will become familiar with campus life and build relationships with peers on Duke’s main campus.

��Ĵ�ýs ride on a boat near coastal marshes at the ��Ĵ�ý Marine Lab, looking out across the water during a field experience on a sunny day. Several students wearing Duke apparel stand along the railing as the boat moves through the estuary.

Curriculum Highlights

A Marine Lab-designed curriculum grounded in interdisciplinary and experiential learning that fulfills Trinity College requirements
Integrated classroom, field and laboratory experiences across natural and social sciences
First semester exposure to research, including through a fall travel opportunity
Small class settings for foundational electives, including chemistry and molecular biology
Additional electives in biology, earth and climate sciences, environmental sciences, and marine science and conservation
Dedicated academic advising tailored to Embark students

How Do We Know the Ocean?

Centered on the question “How do we know the ocean?,” Embark’s core curriculum integrates interdisciplinary understanding of the ocean and its importance to environmental and human well-being with how that knowledge is generated, interpreted and applied.

This combination is well-suited to the Marine Lab environment, where students move easily between classroom learning and field-based research, and between knowledge acquisition and practicing methods of knowledge generation. In exploring the question “How do we know the ocean?,” the curriculum invites students to reflect on the relationship between what we know and how we know it.

Embark students will take two core courses in the fall at the Marine Lab – informed by natural and social sciences – and a related course on Duke’s main campus in the spring.

How to Enroll

Duke Embark is open to fall 2027 incoming Trinity College of Arts & Sciences students from all academic interests and backgrounds.

��Ĵ�ýs interested in spending their first semester at the Marine Lab will be able to indicate that interest when applying to Duke, in the Common Application supplement. ��Ĵ�ýs can then express preference for Embark once they are admitted to Duke.

Duke Embark fulfills the requirements of a Trinity College First-Year Experience. Because the number of participants is limited, applications and acceptances will occur in advance of other First-Year Experience programs.

Additional details regarding timelines, selection and enrollment commitments will be updated on this page as they become available.

Learn More

Additional details about Duke Embark will be shared throughout the summer and fall of 2026, including via informational webinars with Embark program leaders.

��Ĵ�ýs interested in the program should check this page periodically during the 2026–2027 Duke admissions cycle for updates. Stay connected by following us on , , and .

Explore more by taking an in-person or of the Marine Lab campus.

Contact duml-embark@duke.edu with any questions.

An Unforgettable Duke Experience

Experience hands-on learning, engaged faculty, small classes, low faculty-to-student ratios and the camaraderie of a close-knit island community.

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