Incoming Exchange Students

• Term Dates |
• Expected Arrival Date  |
• Application, Visa & Registration Process |
• Learning Environment/Courses |
• Housing |
• General Environment  |
• Student Services  |
• Contact |

Term Dates for 2012/2013 Academic Year

Fall Semester 2012

• Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation for Term 1: August 30th*
• Fall 1: September 6 - October 20 (includes exam week)
• Fall Break: October 21-28
• Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation for Term 2: October 25th*
• Fall 2: October 29 - December 15 (includes exam week)
• Thanksgiving Holiday Break: November 21 - 23
• Winter Break: December 16 - January 16

* Dates subject to change.

Spring Semester 2013

• Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation for Term 3: January 9th*
• Spring 1: January 17 - March 2 (includes exam week)
• Spring Break: March 3 - 17
• Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation for Term 4: March 14th*
• Spring 2: March 18 - May 1 (includes exam week)

* Dates subject to change.

Expected Arrival Date

Students must attend the Mandatory Exchange Student Orientation and should make their travel plans accordingly. The orientation session is scheduled prior to the first day of classes to assist students with their acclimation process. All students are expected to be present for the first day of classes.

It is strongly recommended that students arrive prior to the exchange student orientation dates to begin their acclimation process. The International Programs Office is available to meet with students when they arrive, prior to orientation. 

The visa status (J-1) in which exchange students are sponsored by Duke will allow a 30-day grace period before the beginning of the exchange program (orientation date), and an additional 30-day grace period after the end of the exchange program (last day of exams).

Application, Visa and Registration Process

Application Process
Prospective exchange students from partner institutions apply for the exchange program with the coordinator of the home school and are nominated by their home institutions. There is no further selection process. After the selections are made, and Fuqua has been notified, students will be contacted in a timely manner by Candice Aldrich, welcoming them to the exchange program. Students are invited to contact Candice via email with questions and/or concerns. 

Visa Information
All exchange students coming to Duke University need a J-1 visiting student visa. Candice Aldrich will send visa information to all incoming exchange students once the students' Duke Account is created. The J-1 visa is the most appropriate visa for exchange students because it is designed for educational exchange. Fuqua always sponsors its students in this visa status, for it is the only student visa status that authorizes employment (for internships) after the exchange program.

Once the student's Duke Account is created, instructions and information will be emailed to students to begin their visa application. After the online visa forms and supporting documentation are received by Duke University, the Duke Visa Services Office will process the visa application and send the DS-2019 directly to each student. This process takes approximately 2 - 3 weeks from the time our office receives the completed application.

Students take the DS-2019 to the US Embassy or Consulate in their home country to apply for the actual visitor's visa.

It is extremely important that students follow ALL instructions on the online visa application forms and send all the necessary documents to Fuqua's International Programs Office in a timely manner to prevent delay. Due to immigration regulations and possible background checks, please apply for visas as early as possible.  Please keep in mind that there may be considerable delays at US Embassies and Consulates abroad.

Registration Process                                                                             
Exchange students studying at Fuqua for an entire semester (12 weeks/two 6-week terms) are expected to enroll in a minimum of 5 classes, but can take up to 6 classes without special permission from the Fuqua Registrar's office. Students studying at Fuqua for one term (6 weeks) are expected to take a minimum of 3 classes but can request an overload from the Fuqua Registrar's office to take 4 classes, if they choose. Each class accrues 27 contact hours, or in-class time. 

Students register for classes online in the same manner as other Fuqua students. Once course information is released by the Fuqua Registrar's office, instructions will be sent to each student for registering for courses. This process is done via a system called ACES Web. Confirmed exchange students, once entered into Duke's system, will receive a User ID name and password for accessing ACES Web as well as instructions and registration time tables. This information will be shipped by Candice Aldrich to the respective exchange coordinators once all the NetIDs are received for each student nominated from their school.

Course listings are available from the Fuqua website. Fall course schedules will typically be available by the beginning of July. Spring course schedules are typically available in mid-November. View current course listings.

Learning Environment/Courses

Fuqua maintains excellent facilities for graduate business education.

Academic Format: The academic year at Fuqua is divided into two 12-week semesters that are then each sub-divided into two 6-week terms; terms Fall 1 & Fall 2 make up the fall semester and terms Spring 3 & Spring 4 make up the spring semester. Courses meet twice a week for 2 hours, 15 minutes each (Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday). There are no classes on Wednesdays. Classes include approximately 35-70 students.

Curriculum: Exchange students participate in the regular second-year MBA curriculum and are allowed to enroll in ONLY elective courses. Students are expected to enroll in a minimum of five elective courses over two terms (or three courses in one term if only present for that period). A broad range of elective courses may be taken, such as: Accounting, Decision Sciences, Economics, Finance, Health Sector Management, Management, Marketing, Operations Management, Strategy and Sustainability.

All courses are taught in English: Due to the high level of classroom participation, group work, and interaction among students and faculty, exchange students must be proficient in written and spoken English. 

Attendance: The intense schedule makes it difficult to miss even one class. According to Fuqua's policy, students are not allowed to arrive after the start of classes. Therefore, punctual attendance is mandatory.

Grading: The final course grade may be based on case analyses, class participation, team projects, oral and written presentations, midterms and final papers or examinations. The format varies from course to course, but class participation is often a significant portion of the final grade. The exam period is during the last 3 days of each term.

Housing

While we have no on-campus housing facilities at Fuqua, Duke does make every effort to arrange housing for graduate students.

Please contact Linda Moiseenko at Duke University's Community Housing office, as she is in charge of assisting graduate students with their housing needs. Email communityhousing@duke.edu for on-campus housing inquiries.

Visit the Duke community housing website.

General Environment

The Fuqua School of Business offers one of the finest settings for management education in the United States. The building is on Duke University's beautiful campus and is located close to the cities of Durham and Raleigh and the town of Chapel Hill. Currently 40 percent of Fuqua's degree-seeking student body is international.   

Fuqua's Student Services

Exchange students are fully integrated into the Fuqua community:

• Orientation: There is a mandatory exchange student orientation for each term.
• Housing: We seek to provide our exchange students with as much information as possible to help them find convenient, furnished accommodations or coordinate apartment sharing where possible (see the Housing section above). 
• International House: Duke's International House offers a variety of programming for all international students and their spouses. 
• Exchange Mentorship Program: Exchange students will be paired with a current Fuqua mentor. The Mentors assist with any questions about life at Fuqua that incoming exchange students may have as well as organize activities for the group throughout the year. Previous activities include a Thanksgiving potluck and a Goodbye Brunch.
• Career Services: The Fuqua Career Management Center provides many services to exchange students including:
• A special information session during orientation with the CMC's International Career Advisor.
• Daily CMC walk-up hours ("open hours" where CMC counselors are available for consultation without an appointment).
• Career Fellow walk-up hours.
• Informational job search content on Career Compass, the Duke MBAs recruiting intranet.
• CMC group programming, such as workshops on career and job search topics.
• Career symposia and other club events.
• Access to the Fuqua alumni database.
• Computer Services: Exchange students have full access to the state-of-the-art Fuqua computer mediated learning environment, which includes email, full Internet access, online multi-level bulletin boards, and file transfer protocol.
• Ford Library: Fuqua has excellent library facilities with many online databases for extensive academic and career research.
• Social Activities: Exchange students are invited to participate in a wide range of student and school social activities, including clubs, Fuqua Friday events, social events, intramural sports, orientation meals and outings, etc.
• Lockers: Lockers are provided for students to store their personal belongings while at school.
• Dining: Food service is available at the Fox Student Center and the R. David Thomas Center.
• Parking: Exchange students may purchase a parking permit for their car from the Duke Parking Office. 
• DukeCard: Each exchange student will receive a photo ID card from the DukeCard Office. The DukeCard is used to open building doors when they are locked, access parking lots, and buy goods and services at Duke using a Flexible Spending Account (FLEX).
 

Contact Information

For incoming exchange information, please contact Ms. Candice Aldrich: