Duke University
Tracing its origins to a rural schoolhouse called Union Institute in 1838, Duke University has evolved into one of the world’s leading institutions for education, research, and medical care. In 1859, Union Institute changed its name to Trinity College and affiliated with the Methodist Church. With financial assistance from Washington Duke and a donation of land by Julian S. Carr, Trinity College moved in 1892 to Durham, North Carolina, where in 1924 it became known as Duke University. It was through James B. Duke’s indenture creating the family philanthropic foundation, The Duke Endowment, as a memorial to Washington Duke, that Duke University has grown to become one of the nation’s leading institutions in a variety of fields including engineering.
The Edmund T. Pratt School of Engineering traces its origins back to 1851 when the catalog for the Normal College advertised a Classical course, which included surveying, architecture and engineering. Today, Pratt’s faculty of 165 offers Biomedical, Civil and Environmental, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical Engineering, to over 1,000 undergraduate and 350 graduate students.
Duke University became a PLTW Affiliate in 2003.
College Credit For Summer Training
Teachers interested in receiving graduate college credit for courses in the PLTW program may apply to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. To qualify, teachers must successfully complete the two-week Duke PLTW Summer Training Institute, pass the RIT graduate PLTW course exam and meet RIT requirements. In addition, Duke is offering 7.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to teachers who successfully complete the two-week Duke PLTW Summer Training Institute.
College Credit For High School Students
Duke University will honor transcripts from other National Affiliates, as appropriate (decided in a manner consistent with existing administrative and faculty review procedures), for students who have completed PLTW Program courses in a PLTW-certified school, have a “B” average in PLTW courses, have received a 70% or higher on the PLTW college credit exam, and who have registered at Duke. Duke will work with the national College Board to establish Advanced Placement credit for PLTW courses taught in North Carolina. Until AP credit is established, Duke will work with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to establish Honors status of PLTW courses in N.C.
Affiliate Director
Nancy Shaw
Duke University
Director, NC Project Lead The Way
Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
129 Hudson Hall
Box 90291
Durham, NC 27708
Phone: (919) 660-5576
Cell: (919) 622-5379
Fax: (919) 660-5293
Email: nshaw@ee.duke.edu