Advanced undergraduates may apply for early admission to the MEM program and thereby take MEM courses prior to receiving their undergraduate degree. This requires special approval by the MEM Program Director. Generally students will not be allowed to take more than 4 MEM courses prior to receiving their undergraduate degree and must be in their senior year to participate in this program. Separate tuition is charged for the MEM courses. 

Generally, the program accepts applications from students with undergraduate degrees in any scientific or technical field. However, to be eligible for some of the electives, non-engineering students may need to take additional prerequisites beyond the MEM requirements. Students can take longer than one year to complete the program. 

No, the MEM Program requires the GRE for all applicants. 

Duke's MEM Program does not have a minimum requirement for GRE scores or GPA, and admission depends on the strength of the applicant pool within any given year. Applicants often find it helpful to view the current class averages, and students with questions about their scores may submit preliminary information on their scores for feedback from the program.

Applicants with low scores often take the GRE a second time with the hopes of improving their scores and increasing their chances of being admitted. Undergraduates with low GPAs can work to increase their grades in their remaining semesters, and those who have graduated sometimes consider enrolling in another Master's program; doing well in other graduate work can show improvement in grades and that an applicant is adequately prepared for graduate study.

If any applicant is concerned about a weak area in their application, they are encouraged to include with the application an explanation of why they feel they are still a good candidate for the program.

The Master of Engineering Management degree has a participatory approach to education. We require all international applicants to submit official results from the TOEFL exam to ensure adequate ability to contribute to the classroom discussion.
Our policy is that international students have to take the TOEFL unless:

• they are from the United Kingdom, Australia, or other English-speaking countries;
• they have graduated with an undergraduate or graduate degree from a U.S. college or university; or
• they have been working in the U.S. for at least two years.

Official score reports are required for the GRE and TOEFL. Applicants must report their scores to Duke University using the institution code 5156, with no department code.  Applicants may request score reports on the day of testing or afterwards at http://www.ets.org/.

We encourage all applicants to submit an application online using our online application. Please send any supporting application materials to

Master of Engineering Management Program
Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University
3120 Fitzpatrick Center (CIEMAS), Box 90300
Durham, NC 27708-0300 USA

Phone: (919) 660-5455
Fax: (919) 660-5456

Yes, the MEM program accepts students in the spring, and though the majority of students enter in the fall, previous spring entrants have not had any problems integrating into the program. The program's primary career development activities are initiated in August at the beginning of the fall semester, but spring semester entrants will be given all of the materials and resources to begin their own career development activities and "catch up". They may also choose to focus on career development in the following fall when we begin a new cycle of activities. Similarly, orientation activities are somewhat abbreviated for spring entrants but all essential information is provided, and spring entrants may attend all orientation activities in the fall to catch up on any information they feel they may have missed.

Additionally, international students who enter in spring are required to be enrolled full-time for the spring semester and the following fall semester before becoming eligible to apply for off-campus work authorization. Additional information is available under our Internship FAQs.

The program is designed for students with five years or less of full-time work experience, including new graduates with no experience.  Generally, half of our students join the program directly after receiving their undergraduate degree, and half have returned to school after spending some time in the workforce.  The program provides a rewarding educational experience whether or not you have work experience.  For those without work experience, you have the opportunity to work on teams with individuals that have often faced some of the challenges that are being discussed in class.  These experienced classmates can share their own experiences and can help you understand that material better.  For those with work experience, it provides an opportunity to reflect on what you are learning and relate it to your previous experience.  A key question to ask yourself is "with this new understanding, how would I address the situation differently."  It also provides the opportunity to mentor some of the less experienced students. Mentoring allows you to work on developing your skills to lead and manage other technical professionals.