Independent Study

Authentic research with a faculty mentor is a signature—and immensely popular—part of undergraduate ECE education at Duke.

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A Rewarding Educational Experience

About a third of ECE majors take at least one independent study course. All find it to be a highly rewarding experience.

Independent study courses allow sophomores, juniors and seniors to work 1:1 with a faculty member on a project or topic of mutual interest. Courses are arranged individually at the instigation of the student or faculty member.

Each completed Independent Study course counts toward the 34 courses required to earn Duke’s Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

Get Ready for Independent Study

Most students who undertake Independent Study do so in their senior year, but qualified students can undertake Independent Study in their sophomore year or later.

To be well prepared for independent study, you’re encouraged to complete foundational courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics and engineering as early as possible in your Duke career.

Important Notes
  • Independent Study courses may not be used in place of most required courses
  • Students may take Independent Study courses as free electives
  • Up to two Independent Study courses may be used as an ECE Elective and/or ECE Extension Elective

Capstone Research Presentation

All students taking ECE independent study courses (along with Pratt Research Fellows in the department and candidates for Graduation with ECE Departmental Distinction) present their research results at a poster session.

During these sessions, student researchers answer questions from faculty and fellow students. 

Poster sessions are held twice a year, typically during the latter part of the fall and spring semesters.

ECE faculty award prizes to the top three presentations—typically $100 for First Place, $75 for Second Place, and $50 for Third Place.

Related Opportunities

Graduation with Departmental Distinction

Independent study is a central element of this prestigious honor

Pratt Research Fellows

Conduct authentic research with a faculty member over three semesters and a summer

Poster Session Prize Winners

    • Nicholas Steinly and Allen Zhang, “3D Locomotion” (Advisor: Tyler Bletsch) – 1st place
    • Aarzu Gupta, “Radiology Biomarker Discovery” (Advisor: Kyle Lafata) – 2nd place (tie)
    • Ryan Chen, “Augmented Reality App Development for Misophonia” (Advisor: Maria Gorlatova) –     2nd place (tie)
    • Xushu (Andy) Wang, “Deep Learning Ultrasound Imaging” (Advisor: Leslie Collins) –   3rd place
    • Erin Liu, “EPP in Experiment” (Advisor: Ken Brown) – 1st place
    • Naomi Patel, “Hardware Development for Quantum Computing” (Advisor: Crystal Noel) – 2nd place
    • Anthony Fernando, “Ultrasound Microfluidic Driver” (Advisor: Jim Morizio) – 3rd place (tie)
    • Ritvik Janamsetty, “IoT-Based Dynamic Augmented Reality Maker” (Advisor: Maria Gorlatova) – 3rd place (tie)
    • Quinn Edwards, “Robotic drivetrain development” (Advisor: Tyler Bletsch) – 1st place (tie)
    • Megan Richards, “Deep time series modeling” (Advisor: Ricardo Henao) – 1st place (tie)
    • Alex Xu, “Impact of the Environment on Eye Tracking Efficacy in Headset Augmented Reality” (Advisor: Maria Gorlatova) – 1st place (tie)
    • Simon Gorbaty, “Developing a Fabrication Methodology for MoS_2 Nanodevices On Kapton Substrate” (Advisor: Aaron Franklin) – 1st place (tie)
    • Megan Richards, “Development of a Maternal Early Warning System with Machine Learning” (Advisor: Ricardo Henao) – 1st place (tie)
    • Guangyu Feng, “Bionic Robust Memristor-based Artificial Nociception System for Robotics” (Advisor: Hai Li) – 1st place (tie)

Undergraduate Contacts

Rabih Younes Profile Photo
Rabih Younes Profile Photo

Rabih Younes

Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of ECE