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Pursuing Purpose is designed to help students forge purposeful paths, at Duke and beyond. The program combines coursework and work experience to move students towards clarity not only about what matters to them and why—but what to do with that information.

The Pursuing Purpose Summer Fellowship offers a curricular bridge to direct work experience over the summer. Each year, currently sophomores and juniors apply to take Pursuit of Purpose (Ethics 253S, EI, SS, S), a one-credit interdisciplinary seminar designed to hone students’ personal sense of purpose, situate that ethos in the contemporary world of work, and provide practical steps for moving forward. By semester’s end, each fellow has a funded internship placement for the summer, during which they will continue to reflect on questions raised in the course. Students design and participate in a Purpose Symposium upon returning to campus in the fall.

The Fellowship includes a total of $5,000 to support reflection during the summer and integration of those insights the following fall. 

The program focuses on moments of transition. Students who are interested in exploring a curricular pivot or a kind of work they have not yet had an opportunity to try are encouraged to apply.

This spring, the Pursuit of Purpose seminar will be offered Thursdays from 10:05AM-12:45PM. To secure a space in the course and a summer fellowship, click the link to apply by October 27, 2023 for priority consideration. Once applications are reviewed, we’ll contact you to schedule an interview. Decisions will be made on completed applications by November 2, 2022; rolling admission thereafter as space allows.

For more information about the Pursuing Purpose, contact Christian Ferney.

Apply by October 27 for priority consideration.