Driving Innovation to Enhance the Undergraduate Experience

Duke’s faculty and schools continually reevaluate their undergraduate programming, looking for innovative ways to meet students’ evolving interests and needs. They reimagine education strategies to create team-based courses and programs, draw on new technologies and build robust learning communities.

The Undergraduate Program Enhancement Fund (UPEF) empowers faculty to experiment with pedagogical innovations, keeping Duke’s educational experience at the leading edge. Through this internal funding source managed by the Office of the Provost, undergraduate schools can apply for grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. 

Here are just a few examples of recent programs that schools piloted with UPEF support.

First-Year Computing for Engineers

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Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering is known for its Signature First-Year Experience, in which students jump right into hands-on projects as they build key skills. First-Year Computing is an integral part of this curriculum.

“We have been thinking about how to redesign our first-year computing course,” said Lisa Huettel, Pratt’s associate dean of undergraduate education, “and we launched a pilot this past fall and spring. One major shift is away from focusing on specific syntax to teaching more broadly about computational thinking through a project and teamwork.”

The new course “teaches first-year students in all the majors in Pratt how to use computing as a tool to solve engineering problems and how to do that collaboratively,” said Genevieve Lipp, director of First-Year Computing. “For me, the heart of computational thinking is observing how you, as a human, solve a problem and look for opportunities for a computer to help and then formulate the problem in a way that it can be computed on.

“I think it is really important to have context when you’re working on a problem,” Lipp continued. “And I also think it’s a lot more motivating to learn engineering skills in context. So we have scoped problems that have real-world roots and implications, such as modeling the deorbit of the International Space Station or using data from a sleep study to diagnose a patient.”

Learn more about the new course and watch the video.

History+

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Last year, the inaugural History+ program became a new member of Duke’s “plus” suite of collaborative summer research experiences. Since Data+ launched in 2015, students of all levels have worked on research projects alongside other teams on campus during the summer.

In History+, small teams of undergraduates engage in historical research projects with community partners. In the program’s inaugural year, projects included Gentrification in Durham, LatinX History and Conservatism, Duke and the Evolution of Higher Education, and Bennett Place: North Carolina Lives and Legacies.

“One thing we learned is that there is a hunger, among students and among the world at large, for public-facing historical work,” said James Chappel, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of History. “Many Duke students love history. They loved getting their hands dirty in the archives for weeks at a time, and they loved the opportunity to geek out in group games about historical trivia. The work they did will have an impact. Our students worked on oral histories, museum exhibits, and archival guides: their work will actually be used in the years to come.”

For example, students created an archive of material that the Museum of Durham History drew from for an exhibit on the history of gentrification and housing inequality in the Bull City. They helped craft a narrative touching on race, gender, environmental justice and law, after digging through decades of internal and public records on housing, education, religious and political entities, and organizations.

History+ continued in Summer 2025. See the teams’ final presentations and a slideshow.

Climate Scholars

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The Duke Marine Lab Scholars Program provided the model for the Nicholas School of the Environment’s new Climate Scholars Program. Through coursework, faculty-mentored research, community engagement and professional development, Climate Scholars are equipped to become future leaders who will address the climate crisis.

“UPEF was extremely helpful in getting this program off the ground,” said Meagan Dunphy-Daly, the Nicholas School’s associate dean of experiential education and undergraduate research.

Fifteen students from eight majors have taken part in the first two cohorts. They’ve carried out independent research with mentorship from faculty at the Nicholas School, the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Law School and the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

In biweekly meetings throughout the year, scholars discussed their projects, participated in learning sessions and attended faculty and student research talks. They also attended and presented their research at conferences, including the American Geophysical Union Conference, the Geological Society of America Conference, and the American Meteorological Society Conference.

In the program’s second year, a new student-led initiative called the Climate Connections Mentorship Program paired newer students with more advanced undergraduates. Scholars gained further opportunities for networking, professional development and exposure to career pathways in climate science and policy.

One student from the initial cohort completed a research project through an internship with NASA, where she is continuing to work now that she has graduated. 

Read about the program and see students in the first and second cohorts.

Sanford Pathways 

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Many students arrive at Duke not having heard of public policy as an academic or professional pathway, especially when most high schools don’t offer courses in this area. That’s where the Sanford Pathways Program comes in.

“We were trying to create more touchpoints about what the major means and what you can do with it,” said Christina Gibson-Davis, Sanford’s associate dean for academic programs.

The new program provides experiential opportunities for students to explore public policy as a potential major or double major, or just delve into their policy interests, through a short-term immersion trip to Washington, D.C.

“Participating in the inaugural Sanford Pathways Program was an enriching experience beyond measure,” said Annika Aristimuno, now a senior. “It was not just a weekend trip to D.C.; it immersed us in the dynamic world of public policy, revealing countless ways to make a real impact… I’m confident that there are opportunities to pursue my passions and effect meaningful change.” 

“Students and alumni really got a lot out of this intensive multiday experience,” Gibson-Davis said. “Students get to interact with policy in the real world, and alumni get to inspire our students with their own impressive experiences making a difference through policy.” A typical three-day program includes expert and alumni engagement, site visits and discussions.

The Sanford School spent the past year creating a flexible model that allows rapid development of impactful immersion trips. In partnership with the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, 18 students took part in the December 2024 “Policy Spotlight” program. In April 2025, 40 students were involved in the “Leading with Purpose” program.

Drawing on the new model, the Sanford School is considering a pilot cohort that focuses on North Carolina state government programming with an immersion trip to Raleigh.

Read more from Annika Aristimuno ’26.

Main image: Meagan Dunphy-Daly (left) with Climate Scholars, Brian McAdoo (second from right) and Erin Voigt (right)