“My time at Duke truly changed who I am and who I still want to become professionally and personally. The culture at Duke fostered the sharing of ideas, critical discussions, and collaboration among students and faculty across a wide range of interests. I think it’s rare to find (if not unique to Duke) to have a large group of people with entirely different methodological and theoretical backgrounds enthusiastically discuss a common topic. At Duke that happened every week. What I loved about the Duke faculty was that they always entertained new ideas no matter where they came from; even if, and especially when, they were challenging to their own work. But I did not only learn from them. I learned equally much from my fellow Ph.D. students who became my friends and family and with whom I still work with and learn from today.”
Kristin Diehl
“While every student expect a top PhD program to provide solid training and help them get a job, the time I spent in the PhD program at Duke was much more than that. It was a period of intense learning, but also a great deal of fun. If I look at my life ten years later, many of my closest collaborators and friends were faculty and fellow students in the program.”
Gal Zauberman
Associate Professor of Marketing
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
“With two Duke degrees and a husband who played basketball here, Duke has had a major influence on me, especially the Ph.D. When I think of the Duke marketing faculty, I think “Dream Team.” Each faculty person is engaged and among the best in their field, and I loved learning from them. Their passion for ideas and commitment to mentorship challenged me to think about big research questions and contributions, helping me define myself as a scholar.”
Lisa Cavanaugh
University of Southern California
“When I joined the Fuqua doctoral program in 1983, I had only a vague idea of what academic research was about and what topics I might be interested in. In other words, I needed to construct my preferences, and the Duke doctoral program was a wonderful place to do that. Students were encouraged to explore and experiment, which allowed each student to find his/her niche of interest. I spent many hours discussing possible research ideas with Jim Bettman, John Payne, Joel Huber, and other faculty, and through that process was able to construct a preference for Behavorial Decision Theory. The dedication of the Fuqua faculty to the doctoral program was, and as far as I can tell, still is, second to none.”
Itamar Simonson
Stanford Graduate School of Business
“The faculty members at the Marketing Department are always supportive, kind and, more importantly, treat students as colleagues. I have become more confident due to such a nurturing and friendly environment. Every single student’s intellectual potential can be fully explored owing to the rigorous training and constant mentorship one gets from Duke.”
Song Yao
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University
“My two favorite parts about Duke were the faculty and my fellow students. The faculty allowed me to express myself freely both on a personal and intellectual level—they truly supported me with any interest I had or any situation I was facing. My fellow students were my best friends, best colleagues, and best critics; and they continue to be so to this day. A lot of people think back to grad school and shudder.; In my case, I think back to five years of uninterrupted good times. Think Animal House meets Revenge of the Nerds.”
Jonathan Levav
Class of 1967
Associate Professor of Business
Columbia Business School