Undergraduate Education

Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate

The sequencing of the human and other genomes has enormously expanded our knowledge of living systems, with great potential for improving human health and exploring the human condition. However, widespread use of genomic information raises complex issues for society in areas as diverse as individual rights, genetic discrimination, the nature of humanity, intellectual property law, the meaning of normal variation, large-scale data storage and analysis, and national health and science policy.

The Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate includes a combination of course work and direct research experience designed to expose students to the genome sciences and their broad societal impacts. This interdisciplinary curriculum addresses the following goals:

To enable students from a broad range of disciplines to acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of the Genome Revolution and its growing impact on their distinct fields; and
To cultivate in students the interdisciplinary perspectives necessary to address current and future implications of genomics for health, science and society.

Students interested in pursuing the certificate must register for the program at the Office of the University Registrar in the Smith Warehouse located at 114 S. Buchanan Boulevard on East Campus. Interested students should contact the IGSP Education Office.

Program Director:
Huntington F. Willard, PhD

Program Administrator:
Jessica Crowley
IGSP Education Office
Duke University
2180 CIEMAS
Box 3382
Durham, NC 27708
P: 919-684-5256
F: 919-668-2465

Curriculum Requirements

The Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate will be available to all students at the undergraduate level. Students will be required to complete the following 5 courses and 2 research experiences. No more than three courses for the certificate may originate in any one department and only two courses can be used to satisfy the requirements for any major, minor, or other certificate.

GENOME core course (GENOME 48/BIO 48/PPS 48 or GENOME 148 when appropriate);
Three elective courses with at least one course chosen from the Genome Ethics/Law/Policy elective course list;
Research experiences (at least one of which is credit-bearing) consisting of either two semester-long independent study courses or one semester-long independent study course plus one approved summer research experience;
GENOME capstone course to be taken in the spring of senior year. See past GENOME capstone topics below:
- 2009: Genes, Genomes and Elite Athletic Performance
- 2010: Personal Genomics: Science and Policy
- 2011: Familial Searching of the U.S. Forensic DNA Databank
- 2012: Incorporating genomic technologies into health care; implications of noninvasive fetal genetic testing technologies, direct-to-consumer whole-exome and whole-genome sequence analysis; value of ethical, legal, and social implications research

University Requirements

Duke University requires the following of all certificate programs:

No more than three (3) courses used to satisfy the requirements of the certificate can originate in one department;
Four (4) of the courses used must be at the 100-level or above;
At least two (2) departments must be represented;
No more than two (2) courses used to satisfy the certificate can be used to fulfill the requirements for any major, minor or other certificate.