Project Arts (pArts) introduces students to the art communities at Duke and in Durham, while creating an inclusive social support network through a common passion and appreciation for the arts. Students are welcomed into crews of fellow first-years and upperclassmen within the program, providing immediate support and connections. This experience will immerse students into one of the following creative arts: dance, music, theater, visual arts, visual media, and creative writing. Throughout the week, students will work collaboratively and expand their artistic knowledge and skills through daily workshops that will end with a final showcase celebration. Students will also connect with both the Downtown Durham art scene through gallery visits and the local landscape through a trip to the Eno River. Project Arts also includes various activities and events to aid students with their transition to Duke as a whole.

Project Band aims to prepare participants for a successful performance season with the Duke Marching Band and for collegiate and life success as they integrate into a diverse, vibrant, and supportive community. Throughout orientation week and beyond, our leaders and members will provide crucial and practical resources to all participants. We will work together to gel into an exciting performing organization as participants bond with their peers and explore Duke and Durham. If you are interested or have questions, please email marchingband@duke.edu. Prior marching band experience is not required.

Project BUILD (Building Undergraduate Involvement in the Life of Durham) is an introduction to life at Duke and in Durham through participating in community service and decades-long BUILD traditions. BUILD creates a family through small group “crews” of upperclassmen and first-year students, late-night bonding, and outings in and around Durham. BUILD partners with service sites such as the Duke Lemur Center, TROSA, and Durham Central Park multiple times throughout the week.

Co-sponsored with the Sanford School of Public Policy, Project Citizen invites students to explore what it means to be informed, active, and compassionate citizens within the Duke, local, national, and global communities. Through conversations centered on constructive dialogue, finding common ground, and understanding different avenues for change, students will reflect on the question: “What does it mean to be a model citizen?” With programming in Durham and two days in our nation's capital (including time at the Duke in D.C. office), participants will engage with students, alumni, and community members while learning from policy practitioners. Most importantly, Project Citizen is about building relationships, exchanging ideas, and forming life-long friendships as incoming first-years begin their journeys as students and changemakers at Duke.

*This project will spend one (1) night off campus during Orientation Week.

Want to get to know your new home? Want to explore and experience some of the most fun things around Duke and Durham? What about sampling Durham’s incredible food scene and scaling Duke’s iconic Chapel, or snuggling baby goats and hanging out at the lake with your new friends? Then this experience is for you! You will go on daily excursions around Duke and the Durham area as you discover and enjoy the best-kept secrets, activities, and adventures on our campus and throughout Durham.

Interested in relaxing outside and getting your hands a little dirty? Want to get to know your classmates swimming at Falls Lake, walking around the Durham Farmer’s market, and hiking Mount Occoneechee? P-Earth will introduce you to Duke, Durham, and especially the sustainability scene at our amazing school. We love upcycled crafts, thrifting, hidden gems in Durham, and a competitive game. Come join the P-Earth family!

Project Edge (pEdge) is a fun and passionate community that welcomes students of all interests and backgrounds. Look at problems through new eyes, explore the many entrepreneurial resources on campus and in Durham, and meet a diverse array of people led by upper-class mentors and staff from Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship who will serve as resources during your Duke career. Throughout the week, you will meet entrepreneurs, experiment with innovative thinking, brainstorm new ideas, pitch to like-minded fellows, and more. Come join our community of creative thinkers and driven problem solvers.

Project Farm to Table builds community through a tool that brings people together like no other: food! This project will encourage students to ask where their food comes from, which parts of the food system they interact with, and how they can be in better relation to the world around them. Through activities at the Duke Campus Farm, learning about Duke Dining, and exploring Durham and its food scene, students will develop a stronger sense of their role in the ways we cultivate, access, value, and think about food. Topics range widely and include beginner cooking skills, local catering and dining, and spending time outside. This project will mainly take place in downtown Durham and around the Duke campus. Above all, Project Farm to Table will help students feel a sense of ease as they transition into Duke by helping first-year students cultivate community. 

Project Global is an invitation for first-year students to foster their own definition of global citizenship through interactions with their peers and with Duke and Durham communities. Students of all backgrounds are invited to explore how their personal and academic experiences at Duke and beyond will intersect with global issues and themes. Students will learn how to engage with the broader world with a spirit of curiosity, compassion, and a desire to learn as they explore other cultures through food, art, activism, academia, and other immersive programming. Project Global is excited to build a deeper understanding of our participants’ cultures and their lived experiences to continue celebrating and engaging with the complexities of our interconnected world!

Project Habitat is a program designed to introduce students to Duke and the Durham community through service and exploration. Participants will partner with Habitat for Humanity to build a home, engage in conversation with community members and leaders, and explore the food and fun of Durham and its surrounding areas. This program is designed to foster meaningful and lasting relationships between incoming students, Duke, and the Durham community. And while meaningful matters, so does laughter, so we don’t take ourselves too seriously along the way.

Project Herd welcomes anyone from moderate animal-likers to full animal-lovers. Join the Herd and build community through excursions downtown, spending time in the Duke Gardens, and animal-related activities, including visits to the Duke Lemur Center and Carolina Tiger Rescue. Connect with nature and have fun exploring Duke’s campus and Durham while befriending some baby goats along the way!

Our identities influence how we experience the world, yet we rarely take the time to explore our lived experiences meaningfully with ourselves and other people. This project invites you to explore the intersections of your identity while learning about the cultures and histories of those around you. Through storytelling, creative expression, immersive tours, and food, we will deepen our understanding of ourselves and the communities we are part of. These conversations aim to help you build connections through empathy, strength, joy, and dialogue at Duke, in Durham, and beyond.

Are you ready to discover what it truly means to lead as a Blue Devil? Project Lead is a hands-on orientation experience that pushes you to explore leadership beyond titles and résumés. Throughout the week, you’ll dive into meaningful conversations, team challenges, and immersive activities that show how authentic leadership comes to life at Duke. Through partnerships with student organizations, leadership development programs, and campus partners, you’ll learn how to turn your values into action. By the end of the week, you won’t just feel connected to Duke culture — you’ll be ready to take initiative, build community, and leave your mark in your own way.

This Project also includes a few meet ups in the fall semester to continue exploring your strengths, values, and leadership styles.

*This project will spend one (1) night off campus.

Project Media is a community that encourages students to tell stories through film, photography, journalism, and more. Throughout the week, we’ll explore all of the wonderful media opportunities that Duke and Durham have to offer and get hands-on practice in professional workshops! Then, students will work together to create their own mini media projects. Come with us as we learn about the diverse ways you can tell a story and create memories with friends that will last you a lifetime!

Join the team in Duke Rec and PE & Athletics as you explore your wellness, teamwork, and a bit of the athletic culture at Duke. Project Play hopes to create a community in which you’ll find your fit in Duke Rec’s resources and programming. Through group activities, field trips, competitions, facility tours, and more, this immersive track will give you the opportunity to move, use your brain, create lasting relationships, and build healthy habits for your time at Duke.

Project Preseason introduces Fall and Winter sport student-athletes early to campus. Being a student-athlete at Duke means life quickly takes off with the drive and excitement of a title season in front of you. Next thing you know, it is your second semester, and you haven't taken a step off the line from your sport to explore what Duke is and can be beyond the Athletic Department. This July, we'll learn about Duke, engage with Durham, and begin to absorb Duke's broad academic and dynamic social culture in a way you may not have thought was possible. Please note: Project Preseason is only for varsity athletes and occurs during July.

The purpose of Project Research is to open eyes to not only the breadth of investigative avenues at Duke but also the multifaceted ways in which research itself is conducted. Throughout O-Week, we plan to explore the intersections of research both on campus and in North Carolina’s broader Research Triangle. Our week is built around introducing students to research, guiding students through the process of answering big questions, and building relationships with diverse peers and faculty. This includes activities like traveling to downtown Durham, visiting Duke Libraries’ archives, touring Duke’s medical campus, hearing from faculty in the sciences and humanities, and more! We hope to show that research can be a medium through which one broadens their passions and embarks on new avenues of discovery. Curiosity and open-mindedness; those are the principles of research that our project strives to pass on to its members.

Pre-health? Pratt Star? Science lover? Then Project S.E.E.D. (Science and Engineering Exploration at Duke) is the place for you! Designed to introduce and welcome students to the world of STEM at Duke and beyond, Project S.E.E.D. offers an immersive, hands-on experience across a variety of scientific fields. From exploring Duke Med’s anatomy labs to collaborating in Pratt’s engineering workshops, participants engage in interactive activities, design challenges, and team-based problem solving while connecting with faculty and peers. And when we’re not in a lab, we’re out at Jordan Lake, grabbing dinners in Durham, or watching movies at Mocktail Night to make Project S.E.E.D just as fun as it is enriching.

Taking place at both the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC, and Falls Lake, Project Waves is a welcoming, high-energy environment where first-years will find a community they can depend on throughout their Duke careers. While exploring a world-class marine research facility on the beautiful NC coast, as well as camping out at the lake, Waves participants engage in a variety of water activities, including swimming and kayaking. Students should have basic recreational swimming abilities (adequate to swim a short time and distance). In a phone-free and outdoor environment, Project Waves emphasizes community building and the opportunity for self-discovery.

*This project will spend five (5) nights off campus. Participants will not stay in their residence hall during Orientation Week.  

^This project is phone free: participants will not have access to cell phones. Orientation Leaders and/or professional staff have access to phones in case of an emergency!  

Join us for an exciting Orientation Week program centered on your overall wellness! By the end of the week, you’ll walk away with a refreshed understanding of what wellness looks like, and practical tools to support your wellbeing long after orientation ends. Through a variety of engaging activities, you’ll explore the many dimensions of wellness that contribute to a fulfilling experience at Duke, including emotional, social, creative, and environmental wellness. From yoga and painting events at the Wellness Center to nature outings, trips to downtown Durham, and plenty of fun, this program is designed to help you recharge, connect, and find balance. We hope you leave feeling energized, supported, and ready to take on your Duke journey with confidence.

PWILD’s mission is to welcome new-to-Duke students and create a community through a shared love and respect for the outdoors. By participating in WILD, students will have the opportunity to day hike, swim, climb, and camp under the stars in the Pisgah National Forest of North Carolina for four nights. Those looking for a bigger challenge can choose to take a multi-day backpacking trip in the area surrounding basecamp. Students will be introduced to the Duke community and resources through upper-class mentors. Come learn about yourself and others by unplugging from technology, sleeping under tarps, making your own food, sharing stories, creating new memories, and reveling in nature with the PWILD community.

*This project will spend four (4) nights off campus. Participants will not stay in their residence hall during Orientation Week.

^This project is phone free: participants will not have access to cell phones. Orientation Leaders and/or professional staff have access to phones in case of an emergency!