Students now have two more certificates to choose from-Islamic Studies and Modeling Biological Systems-following the Arts and Sciences Council approval of the two programs at its meeting last Thursday.
Both certificates will require an introductory course, several electives and a capstone class. Some research and study abroad requirements are also included in their curricula.
The Islamic Studies certificate will entail courses in departments such as religion, literature and cultural anthropology, said Bruce Lawrence, professor of religion and director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center.
Students will also be required to study abroad in a predominantly Muslim country and take two years of an "appropriate" language, such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish or Urdu, he added.
"Part of [DISC's] mission was to provide opportunities for undergraduates that are now available," Lawrence said. "[The certificate] will highlight courses and give students a hands-on opportunity to go abroad... and experience the Muslim world more than they do now."
Lawrence said the creation of an Islamic Studies certificate at the University has been a long time coming. He added that the need for an Islamic Studies program is greater now, given the events of Sept. 11 and the United States' increasing involvement in the Muslim world.
"Many Duke supporters think that if things are going to get better, it's going to be in your generation, not ours," he said. "If not Duke, where; if not now, when?"
Freshman Steven Schmulenson said Sept. 11 illustrated the need to study the Muslim world.
He said that prior to the creation of the Islamic Studies certificate, Duke had been "lacking" in Islamic studies. He also noted that the University already has an African and African American Studies program and a Latin American Studies certificate. "What's exciting about this certificate is that it's brand new," Schmulenson said. "It's great that Duke is taking the initiative and going forward with it."
The Modeling Biological Systems certificate will emphasize undergraduate research and include classes from the biology, mathematics and computer science departments and the Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences.
Planned research projects include gene expression in plant root systems, the yeast cell cycle and metabolic pathways, said John Harer, director of the Center for Computational Science, Engineering and Medicine and professor of mathematics.
Harer added that research will emphasize "vertical integration"-undergraduates, graduate students and professors working together and sharing expertise.
"[The certificate] brings together new kinds of modeling problems that biology presents together with the need to bring together mathematics, computer science and statistics," he said.
Harer said the field of computational biology is growing, and firms, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, are increasingly applying computational approaches to biological modeling problems.
"The fact that there are so many graduate programs in computational biology will make this program stronger," Harer said. "People will see that this prepares them for those programs in a direct way."
Duke's academic resources and focus on interdepartmental collaboration will help this certificate succeed, said sophomore Scott Spillias, who is majoring in both biology and mathematics.
He said many of his mathematics professors do research in biological modeling.
"I really feel like Duke is one of the best places for this to happen because we really do have all the people here required to make this a successful program," Spillias said.
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