Dear Prospective Student,
Kyle Bradbury
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in Duke MIDS! As the program’s new Director of Admissions, I’m excited to help you figure out whether MIDS is the right next step for you.
MIDS is built on a simple idea: the hardest problems are solved by people who can bring data science and deep domain knowledge together. That’s why our students take on statistics, machine learning and programming alongside classmates from very different backgrounds, and why so much of the work happens in teams.
Over two years on campus, you’ll build real technical depth while learning to explain your work to people who aren’t data scientists. You’ll also learn to think critically across fields. Half of your courses are electives, so you can shape the program around the questions you care about most. In your second year, a year-long capstone pairs you with an outside partner to tackle a real data challenge.
Our students come to MIDS from many different paths. Some are recent graduates with quantitative majors. Others are engineers, policy professionals, scientists, journalists, or people from the humanities who want to bring data science into the work they already love. What they share is curiosity, analytical strength, and a drive to solve meaningful problems with data. If you’re looking to change or advance your career, we’d love to hear from you.
Let’s talk. The best way to get to know MIDS is to join an upcoming info session, where you can hear from our team and ask questions.
I look forward to meeting you and reading your application.
Best,
Kyle Bradbury
Admissions Chair