Applicants must satisfy certain technical requirements congruent with Duke Graduate Medical Education standards to be eligible for admission. Please review these requirements before submitting an application.
The following materials are required for a completed application to the Department of Pediatrics' Residency Program:
- Application through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
- MSPE (Dean's letter)
- Three letters of recommendation from faculty who know you well through clinical work, research, advising, or other meaningful experiences.
- At least one letter should be from a pediatrician who has worked with you clinically and can speak directly to your clinical performance.
- A departmental or chair letter is not required or preferred unless that individual knows you well enough to provide a meaningful recommendation.
- Passing score on USMLE Step I and/or COMLEX Step I
- Official Medical School Transcript
Note: USMLE II is not required for application, but a passing score on USMLE Clinical Knowledge must be documented prior to entering this training program.
All applications must be received through ERAS by October 15.
An interview is an important part of the application process. Applicants will be invited to interview after review of the preliminary application material. Interviews are conducted from early-November through mid-January (see note below).
All interviews will be scheduled virtually and conducted via Zoom.
Interview Day
Interview days are held primarily on Wednesdays and Fridays from November through January. All interviews are scheduled through Thalamus and conducted virtually via Zoom. When interview invitations are released, we use a 24-hour scheduling delay in Thalamus so that all applicants have time to review the available dates before scheduling opens. Each applicant selects either a morning or afternoon interview session.
Your interview session begins with a welcome from our program director, Mark Chandler, followed by a question-and-answer session with our chief residents. You will then have three individual interviews: one with the program director, one with an associate program director, and one with a faculty member. Whenever possible, we pair applicants with a faculty interviewer who shares their clinical or professional interests.
We want those conversations, and the interview day as a whole, to be as relaxed and conversational as possible. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you, but just as importantly, it is your opportunity to learn more about our program, ask questions, and get a sense of what makes Duke a special place to train.
Applicants are also encouraged to attend a resident-led social event during interview season. These events provide an opportunity to talk directly with our residents and hear about their experiences in the program and life in Durham. We believe talking with current residents is one of the most valuable ways to determine whether a program is the right fit for you.
We will also offer two in-person Second Look opportunities in February, with dates announced later in the interview season. Second Look is entirely for the benefit of applicants and is not part of our evaluation process. Our rank list will be locked before Second Look, and we participate in the NRMP Rank Order List Lock program. Attendance is completely optional and cannot affect your position on our rank list. We are excited to welcome you to Durham and share in person all that Duke and our community have to offer.
Please Note: We are committed to conducting a thoughtful, holistic review of every application so that we can understand each applicant’s unique strengths, experiences, background, and journey to medicine. Because we take the time to review applications carefully, we anticipate extending interview invitations through late October for interview dates in November, December, and January. Our first interview day will take place during the first week of November. Interview invitations are sent as applications are reviewed, and some applications may not be reviewed until later in the review period. As a result, some applicants will receive invitations before others. We send only as many interview invitations as we have available interview spots, ensuring that everyone who receives an invitation is guaranteed an interview. Once all interview spots have been offered, we will also invite additional applicants to join our waitlist. We are incredibly excited to meet you, share more about our program, learn more about you, and answer any questions you may have.
International Medical Graduates
Highly qualified individuals from medical schools outside the United States and Canada are invited to apply for pediatric residency at Duke University.
To be considered, the applicant must have completed at least one rotation in internal medicine or pediatrics of no less than one month's duration on an in-patient service at a major teaching hospital in the United States or Canada. The applicant must have direct patient responsibility during this rotation, in the role of an "acting intern." Time spent on consultant services and observerships do not fulfill this requirement.
One of the three required letters of recommendation must be from the physician supervising the internal medicine or pediatric clerkship in the United States or Canada. Other letters of recommendation should be from individuals familiar with the applicant's work.
The applicant must also have passed all three steps of the USMLE, including both the clinical knowledge and clinical skills tests in Step II. There is no minimum USMLE score, but we do require a passing score. There is no maximum number of years since medical school graduation.
Pediatric applicants must be ECFMG certified prior to the match and Med-Peds applicants must be certified before they will be offered an interview.
J-1 visas are sponsored by the program for international residents in Pediatrics.