SW Milestones
Deliverable | Due |
SW Project Proposal | Submitted together as a single package End of Session 3 in junior year (including students at Duke) |
Team Agreement | If applicable, submitted along with Project Proposal |
Start SW Portfolio | Session 4 in junior year after approved SWPP |
Deliverable | Due |
| Last Opportunity to Request Mentor Change | Start of Session 1 in senior year |
| Last Opportunity to Change Project Proposal | Start of Session 1 in senior year |
| Signature Work Product & SW Portfolio | End of Session 3 in senior year |
| Second Review of SW Products | Mini-term through early Session 4 in senior year |
| SW Conference & Exhibition | Middle of Session 4 in senior year |
SW Timeline
Sophomore Year
- Students should attend annual events hosted by the Office of Signature Work, such as the SW Fair and information sessions. These events introduce the SW process and resources and encourage students to discover faculty research and research center-led research and practice opportunities.
- Students can contact Academic Advisors, Major Conveners, and other faculty for guidance and suggestions on possible topics, mentors, and resources for SW.
- Students are encouraged to conduct initial conversations with potential mentors about potential topics throughout their sophomore year. Students are responsible for taking the initiative to match with a mentor. The Signature Work Office will not assign mentors to students.
- Students planning to go to Duke in the fall of their junior year may wish to discuss their research plans for that period ahead of time with their mentor.
Summer Break (Rising Junior)
- Students should continue developing their SW topic in preparation for finding a mentor and submitting the formal SWPP in their junior year.
- Students may wish to look into SRS opportunities to help kickstart their SW and connect with a potential mentor.
Junior Year
- Students further explore and fine-tune their ideas with purpose. This work is done through continued conversations on topics with potential mentors.
- Students should prepare their SW project proposal and submit it to potential mentors. The SW project proposal is submitted if the potential mentor agrees to mentor the project and student.
- Students should work with mentors to choose 3 thematic courses. Thematic courses must be taken by session 3 of senior year.
- A completed RCR certificate is submitted as part of the combined SW project proposal. The RCR is a prerequisite for signing up for Capstones courses, so students wishing to take 2-credits of CAPSTONE495 in their junior year will need to finish their RCR before signing up for classes in the fall.
- Students will begin their SW Portfolio and start documenting their progress.
- If the SW project research requires IRB approval, the student must submit a protocol to the IRB committee and receive acceptance before starting any research requiring it.
- Mentors and students are suggested to meet every two weeks throughout the academic year to ensure sustained progress.
- Students needing additional research funding for SW should apply for the SWRG, Signature Fund, and SELF grants.
Summer Break (Rising Senior)
- Students should continue working on their SW based on mentor guidance.
Senior Year
- Reminder: The start of Session 1 in senior year is the last opportunity for a change in mentor or SWPP.
- If the mentor and mentee choose the 4+4 Capstone course format, both 4-credit Capstones will be taken in the senior year. Capstone courses cannot be taken in the same session, nor can they be taken in session 4.
- If the mentor and mentee choose the 2+2+4 Capstone course format, the final 4-credit Capstone course will be completed in the senior year. Capstone courses cannot be taken in the same session or in session 4.
- SW MUST be completed and submitted at the end of Session 3 in the senior year. This includes the SW product and the SW Portfolio. For final submission dates, refer to the annual SW Academic Calendar.
- Following submission, the mentor will evaluate and grade the submitted work. A Second Reader – a faculty member in a broadly related field – will simultaneously review the submitted work and confirm whether it meets minimal acceptable academic standards. Either the mentor or the second reader may at this time nominate the work for Distinction.
- Students whose work is judged unacceptable by either their mentor or second reader will have 2 weeks to resubmit edited work that responds to the comments.
- Students whose work is deemed acceptable by the mentor and second reader will have no opportunity to revise submitted work, regardless of the grade assigned by the mentor.
- SW students will present their posters, videos, and public presentations at the SWCE, which will be held in the middle of Session 4 in senior year.
