
A.B. Duke Scholarship Program

A.B. Duke Scholars are self-motivated students with outstanding academic and world-changing potential. Scholars are driven by sense of discovery and a commitment to engage and meet the challenges faced by society at large. The summer before their sophomore year, A.B. Duke Scholars are offered the opportunity to study at Oxford University at no cost. The oldest merit scholarship program at Duke University, the scholarship was established in 1925 by Benjamin N. and Sarah P. Duke to honor their son, Angier Buchanan Duke. A.B. Duke Scholars have won prestigious Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships and have gone on to win such notable awards as the Pulitzer Prize. Today, the program continues to attract the intellectually talented, creative, and curious students to Duke.
Spotlight on Eden Cunningham
Eden Cunningham is planning to major in data science and psychology at Duke. Outside the classroom, she is a member of the Duke Climate Coalition, where she is drafting a handbook for community solar and serves as a mentor to high school students applying to college. In her free time, she loves watching film and tv, making digital art, and gardening. She came to Duke to gain a well-rounded education and venture out of the Northeast. In the future, she hopes to use data to learn more about society as a biostatistician, data analyst, or product researcher.
Dr. Mark Goodacre, Faculty Director
Mark Goodacre is Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the New Testament and Christian Origins. He earned his MA, M.Phil and DPhil at the University of Oxford. He has been at Duke since 2005. His research interests include the Gospels and the Historical Jesus. Goodacre is the author of four books including The Case Against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002) and Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas's Familiarity with the Synoptics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012). He is well known for creating web resources on New Testament and Christian origins, including his podcast, the NT Pod. Goodacre has acted as consultant for several TV and radio programs including The Passion (BBC / HBO, 2008) and Finding Jesus (CNN, 2015-17). Goodacre is currently working on a book on John's knowledge of the Synoptic Gospels.