Dear Ph.D. students,
You should have received a recent email from Duke Rec, announcing that the university’s rec facilities will be available to graduate students during summer 2021. In accordance with our funding policy, The Graduate School will cover the cost of the summer rec membership for Ph.D. students who are in their guaranteed funding periods, i.e., the first five consecutive years of their Ph.D. study. The rest of this email provides more information about how that will be handled. If you have any questions about the coverage of the membership cost, please contact grad-finaid@duke.edu. If you have questions about access to the rec facilities, please contact Duke Rec.
How much is the summer rec membership and what period does it cover?
The summer Duke Rec membership costs $80 and will grant access to the rec facilities from May 17 through August 7. This membership also includes Duke Rec’s Digital Library Access. The membership cost will be prorated for those who join later in the summer. (More info about the membership)
Will The Graduate School cover the cost of the summer membership?
The school will cover the cost of the Duke Rec membership for summer 2021 for Ph.D. students who are in their guaranteed funding period (first five consecutive years of study). This is in accordance with The Graduate School’s policy of covering the cost of access to Duke Rec facilities for Ph.D. students during their guaranteed funding period.
How will the cost be covered for eligible Ph.D. students?
Ph.D. students who want summer access to the rec facilities will need to purchase the summer membership through the Duke Rec website. Those who are in their guaranteed funding period will then receive a reimbursement for the cost of the membership via check or direct deposit. To help ensure prompt reimbursements, please make sure your mailing address and direct deposit information is correct. No further action is needed by the student after purchasing the membership.
(The Graduate School looked into covering the cost via a fee scholarship so that eligible students would not have to pay out of pocket and then get reimbursed. Unfortunately, that is not possible because the cost of the summer 2021 access is being charged as a membership rather than a student fee.)
What about rec access and fee for Fall 2021?
The rec facilities will be closed August 8-20 for cleaning before reopening August 21. At that point, The Graduate School will resume covering the rec fee for Ph.D. students in their guaranteed funding period (years 1-5) as it usually does—as a fee scholarship rather than a reimbursement, so eligible students would not have to pay out of pocket.
Office of Graduate Student Financial Aid
The Graduate School
