The Certificate in Documentary Studies at Duke University is a program of study involving undergraduate students in community-based research using photography, filmmaking, oral history, and other documentary fieldwork methods. To receive the certificate, students must compete a minimum of six courses and a documentary project that they exhibit, present, publish, or otherwise disseminate to the public. The certificate program allows students to connect their educational experiences and creative expression to broader community life and to the representational and ethical issues related to this work.

Certificate students work in one or more documentary mediums—photography, filmmaking, writing, audio, or community-based performance, among others—while exploring a particular issue, community, family, or individual. In addition to introductory courses in documentary mediums, the program also features special topics courses and a large number of cross-listed courses in other departments.

Thirteen students completed their final projects in the Spring 2011 Capstone Seminar. They were joined by three additional graduating seniors, who completed the Capstone Seminar in previous semesters, in presenting their projects on Sunday, May 1, during an afternoon celebration at CDS. Their projects are also on view in the Porch and University Galleries at CDS through September 3, 2011.