Study Spots

Whether you're a pre-med Biology major, an English and Political Science double major, or an Electrical Engineering major, odds are that at some point in your college career, you're going to need a quiet place where you can study. A place where you can sit down for hours without distractions and make the most of that precious time. These spots vary for everyone, but here are a few that have been found by others to work well.

Contents 1 East Campus Study Spots 1.1 Lilly Library 1.2 Trinity Cafe 2 West Campus Study Spots 2.1 Bostock Library 2.2 Von der Heyden Pavilion 2.3 The Gothic Reading Room 2.4 The Old Perk 2.5 Teer Basement 2.6 Room 299, Physics Building 2.7 The Bryan Center 3 Elsewhere 3.1 Quads 3.2 Duke Gardens

East Campus Study Spots

Lilly Library

• Ok, I know what you're thinking. A library, how cliché. Well, the truth is that it works out extremely well. Lilly has a number of rooms where there are tables and plenty of seating so that you can sit down with your books or your laptop and work on whatever you have to do. There are two large rooms on the main floor, as well as rooms on the basement level. It's always interesting to wander through Lilly during reading period and see the spots people have chosen to study in. Random couches, spots on the ground between the stacks; open ground is fair game.
  On the floor above the main level are more study rooms, but these ones come with a very stern ground rule; no noise. This isn't enforced by librarians, but rather by the students. If you so much as sneeze, you're bound to get a look from at least one person in the room.

Trinity Cafe

• Trinity Cafe is a great place to study with one or two friends, but the tables there won't accomodate large groups. It's convienient, if taxing to your FLEX account, to have food and drink mere feet away. Also a great place to sit down and meet with a professor or TA outside of office hours.

West Campus Study Spots

Bostock Library

• Before you shoot me for mentioning another library, read what I have to say. Bostock is new, it's beautiful, and it is a great place to study. There are computer clusters on the first floor and basement level, and ample seating everywhere else, including some very comfortable chairs scattered throughout. You can even study on one of the levels of the bridge that links Bostock to the stacks and Perkins. You can also get to the Perkins stacks from Bostock, and if you really need to be isolated, you can be there. Bostock library is open 24/7 during the academic year.

Von der Heyden Pavilion

• The Pavilion is home to the Mad Hatter's Cafe and Bake Shop location on campus, and it also has a lot of seating and tables. The Pavilion itself is open 24/7, though the Cafe closes at midnight.

The Gothic Reading Room

• While some may argue that only suicidal pre-meds study here, it's perfect for those who love the sound of silence. Bookshelves and portraits of past university presidents adorn the walls under a gorgeous vaulted ceiling. There are power strips at every table, it's open 24 hours, and there are printers in the computer lab downstairs - thus, it's perfect for those pulling all-nighters. The sound of a page turning echoes through the room, so don't even think of letting your cell phone go off. You will receive plenty of death stares.

The Old Perk

• Located just outside the Gothic Reading Room, the Old Perk is a place where you actually can talk. With large, ugly furniture left over from the Perkins remodel, you can sprawl out across large circular tables, study with friends, or simply watch people go in and out of the Gothic Reading Room.

Teer Basement

• Rarely explored by those in Trinity (except for CS majors), this "dungeon" seems like a second home to Pratt engineers. It has 45 Linux computers and two large printers, so it is rare to find it fully occupied, though classes are sometimes taught in the lab. The large tables just outside the computer lab are a favorite spot for engineers meeting to work on problem sets. Its convenient location means that it stays fairly active throughout the day and night.

Room 299, Physics Building

• This little known study area was once the Math and Physics Library at Duke University, later replaced by Vesic Library. Inside you will find four to five tables, lots of windows, and very comfortable chairs. What you won't typically find are other people. The room is largely deserted, with the occasional graduate student or two.

The Bryan Center

• For those who like some action around when they study, the Bryan Center is an ideal spot. With music always playing in the background and food easily accessible, some people find this to be a great place to get some work done.

Elsewhere

Quads

• On days with nice weather, studying outside can be a wonderful experience. Quite inspirational for those group discussions in the humanities, but not very practical for working on labs or problem sets. Recommended for light reading.

Duke Gardens

• Right along with studying on the Quads comes studying in the Gardens. The Gardens contains plenty of area where students can sit down on the grass and crack open their books. Unfortunately, the Gardens are so beautiful when the weather is nice that they aren't very conducive to studying. Recommended for even lighter reading.