Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina, is a private research university. The school was founded in 1838 by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity, and it was relocated to Durham in 1892. The Duke Endowment was created in 1924 by tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke, and the name was modified to honour his deceased father, Washington Duke.

Major sources rank Duke as one of the top colleges in the United States and the world. Undergraduate admissions are among the most selective in the country, with a 5.7 percent acceptance rate for the class of 2025. Duke invests more than $1 billion in research each year, making it one of the top ten research universities in the United States. More than a dozen faculty members are frequently named to annual lists of the world's most-cited researchers. 

As of 2019, the university was home to 15 Nobel laureates and three Turing Award winners. Between 1986 and 2015, Duke graduates included 50 Rhodes Scholars, the third-highest number of Churchill Scholars (after Princeton and Harvard), and the fifth-highest number of Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall Scholars (behind Princeton and Harvard). Duke is the alma mater of one US president (Richard Nixon) and 14 surviving billionaires.

Duke University Ranking

Duke University is placed ninth in the list of National Universities. Schools are ranked based on their performance across a set of widely regarded excellence factors, and the rankings are listed below:

Duke Universities ranking between 2011 to 2022 in World University Rankings by Times Higher Education:

Duke University Top Programs

Duke University Research

In the 2018 fiscal year, Duke spent $1.168 billion on research, ranking ninth in the United States. Duke earned $608 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2021, placing it third in the country. "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" is how Duke is designated.

Duke researchers have produced numerous discoveries throughout the years, including the development of the world's first real-time, three-dimensional ultrasound diagnostic system and the first manufactured blood arteries and stents by the biomedical engineering department. Paul Modrich shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015 for discovering a DNA repair mechanism. For their work on cell surface receptors, Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka, a former affiliate, earned the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2012. In physics, Duke has pioneered research into nonlinear dynamics, chaos, and complex systems.

Duke University Campus

Duke University has 256 structures on 8,693 acres (35.18 km2) of land, including the Duke Forest, which is 7,044 acres (28.51 km2). The campus is separated into four main areas: the West, East, and Central campuses, as well as the Medical Center, all of which are connected by a free bus system. Duke has 15 acres (61,000 m2) on the Atlantic coast near Beaufort as part of its marine facility. The 54-acre (220,000 m2) Sarah P. Duke Gardens, established in the 1930s, is one of the principal public attractions on the main campus.

The school is sometimes referred to by Duke students as "the Gothic Wonderland," a sports nickname referencing to West Campus's Collegiate Gothic architecture. Julian Abele, one of the earliest major African-American architects and the chief designer in the offices of architect Horace Trumbauer, designed much of the campus. The residential quadrangles have a simple and unadorned design, whilst the academic quadrangles include elements from the more complex late French and Italian styles. East Campus, the freshman campus, is made up of buildings designed in the Georgian architectural style. Duke was named one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States by Travel+Leisure in 2011.

Environmental Hall, a five-story glass-and-concrete structure that includes the highest sustainable features and technology and achieves or surpasses the criteria for LEED platinum certification, was dedicated to the Nicholas School of the Environment in early 2014. In April 2014, the School of Nursing added a new 45,000 square foot (4,200 square metre) addition to the Christine Siegler Pearson Building. A number of construction projects were completed in the summer of 2014. The initiative is part of Duke's West Campus libraries' final phase of renovations, which have turned one of the university's oldest and most recognised buildings into a cutting-edge research facility.

Duke University Fee Structure

Duke University Admissions

With an acceptance rate of 8%, Duke University admissions is among the most selective. An SAT score of 1470 to 1570 or an ACT score of 34 to 35 is required for admission to Duke University. However, one-fourth of accepted applicants received scores that were higher than these ranges, while the other quarter received scores that were lower. The deadline for applications is January 3rd, and the application price for Duke University is $85.

Duke University Education

At Duke University, the student-to-faculty ratio is 6:1, and 75.4 percent of classrooms have fewer than 20 pupils. The average freshman retention rate is 97 percent, which is a good sign of student satisfaction.

Duke encourages students to be open in their quest of knowledge and welcomes intellectually curious students who want to put their ideas to the test. Education, in their opinion, is not only a means of personal development but also a means of better society.

Duke University Library

The Perkins, Bostock, and Rubenstein Libraries on West Campus, the Lilly and Music Libraries on East Campus, the Pearse Memorial Library at the Duke Marine Lab, and the libraries serving the schools of business, religion, law, medicine, and Duke Kunshan University are all part of Duke Libraries.

The Nasher Museum of Art on Central Campus houses Duke's art collections. Rafael Violy designed the museum, which is named after Duke alumni and art collector Raymond Nasher. Over 13,000 works of art, including works by Marlene Dumas, David Hammons, Carrie Mae Weems, Ai Weiwei, Andy Warhol, Olafur Eliasson, Barkley L. Hendricks, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, Bob Thompson, William Cordova, Christian Marclay, Alma Thomas, Fred Wilson, and Lynette Yiadom Boakye, are on display at the museum, which opened in 2005 at a cost of over $23 million.

Duke University Student Services

The purpose of the Duke University Office of the University Registrar is to help students, teachers, and staff in the educational process by providing a welcome and encouraging service environment in person and through various forms of communication. By providing these key components in the academic support framework, the Office of the University Registrar supports the university's overall educational aims. 

Duke University Housing Services

HRL is responsible for overseeing all facets of the university's three-year undergraduate residency requirement. Residential programmes are intended to foster positive learning communities, expand faculty participation possibilities, and foster positive social connections. HRL, student residents, and others in the Duke community create and maintain environments that encourage students to seek out learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Duke University Student Clubs

The Division of Student Affairs is deeply involved in all aspects of students' life and works together with students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and many others to provide important services and support to students and all those whom the Division serves. Student Affairs supports the optimal growth of Duke students by enhancing their intellectual, social, cultural, and physical development, as well as complementing Duke's academic excellence by providing opportunities for students to experience education and explore interests outside of the classroom.

Duke University Alumni

The university's active alumni base of almost 145,000 devotes themselves to the university through groups and events like Reunion Weekend and Homecoming. There are 75 Duke clubs in the United States and 38 Duke clubs around the world. According to U.S. News & World Report, Duke tied for third in alumni giving rate among U.S. colleges and universities in the 2008–09 fiscal year. According to PayScale figures from 2011, Duke grads have the fifth highest mid-career median wage of all U.S. colleges and universities.