A private R1 research university in Durham, NC, admitting 5.71% of applicants with a four-year graduation rate of 93.72%.
Durham, North Carolina
Duke University is a private R1 research university in Durham, North Carolina, founded in 1838 as Trinity College and renamed Duke in 1924. It enrolls 6,442 undergraduates and 10,976 graduate students across Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, the Pratt School of Engineering, and a range of professional and graduate schools including Law, Business (Fuqua), Medicine, and the Nicholas School of the Environment.
Social sciences account for the largest share of bachelor's degrees, followed by biological sciences, engineering, and computer science. Duke holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC).
Official website: duke.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Duke scores 80.49 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (98.29) reflects a 96.78% six-year graduation rate and a four-year rate of 93.72%, the highest of any major research university in the country. Affordability scores 11.13, the weakest pillar: Duke's average net price ($29,612) and net price for middle-income families ($17,100 for the $75K-$110K bracket) are notably high relative to peers with comparable endowments. All scores use verified federal data only.
Duke is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 5.71% of applicants. Duke is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,548 on the SAT, with the middle 50% scoring between 34 and 35 on the ACT.
Duke offers Early Decision with a November 1 deadline and a second ED round (ED II) in January. The Regular Decision deadline is January 4. Applicants choose to apply to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences or the Pratt School of Engineering; the two programs have separate requirements and somewhat different profiles.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Duke University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Duke charges $68,758 in tuition plus $18,128 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $90,000 before aid. Duke meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted U.S. students, with no loans in aid packages. The average net price after all grants is $29,612. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $735. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $17,100. For families earning above $110,000, the average net price is $54,230.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $85 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Duke completes students at an exceptional rate. The six-year graduation rate is 96.78% and the four-year rate is 93.72%, the highest four-year completion rate among major research universities in the country. First-year retention stands at 97.05%. These figures reflect both the selectivity of Duke's admissions and the residential experience, which concentrates undergraduates in a residential campus culture that emphasizes both academic and co-curricular engagement.
Duke graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $85,792 six years after first enrolling and $97,800 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 93.46% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. Duke's federal loan rate of 13.64% is notably higher than at most peer elite universities. Median debt at graduation is $13,000. Engineering and pre-professional graduates typically earn well above the institutional median; humanities and social sciences graduates show more variation.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Duke enrolls 6,442 undergraduates on its West Campus in Durham, with strong ties to the broader Research Triangle region that includes UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. White students account for 35.18% of undergraduates; Asian 21.78%, Hispanic 10.73%, and Black 8.72%. Fourteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 13.46% are first-generation college students, a low first-gen share relative to peer Ivies. International students represent approximately 9% of the undergraduate class. Basketball occupies a singular place in Duke's campus culture: the Cameron Crazies and the Coach K legacy shape the social calendar, particularly during the ACC season.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Duke University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Duke University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 194 distinct programs across 25 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Duke operates at a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 94.49% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, one of the highest rates among elite private universities. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $87,044 per year. The endowment stands at $11.89 billion. Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke Global Health Institute are prominent research centers that give undergraduates access to applied research in areas not typically covered at peer universities.
4,280 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,438 | 34% | $228,265 |
| Associate Professors | 987 | 23% | $141,530 |
| Assistant Professors | 1,353 | 32% | $117,759 |
| Instructors | 357 | 8% | $80,217 |
| Lecturers | 145 | 3% | $72,437 |
Duke's strongest data points are its four-year graduation rate (93.72%, highest among major research universities), FT faculty rate (94.49%), and Outcomes score (98.29). The campus culture, Research Triangle location, and professional school strength in medicine, law, and business support strong graduate outcomes.
The challenge is Affordability (11.13): the average net price of $29,612 and a 13.64% federal loan rate are both higher than at peer universities with comparable or smaller endowments. Best fit for students who want a residential research university with exceptional completion rates and strong professional school pipelines, and who will apply for financial aid; middle-income families without substantial aid eligibility face a high net cost.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Duke: how selective admissions are, how cost compares to Ivy peers, what the Duke experience looks like in practice, and what graduates earn.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
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