Duke University

Well known for its contributions in North Carolina's Research Triangle and its strong position in men's basketball, Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina. The striking 9,350-acre campus includes 7,700 acres of forest, and the 210-foot tower of the Duke Chapel accentuates the predominantly Gothic architecture of the West Campus. Duke is a private institution with an enrollment of more than 11,500. The university was established in 1924 by expanding Trinity College, which traces its roots back to 1838.

Boasting superb academics, gorgeous facilities, and a fistful of national championships, Duke is routinely listed among the nation's top academic institutions. Duke's engineering programs - particularly electrical and biomedical - are national standouts. The natural sciences, most notably biology, chemistry, and physics, are also first-rate.

Duke University Medical Center, established in 1930, comprises clinical, training and research programs. The medical center has one of 40 federally funded comprehensive cancer centers, an eye center, a general clinical research unit and other highly advanced treatment and research facilities.

Duke's Fraternities and sororities are at the center of campus life. Twenty-nine percent of the men and 42 percent of the women pledge, and fraternity parties are open to everyone. "As for extracurricular activities," says a student, "there are three: Basketball, basketball, basketball."

Learn more about Duke University.

Athletics

The Blue Devils compete in the nine-member Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and field teams in 26 varsity sports. Duke's men's basketball team consistently is ranked among the nation's elite and won the national championship in 1991, 1992 and 2001. The football program has participated in all four major bowl games and has won or shared the American Football Coaches Association's academic achievement award a nation-leading 10 times for the highest graduation rate in the country. The men's soccer team won the national championship in 1986 and reached the NCAA final in 1996. The Duke women's programs are just as exceptional. The women's basketball team has won three consecutive ACC championships and reached the Final Four in 1999 and 2002. The women's golf team won the national championship in 1999 and 2002. The women's tennis team, which has won 14 of the past 15 ACC championships and 13 consecutive NCAA tournament bids, reached the NCAA final in 1998.

Visit the Official Site of Duke Athletics.

STUDENTS Enrollment (full-time) Fall 2006 Undergraduate 6,197 Graduate and Professional 6,627
Total: 12,824
Expenses (2007-2008 academic year)
    * Undergraduate Tuition and Fees $35,512
    * Room and Board (average) $9,609
    * Total (Excluding books, supplies and personal expenses) $45,121

Student (full-time) Enrollment - Fall 2006

Undergraduate 6,197
Graduate and Professional 6,627
Total: 12,824

Expenses (2007-2008 academic year)

Undergraduate Tuition and Fees $35,512
Room and Board (average) $9,609
Total (Excluding books, supplies and personal expenses) $45,121

Highlights

Duke Chapel, a symbol of the university, is at the center of the Gothic West Campus. Built in 1932, the chapel is dominated by a 210-foot tower housing a 50-bell carillon. Washington Duke and his sons Benjamin and James are entombed in the Memorial Chapel. Duke Chapel is open to visitors 8 a.m.-10 p.m. during the academic year and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. during the summer. Ecumenical worship services are held every Sunday at 11 a.m.

Learn more about the Duke Chapel.

The Duke libraries, with more than 5 million volumes, rank among the top 10 private research libraries in the United States. The William R. Perkins Library system comprises a main library, seven branch libraries and a state-of-the-art shelving facility. There are also four professional school libraries. Duke's main library houses government documents, maps, newspapers and microforms. Its special collections library contains 11 million manuscripts and other printed and pictorial matter.

The Joseph M. and Kathleen Price Bryan Center is the hub of student activity. The center serves as an expanded student union and home to student organizations and the University Union, which oversees student-run cultural and social activities. It contains theaters, restaurants, a coffeehouse, bookstores, an information desk, a post office, bank machines and offices.

History

Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. The Dukes, a Durham family who built a worldwide financial empire in the manufacture of tobacco and developed the production of electricity in the two Carolinas, long had been interested in Trinity College. Trinity traced its roots to 1838 in nearby Randolph County when local Methodist and Quaker communities joined forces to support a permanent school, which they named Union Institute. After a brief period as Normal College (1851-59), the school changed its name to Trinity College in 1859 and affiliated with the Methodist Church. The college moved to Durham in 1892 with financial assistance from Washington Duke and the donation of land by Julian S. Carr. In December 1924, the trustees gratefully accepted the provisions of James B. Duke's indenture creating the family philanthropic foundation, The Duke Endowment, which provided, in part, for the expansion of Trinity College into Duke University.

As a result of the Duke gift, Trinity underwent both physical and academic expansion. The original Durham campus became known as East Campus when it was rebuilt in stately Georgian architecture. West Campus, Gothic in style and dominated by the soaring 210-foot tower of Duke Chapel, opened in 1930. East Campus served as home of the Woman's College of Duke University until 1972, when the men's and women's undergraduate colleges merged. Both men and women undergraduates attend Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. In 1995, East Campus became the home for all first-year students.