Duke University

Duke University is a private institution that was founded in 1838. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,640 (fall 2022), and the campus size is 8,693 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Duke University's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #7. Its tuition and fees are $66,172.

Durham, North Carolina, which surrounds Duke's campus, offers a variety of activities including shopping, dining and entertainment. Its "Bull City" nickname comes from the Blackwell Tobacco Company's Bull Durham Tobacco. Students at Duke are required to live on campus for their first three years, and freshmen live together on the East Campus. The Duke Blue Devils maintain a fierce rivalry with the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Tar Heels and are best known for their outstanding men's basketball program, which is one of the top five most wins all-time college basketball programs in the country. There are more than 700 student groups at Duke University, including fraternities and sororities, sports clubs, and organizations for a variety of other interests.

Duke University is divided into 10 schools and colleges, many of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Fuqua School of Business, Pratt School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Medicine, Sanford School of Public Policy and School of Nursing. Duke also offers graduate programs through its well-respected Divinity School and Nicholas School of the Environment. Duke's most esteemed undergraduate scholarship, the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program, is offered to students at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. It provides about 18 students from each class with a four-year scholarship and the opportunity for unique academic and extracurricular opportunities at both universities. Notable alumni include Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; former NBA player Carlos Boozer; and former U.S. Congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul.