College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

Duke University Data & Information Overview

799 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
6% Acceptance Rate

If you want to know more about Duke University, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

Want to dig deeper into a particular stat? Just click on its tile and you’ll be taken to a more in-depth page on the figure. In addition, you can use the links below to quickly jump to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Does Duke University Stack Up?

#5 Best Colleges in Nation
#1 Best Colleges in NC
Duke University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Duke University was awarded 799 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, Duke is ranked #5 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

Within the state, Duke holds the #1 spot on the Best Colleges in North Carolina ranking.

See all of the rankings for Duke University.

How Difficult Is Admission to Duke University?

6% Acceptance Rate
6% Of Accepted Are Women
48% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

With an acceptance rate of 6%, Duke is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.

Average Test Scores

About 48% of students accepted to Duke submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 740 and 770. Math scores were between 760 and 800.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Duke University  ( 740 to 770 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Duke University  ( 760 to 800 )
200
800

Duke received ACT scores from 30% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 35.

ACT Composite Scores for Duke University  ( 34 to 35 )
1
36

Learn more about Duke University admissions.

Teaching Staff at Duke University

5 to 1 Student to Faculty
94% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

At Duke, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 5 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.

Full-Time Instructors

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Duke University is 94%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  94 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Duke University

96% Freshmen Retention
96% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate of 96% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Duke University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  96 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Duke for first-time, full-time students is 96%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  96 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Duke University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Duke University

6,417 Undergraduate Students
48.5% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
53.5% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 6,417 undergraduates at Duke.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Duke University.

Cost of Attending Duke University

$16,772 Net Price
14% Take Out Loans
$19,888 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Duke is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Duke

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$3,295 $242 $6,901 $16,487 $54,375

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Duke, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Duke, approximately 14% of students took out student loans averaging $4,972 a year. That adds up to $19,888 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 0.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Duke University.

What Do Duke University Alumni Earn?

$97,800 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Duke University make around $97,800 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Duke University graduates since it is 99% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Duke University make the most money.

Location of Duke University

North Carolina State
6,417 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Duke University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Durham, North Carolina. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Duke University.

Location of Duke University

Get in touch with Duke University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 103 Allen Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: 9196848111
Website: WWW.DUKE.EDU
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DukeUniv
Twitter: twitter.com/DukeU

Duke University Areas of Study

25 Majors With Completions
15,522 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 25 majors graduated from Duke University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 7,761 NA
Management Sciences & Methods 1,078 NA
Nursing 601 $82,745
Computer Science 484 $115,135
Engineering-Related Fields 306 $97,661
Public Policy 278 $58,078
Law 277 NA
Economics 276 $94,699
Biomedical Engineering 274 $70,302
Other Interdisciplinary Studies 259 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Duke University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Duke

2% Take At Least One Class Online
0% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

138 students took at least one online class at Duke University.

Learn more about online learning at Duke University.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options