Trustees approve 3.9 percent increase for next year's undergraduate tuition, raising it to $55,880

The Board of Trustees approved a 3.9 percent increase for Duke undergraduate tuition at its February meeting.

Tuition for the 2019-2020 academic year will be $55,880, and the total cost of attendance—which factors in room and board, books and fees—will increase by 3.7 percent for a total of $73,519. That 3.7 percent increase is the “lowest rate of increase in total cost for more than 20 years,” according to the Duke Today release.

The vote was unanimous, Board Chair Jack Bovender said.

“This reflects our concerns about balancing the costs of providing our educational experience,” President Vincent Price said after the meeting. 

The cost of attending Duke has been steadily increasing. This past academic year was the first time that total cost crossed the $70,000 mark. In the 2014-2015 school year, the total cost of attendance was $60,553. 

The tuition for the 2017-2018 school year was a 4.3 percent increase from the year before, but the percentage increase dropped to 3.9 percent for the current school year.

“We had extensive discussions about the importance of being efficient and careful stewards of all of our resources, so that we can hopefully continue to push down the increases that families are expected to bear,” Price said. “Especially families in the middle income ranges, who we know [have] particular difficulties with year after year increases.”

Duke’s investments in financial aid are expected to rise at a higher rate for the 2019-2020 year than the tuition's rate of increase, but the final expenditures have not yet been calculated, according to the Duke Today news release. The University expects to invest $175 million in financial aid for the 2018-2019 school year ending June 30, which would mark a 4.2 percent increase over the previous year’s investments. 

Divinity School: $25,150 (4 percent) 

Law School: $66,000 (4.1 percent)

Fuqua School of Business: $70,000 (2.6 percent)

Graduate School: $55,680 (4 percent)

Nicholas School of the Environment: $41,000 (2.6 percent)

Pratt School of Engineering: $56,664 (3.8 percent)

Sanford School of Public Policy: $48,307 (3 percent)

In other business

Price said that the trustees discussed the recently released survey data that included information on students’ experiences with sexual assault. There was a “very robust conversation about the very, very serious matter,” the president said.

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