The Board of Trustees approved a 5.93% increase in the undergraduate cost of attendance for the 2025-26 academic year during its recent quarterly meeting, bringing Duke’s price tag to $92,042.
Of the new cost of attendance, $21,777 comprise room, board and fees, while $70,265 comprise undergraduate tuition. These figures compare to $20,561 and $66,325, respectively, in the 2024-25 academic year. The previous tuition increase in 2024 raised the cost of attendance by 4.35%.
The board also approved tuition increases for graduate and professional school programs ranging from 0% to 4.7%. This interval marks a smaller range than the 2024-25 academic year, which fell between 0% and 5%.
According to a Tuesday Duke Today release, “tuition increases are fully covered for students who are receiving need-based financial aid.”
Duke’s undergraduate cost of attendance will surpass the $90,000 threshold for the first time in its history, joining a number of higher education institutions across the nation, including Northwestern University, Boston University, Tufts University and Yale University.
This increase marks a roughly 123% increase over the past two decades. In 2005, Duke’s total undergraduate cost of attendance stood at just $41,239.
Duke practices need-blind admissions for U.S. citizens and “eligible noncitizens,” meaning that applicants who qualify for financial aid are not disadvantaged in the admissions process.
However, in 2024, the University agreed to pay $24 million to settle a financial aid antitrust lawsuit claiming that Duke illegally practiced need-aware admissions. The University has denied the allegations.
Over half of Duke’s undergraduate student body receives financial aid in the form of need-based aid, athletic scholarships or endowed competitive scholarships.
In April 2024, Duke discontinued its full-ride Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship Program for “top applicants of African descent” after the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
The University launched the Initiative for Students from the Carolinas in 2023, pledging to provide full tuition grants for undergraduates from North and South Carolina with family incomes of $150,000 or less, as well as additional aid for housing, meals and other expenses for those with family incomes under $65,000.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article said that the undergraduate cost of attendance has increased roughly 223% over the past two decades. That value has been corrected to reflect that there has been a roughly 123% increase. The Chronicle regrets the error.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Abby Spiller is a Trinity junior and editor-in-chief of The Chronicle's 120th volume.