How much Duke’s tuition has risen over the years compared to its peer institutions

Last week, Duke’s Board of Trustees approved a 5.93% increase in the undergraduate cost of attendance, bumping the total price tag up by $5,156 — the largest addition seen by the University in the 21st century.

For Blue Devils who do not receive any financial aid, this new sticker price will sit at an unprecedented $92,042, with tuition alone measuring $70,265, adding Duke to the short list of institutions with costs of attendance over $90,000.

To put this increase in perspective, The Chronicle examined Duke’s tuition changes over the years and against its peer institutions. Although the University mostly falls in line with a larger trend of tuition increases, Duke appears to be at the high end, if not ahead, of the curve.

Duke throughout the years

The total cost of attendance for Duke undergraduates is separated into two categories: tuition and room, board and fees. This latter category of charges includes everything from the University’s mandatory student activities fee to estimated dining, transportation and textbook costs.

The Chronicle compiled data on the University’s tuition; room, board and fees; and total cost of attendance since the 2000-01 academic year from Duke Today releases — the University’s official method of announcing new tuition rates set by the Board of Trustees each spring.

Duke has seen a steady rise in all three categories since 2000. Then, tuition sat at $25,630, and the total cost of attendance was $31,829. Today, those amounts have nearly tripled.

Room, board and fees saw the most variability. The University’s rate of tuition increase was more stable, hovering around the 4% mark.

The most significant exception is the 2020-21 academic year. Then, the University rescinded its proposed rise in tuition in response to “immediate and significant financial stress” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, students were charged the same tuition amount as the previous year, as opposed to the proposed 3.9% increase.

Room, board and fees for that year varied based on whether students were residential or remote. Because there was no consistent fee charge for all students, they were reported as consistent with 2019-20 levels in The Chronicle’s dataset. In reality, this number may have actually been lower for some students.

The larger trend

Information on peer institutions’ tuition rates was taken from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a national survey that collects data from U.S. colleges and universities. IPEDS reports universities’ “tuition and required fees for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates” annually, with such information publicly available going back to the 2002-03 academic year.

The Chronicle cross-referenced these figures with official university press releases, which frequently reported slightly lower tuition rates, likely because IPEDS includes “required fees” in its estimates. IPEDS also conducts the cost portion of its survey every fall, whereas universities typically announce new tuition rates in the spring.

For consistency, The Chronicle used Duke’s tuition and fees as reported by IPEDS in its comparative analysis with peer institutions.

To put the IPEDS figures in context with Duke Today’s numbers, The Chronicle compared trends in all three estimates over the years.

Duke’s tuition and required fees as reported by IPEDS were on average $1,336.09 more than the University’s tuition reported by Duke Today. IPEDS figures were much farther from Duke Today’s total cost of attendance estimate: on average, $12,543.31 less.

Ivy+ schools

Duke is a member of the Ivy+ grouping, which refers to 15 U.S. colleges and universities widely recognized for their academic excellence. The designation includes the eight members of the Ivy League, which was originally created as an athletic designation, as well as seven other schools — including Duke — that have since achieved a similar level of academic prestige.

Ivy+ schools set some of the highest tuition rates in the nation. As such, The Chronicle examined how tuition has changed over time for all 15 schools to see how Duke’s trend measures up.

All Ivy+ schools exhibited a similar rise in tuition over the 22 academic years examined.

Duke sits near the top of the pack. In multiple years, the University reported the third-highest tuition of the group, falling below only Columbia University and the University of Chicago.

Nearly all schools saw disruption — either no change or a drop in tuition — in the 2020-21 academic year, likely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, most Ivy+ schools generally exhibited a consistent or slightly declining rate of tuition increase. The only year where any schools lowered tuition was 2020-21.

ACC schools

Duke is also a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, an athletic grouping consisting of 18 Division I colleges and universities mostly located in the eastern region of the country.

Because the ACC includes a mix of public and private institutions, which typically set vastly different tuition rates, The Chronicle reviewed tuition records for these schools to shed light on broader trends in enrollment costs across higher education.

Colleges and universities in this division displayed a wide gap between private schools, who generally reported tuition rates between $21,000 and $68,000 over the 22-year period, and public schools, whose tuition fell between $2,600 and $22,000.

The lowest tuition rate reported by a private institution — $21,942 by Southern Methodist University in the 2002-03 academic year — was still greater than the highest tuition rate reported by a public institution — $21,524 by the University of Pittsburgh in the 2023-24 academic year.

Duke once again fell among the most expensive institutions. In eight of the 22 years under consideration, the University reported the highest tuition rate of any ACC school.

Public institutions demonstrated much more variability in the year-over-year percent change in their tuition rates. Tuition for these schools could remain constant, decrease or increase in any given year, whereas private institutions experienced a relatively consistent annual rate of increase over the period, reflecting the fact that public institutions have seen little overall change in their tuition over the 22-year period, while private institutions have made steady increases.

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