Visit
Experience Duke for Yourself
Duke cannot be fully captured through words or images. Maybe it’s the warmth and welcoming spirit you feel from both students and faculty. Maybe it’s the feeling of connection, collaboration, and creativity all around you. Whatever it is, from the minute you step on campus, you’ll feel what makes Duke special.
Tours and Immersions
TO SEE DUKE IS TO FEEL IT
The best way to experience Duke is to see it for yourself. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions offers high school students and their families a variety of opportunities to explore undergraduate life at Duke, both on campus and in your home area.
*Please register for tours as early as possible, especially during peak times (mid-spring, summer, and during student breaks), and allow 2.5 hours for your visit. Visitors are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes in advance and wear comfortable shoes.
01 - Campus Tours and Information Sessions
Our 45-minute information sessions include overviews of our academic opportunities, student life, admissions process, and financial aid, as well as opportunities to ask admissions officers questions. Information sessions are followed by a 90-minute student-led walking tour through West Campus.
If you’d like to stay on campus, the Four Diamond rated Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club sits right on the Duke University Golf Course. Built in the style of an English country inn, the Washington Duke is renowned for its lovely setting and gracious southern hospitality. Call (800) 443-3853 for information and reservations, or book your reservation online now.
Adjacent to the Fuqua School of Business, the Four Diamond JB Duke Hotel is just steps from Duke’s storied athletic and education venues. The JB Duke’s modern amenities coupled with sleek accommodations and sophisticated style provide for a unique twist on Southern hospitality. Call (844) 490-7100 for reservations or book online.
02 - Group Visits
Reserved for a group of 10 or more prospective students in high school visiting Duke together. Please arrange at least three weeks in advance.
Due to ongoing renovations to our auditorium space, we are limited in the ability to host group visits in the 2019-2020 academic year. We can accommodate self-guided tours, and will provide our campus maps to help facilitate the exploration of campus.
Please reach out to david.sakyi@duke.edu if you have questions.
03 - Other Tours
Pratt School of Engineering
Explore Pratt’s newest facilities and get information on various opportunities available to engineering students. Reservations are required.
Duke Kunshan University
Learn more about Duke’s campus in China through information sessions held on Fridays at the Duke Kunshan University Office of Recruitment. Advance registration is required.
Rubenstein Arts Center
If you are interested in the arts at Duke, schedule a tour with a student arts ambassador to explore this state-of-the art facility. Tour request forms must be submitted at least one week in advance.
Nasher Museum of Art
Check out the collection’s rotating exhibitions and permanent installations. Plan your visit with the self-guided tour map.
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Discover the Duke Basketball Museum & Duke Athletics Hall of Fame, located adjacent to Cameron in the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center.
Marine Lab
Tours of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, located about 180 miles east of Duke’s main campus, are available to high school or college-aged students who are interested in enrolling.
The Lemur Center
Visit Duke’s internationally acclaimed Lemur Center to acquaint yourself with any of the 240 animals across 17 species housed at the noninvasive research facility.
01 - Attend a Class
During your visit, we invite you to observe an undergraduate class. Just find a course that piques your interest and contact the professor via email to coordinate your visit.
ROTC
Duke provides Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs for interested students, all of which offer the possibility of financial aid. Representatives from each division are available to answer specific questions.
Air Force (AFROTC)
Recruiting Officer: Capt. Andrea Callies
919-660-1869
Army (AROTC)
Recruiting Officer: Capt. Michael Alch
919-660-3091
Navy/Marine Corps (NROTC)
Recruiting Officer: Christopher Thumen
919-660-3708
03 - Duke in Your Area
EXPLORING COLLEGE OPTIONS
For over 25 years, Duke has partnered with Georgetown, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford to host Exploring College Options. Every spring and fall, representatives from the five schools offer brief presentations and answer questions about what distinguishes one university from another, what highly selective colleges look for in the selection process, and what you can do to enhance your college applications.
DISCOVER DUKE
Every fall our admissions officers host informational presentations in locations throughout the United States to provide an overview of our academic and signature opportunities and share information about the application and financial aid processes.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
Duke partners with other select universities every spring and fall to host public information sessions in locations throughout the world. Admission directors from each institution give brief presentations about their undergraduate programs and provide an overview of admission and financial aid policies and procedures.
Our Campus
Highlights
When Duke was founded in 1924, the construction of its campus was the single largest Depression-era project in the United States. Today, the Georgian East Campus and neo-Gothic West Campus serve as the core of Duke’s sprawling campus. With more than 250 buildings situated on 8,600+ acres of land, 7,044 of which are forest, you will immediately feel immersed in a “Gothic Wonderland.”
BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
Built in 1927, designed by Duke’s founding architect Julian Abele and situated on East Campus, Baldwin Auditorium serves as one of the university’s core venues in which leading classical soloists and ensembles, vocal ensembles, and jazz ensembles perform.
Duke Chapel
Built in 1932 at the center of West Campus, Duke Chapel, with its 210-foot tower and a 50-bell carillon, is the architectural symbol of the university.
PERKINS LIBRARY
Perkins Library, together with Duke’s other libraries, comprises one of the nation’s top 10 private research library systems. The libraries’ services and resources include more than six million volumes, more than 20 million manuscripts, more than two million electronic resources, 100,000+ items in digital collections, and tens of thousands of films and videos.
FITZPATRICK CENTER
This 322,000-square-foot collaborative research center brings together faculty in four research initiatives: biology, photonics, materials, and integrated sensors. The $97 million facility also expands the Pratt School of Engineering’s partnership with the School of Medicine by providing laboratories for collaborative research in healthcare, genomics, and biotechnology.
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM
The crown jewel of college basketball, Cameron Indoor boasts intimate seating arrangements for more than 9,000 fans, including bleacher-style seats alongside the court reserved for students (nicknamed the Cameron Crazies).
Virtual Tour
EXPLORE DUKE FROM HOME
If you are unable to visit in person, you can still get a feel for the student experience through our virtual tour. The tour explores Duke’s campus highlights as well as residence halls, libraries, and dining locations.
Durham, North Carolina
No place like home
It’s impossible to fully describe the close bonds between Duke and Durham. Since its history, Duke has grown from a small liberal arts college to a world-class research university. Similarly, Durham has evolved from a small tobacco town to the City of Medicine. With rich culture and boundless innovation both at Duke and in Durham, we are proud of our hometown.