Trustees Approve Tuition for Next Year, Master’s Program

DURHAM, N.C -- The Duke University Board of Trustees have approved a 3.9 percent increase in the total cost of attending the university for undergraduates during the 2017-18 academic year. 

The trustees also approved a new master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Data Science.

Undergraduate tuition in 2017-18 will be $51,720, a 4.3 percent increase, and the total cost for the next academic year, including tuition, room, board and fees, will be $68,298.

In the current academic year, which ends June 30, Duke expects to spend about $143.9 million of institutional funds to support undergraduate financial aid. Estimates for financial aid costs in the next academic year will not be finalized until later in 2017, when financial aid packages for new and returning students are completed.

Half of all Duke students receive some form of financial assistance from the university. More than 40 percent of Duke undergraduates receive need-based financial aid, which includes grants, loans and work-study opportunities, and the remainder are beneficiaries of honors, athletics and other scholarship programs. Duke is among the few institutions nationally committed to a need-blind admissions policy, under which the university accepts U.S. students without regard to their ability to pay for college and then meets 100 percent of their demonstrated financial need.

Tuition and fees cover only part of the cost of a Duke education. Other significant sources of support for students include income generated by the university’s endowment and private philanthropy from individuals and foundations. 

New tuition rates for Duke's graduate and professional schools in 2017-18 also have been set:

-- Divinity School: $23,250 (Master of Divinity), up 4 percent over the current year.

-- Fuqua School of Business: $65,665 (daytime MBA), up 3.9 percent.

-- Graduate School: $51,480 (Ph.D. programs), up 4 percent.

-- Law School: $61,000, up 3.9 percent.

-- Nicholas School of the Environment: $39,000, up 4.7 percent.

-- Pratt School of Engineering: $52,488 (Master of Engineering Management Program), up 4 percent.

-- Sanford School of Public Policy: $45,545 (Master of Public Policy), up 5.5 percent.

-- School of Medicine: $57,100, up 3.5 percent.

-- School of Nursing: $40,872, up 3.9 percent.

The new master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Data Science (MIDS) is designed to not only train a new generation of data scientists in traditional and emerging quantitative methods, but also help them develop competencies in data security, data management, communication and team-based science. It is designed for students with backgrounds in statistics and computer science, as well as those from the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities with some quantitative experience.

The program is also expected to have broad appeal for professionals working in nonprofits, government, consulting, technology, media, business and education, as it is specifically designed to connect students to important societal problems as well as insights central to the humanities.

In other business, the trustees:

-- Held their regular quarterly meeting and retreat at the Duke office in Washington, D.C., where they discussed a wide range of public policy issues that have a potential impact on Duke, including health care, science policy, foreign affairs, higher education, the media and the economy. The trustees also heard reports on Duke’s current and future plans in Washington, as well as updates on Duke Kunshan University and planning for a new initiative in science and technology.