## Overview Duke University is a leading private research university based in Durham, North Carolina, recognized globally for its rigorous academics, cutting-edge research, and vibrant campus life[1]. Founded in 1838 by Methodists and Quakers in Trinity, North Carolina, the university relocated to Durham in 1892 and was renamed in 1924 after Washington Duke, following a transformative endowment by industrialist James Buchanan Duke[1]. Today, Duke is a cornerstone of the Research Triangle, a region renowned for innovation and collaboration alongside North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1]. ## Academic Profile and Innovation Duke serves over 17,000 students, including approximately 6,500 undergraduates and nearly 11,000 graduate and professional students[2]. The university is particularly strong in business, technology, and the sciences, with computer science, economics, biology, public policy, and psychology ranking among the top undergraduate majors[2]. Duke’s faculty are deeply engaged in both teaching and pioneering research, maintaining a favorable 7:1 student-faculty ratio and offering students the flexibility to pursue interdisciplinary studies, design their own majors, and combine up to three academic pathways[3]. Starting Fall 2025, Duke will implement a new, modernized curriculum in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, reflecting its commitment to adapting liberal arts education for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world[4]. ## Research and Global Reach Duke is a major research institution, spending over $1.2 billion on research in 2019 and holding a $11.9 billion endowment, ranking it among the wealthiest private universities in the U.S.[1]. Its research strengths span medicine, engineering, environmental science, and public policy. The university also has a significant global footprint, operating Duke–NUS Medical School in Singapore and Duke Kunshan University in China[1]. Duke’s expansive campus covers more than 8,600 acres, including state-of-the