At Duke University, the student-to-faculty ratio is a staggeringly low 6:1, where 70% of classes taking place at the university have fewer than 15 students. 

The most popular areas of study at Duke include Computer Science, Economics, Public Policy, Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, to name a few. There are four undergraduate academic schools, and nine postgraduate schools including the School of Medicine and Duke Law School. 

Duke also encourages students to learn in more than one way, as there is scope to specialise degrees through combining majors and minors to create more engaging learning experiences. Undergraduates are also invited to take part in experiential learning, such as research tasks, in which 54% of Duke undergraduates participate in. 

The campus of Duke University is divided into four key areas of student activity: Main campus, West and East campuses, and the Medical Centre. Duke is based in Durham, North Carolina, in a suburban setting and is well connected to Raleigh-Durham Airport, making international and domestic travel easy.

Duke Libraries have been voted among the nation’s top 10 private research library systems and have a presence at each of the campuses and have close to 8 million items in their collections. 

Bryan Centre is where students congregate en masse, with an expanded student union, theatres, cafes, places to eat, shops and a post office. 

Buses are provided by the university for students and staff commuting between the four sites and are free of charge and cleaned regularly.

Students who are willing to explore Duke University’s entrepreneurial pathways will be heartened to see the university’s commitment to student innovation and startup support. The university has formed 79 companies in the past five years, raising $1.6 billion in private and public financing. 

As part of the Duke Translation & Commercialisation (https://otc.duke.edu/) department, students can seek support and advice from mentors-in-residence, acquire funding, and take part in workshops and programmes that will hone students’ entrepreneurial skills. 

In 2021 alone, Duke startups made $91 million in revenue and developed 13 ventures from a range of industries and specialist areas, with startups from Duke attracting attention from monolithic companies, such as Bayer AG acquiring AskBio, a Duke startup.

Duke University holds its research output and opportunities close to its heart, with students from all faculties and degree levels embraced into the culture of independent thought and study into the world’s relevant issues. There are 82 academic and research buildings on campus, with the university receiving $708 million in federally sponsored research investments. 

Research expenditures at Duke exceeded $1.2 billion in 2021, making the university among the world’s leading research centres, offering a total of 2,626 grants to researchers, faculty, and students, ensuring that the wealth of research funding goes around and betters the lives of people in the community and further afield.

The Career Hub at Duke is the ideal place for students to begin their career pathway strategies under the mentorship and tutelage of the excellent and experienced staff there. 

The university uses Handshake, an employment network designed to help universities connect their student userbase to top employers. On Handshake, students can explore opportunities that appeal most directly to them, such as internships, volunteering opportunities, and full and part-time positions. 

Duke ranks at #30 for graduate employability in the world (QS Graduate Employability Ranking, 2022) and that is down to the support that students are offered whilst studying at Duke University.

There are more than 400 student-run groups on campus and eclectic campus events throughout the academic year, such as ‘Midnight Breakfast’ and ‘K-Ville and Cameron Crazies’, a pre-basketball match event where students contend for tickets by camping outside the Cameron Indoor Stadium in tents. With 27 Division I varsity teams in men’s and women’s sports, the athletic nature of Duke provides a lot of buzz on campus. 

Durham is a flourishing city with an evolving tech community with offices of many enormous companies based in the North Carolina city. On top of the booming economy, the Eno River State Park gives students a vital connection to nature that is a terrific way to enjoy life outside of academia, as well as the Ninth Street food and shopping areas where students can enjoy relaxing with one another.

There is a lot to love about Duke University and its holistic approach to giving students every opportunity to shine in academia. Students can benefit from the small classes and attentive professors, while still engaging with excellent opportunities to contribute to the research culture of the university. As well as innovation through research, the progress of Duke startup companies and inventions is impressive in its range and ambition and should excite any entrepreneurial student. 

The career pathways from Duke are numerous and recognised globally for their efficacy and success. Students of Duke are bound by togetherness and shared compassion for their studies, and the large makeup of international students gives the campus a wonderful multicultural feel. While the tuition fees are on the more expensive side of the national average, the university is undoubtedly excellent and among the best universities outside of the Ivy League.